More than 100 escape Cotabato province jail after gunmen attack

From InterAksyon (Jan 4): More than 100 escape Cotabato province jail after gunmen attack



Google Earth map showing the location of the district jail in Kidapawan City, Cotabato

(UPDATE 4 - 9:58 a.m.) At least 132 inmates of the North Cotabato District Jail in Barangay Amas, Kidapawan City, Cotabato province escaped after gunmen attacked the facility early Wednesday morning.

Jail warden Superintendent Peter John Bungat said the gunmen, who he described as belonging to a breakaway faction of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front led by a Commander Derby, struck the rear of the facility past 1 a.m., triggering a two-hour gun battle.

Durig the fighting, Jail Officer 1 Excell Ray Vicedo was shot in the chest and lower back and was rushed to the nearby Cotabato Provincial Hospital but died around 3:36 a.m.

An inmate also died from a stray bullet while several others were wounded, Bungat said.

It was during the battle, said a statement from the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology, that "around 100 inmates took the opportunity to escape through the back portion of the facility while the rest of the personnel were retaliating to hold their ground and to protect other inmates."

It was the third attack on the jail since 2007.

Solda acknowledged that the jail, which holds criminal suspects undergoing trial, is "congested" like other facilities in Mindanao. At the time of the attack, the BJMP said the jail population was 1,511 inmates.

Kidapawan police chief Superintendent Leo Ajero, said two of the escapees were captured in Amas.
BJMP spokesman Chief Inspector Xavier Solda told Radyo5 in an interview that up to a hundred gunmen were involved in the attack.

Bungat said the gunmen were looking to spring the "Gunsang Brothers" and other members of their group from the jail, which is located near the Cotabato provincial capitol.

Other witnesses said the attackers first unlocked Cell No. 8 where the Salik brothers and Camayo brothers, suspected members of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters, were kept. They then unlocked other cells.

During an interview with CNN Philippines, gunfire could be heard in the background. Bungat estimated security personnel were up against more than a hundred gunmen “based on the volume of fire.”

Describing the area around the jail, Solda said: "Ang likod po niyan malawak na kakahuyan, maraming puno (The rear is thickly forested)."

Bungat said they were expecting the attack after receiving an intelligence report on December 30 and had immediately met with the police and military.

However, he said Army troops were pulled out for an operation on Tuesday, a development the attackers apparently exploited.

Solda confirmed that the jail personnel were ready for the attack.

"During the firefight, kasi naka-ready 'yung personnel doon, nakaantabay sila (the personnel there were ready, they were alert)," he said.

"Nagpapasalamat kami sa warden kasama personnel ... nakipaglaban sila para i-depensa 'yung facility at protektahan 'yung ibang inmates pa (We thank the warden and the personnel ... they fought to defend the facility and protect the other inmates)," he said.

http://interaksyon.com/article/135840/more-than-100-escape-cotabato-province-jail-after-gunmen-attack