ZAMBOANGA CITY: Police on Thursday launched a manhunt for prisoners who bolted jail in the town of President Manuel Roxas in Zamboanga del Norte province, officials said. BGen. Jesus Cambay Jr., regional police chief, said tracking teams had been dispatched to hunt down prisoners Welly Celino Catoy, 23; Robert Quinicar Quinto, 46; Wilfredo Antiquino Espelita, 19; and Roger Barillo Feras. “I already directed the [town’s] chief of police to conduct manhunt operations and to recapture the escapees, and also enjoined all police units within Zamboanga del Norte, to man possible routes of escape to ensure that escapees cannot pass through the immediate proximity,” he said. The prisoners escaped at dawn while under heavy rains, cutting off the iron bars of their detention cell using guitar strings. It was unclear how the strings were sneaked into the cell. “The families and relatives of the escapees are urged to report and surrender them to the nearest police station so as not to aggravate the situation for after all, they are not yet guilty but merely held for investigation and trial,” Cambay said. He did not say whether the guards or the police commander were relieved from their posts or not.
