5 inmates bolt Maguindanao jail, 3 recaptured

COTABATO CITY - At the height of heavy down pour Tuesday night until Wednesday morning, five inmates of the Maguindanao provincial jail quietly bolted their cell and gained freedom.But three of them were re-arrested by responding elements of the Provincial Public Safety Battalion manning a checkpoint in Esteros, Cotabato City, according to Jail Warden Macapagal Blao. The two remain at large and are the subject of our manhunt, Blao told DXMS-AM Radyo Bida , in an interview.He said the five, identified asUrak Makalay and Aquino Mento, both facing robbery charges,Tampakan Ankilino (rape),Fahad Sangki (Theft) andFaisal Macarimbang (robbery), fled Cell No. 8 after sawing off the iron grill using hack saw blade. They left about 12:10 a.m. but three were re-arrested more thanan hour later, Blao said.Blao said he led a team of jail guards in searching for the escapees and using jail vehicles, they found the three, identified as Makalay, Mento and Ankilino, walking in Barangay Rosary Heights 10. We sought the help of PNP checkpoint in Esteros and they were rearrested, Blao said.Blao clarified that Datukan Samad aliasCommander Lastikman, who was a string of criminal cases, was not among those who bolted the jail facility.Blao said Cell No. 8 has 23 inmates but only five escaped.He appealed to the relatives of Sangki and Macarimbang to help in bringing them back to jail for their own safety.