2 N. Cotabato jail escapees recaptured, killed

KIDAPAWAN, North Cotabato – Two of the 158 prisoners who escaped last Wednesday from the provincial jail were killed by their security escorts early yesterday.

Police said Ginda Angkil and Faisal Bansilan were shot while trying to escape the prison guards who recaptured them.

Both prisoners were captured in barangay Paco, on the outskirts of the city midnight Thursday. They reportedly jumped from the vehicle while they were being escorted back to the provincial jail.

The policemen and jail personnel escorting the two inmates said they were forced to shoot when they refused to stop after fi ring warning shots.

Angkil was facing a murder case while Bansilan was being prosecuted for drug trafficking.

The deaths of Angkil and Bansilan raised to 10 the total of fleeing inmates gunned down by security forces.

They were among 158 inmates who escaped from the North Cotabato provincial jail early Wednesday after suspected members of the extremist Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters stormed the facility and killed one jail guard.

The Bureau of Jail Management and Penology ( BJMP) said a total of 55 escapees have been recaptured.

“Hot pursuit operations are ongoing with the help of the North Cotabato police and the Army’s 39th Infantry Battalion,” BJMP spokesman Senior Insp. Xavier Solda said.

Interior Secretary Ismael Sueno directed the BJMP to step up the security management of its facilities following last Wednesday’s jailbreak.

“This is said to be the biggest mass escape in the country and I challenge BJMP to go after the fugitives and bring them back to prison,” Sueno said.

Sueno instructed BJMP officials to conduct regular and more frequent surprise inspections and adopt stringent measures against the entry of contraband.