• RICHARD T. CABALLERO JR.
A fisherman accused of qualified rape and detained inside the EB Magalona Municipal Police Station was reported to have escaped the facility yesterday.
Following the escape, the Police Regional Office-Negros Island Region (PRO-NIR) and the Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) immediately initiated a province-wide dragnet and manhunt operation to track down and recapture the escaped Person Under Police Custody (PUPC).
The escapee was identified as Eduardo Sadia, a 58-year-old resident of Sitio Panaosawon, Brgy. Tuburan, EB Magalona, Negros Occidental who was accused of qualified rape.
EB Magalona MPS is offering a P20,000 reward to those who can assist in the capture of the escapee. Police said that an internal investigation within the station is ongoing to determine how the detainee escaped from their detention facility.
Following the incident, PRO-NIR has tightened security protocols in all custodial facilities across the province and the entire region, to ensure that similar ones will not occur.
Regional Director PBrig. Gen. Arnold Thomas Ibay has placed the [implementation of protocols under strict command oversight and monitoring to guarantee accountability and coordinated action among all concerned units.
Ibay assured the public that the regional office is exerting all efforts for the swift re-arrest of Sadia.
“Corrective measures are already in place, and it is emphasized that police units across the region remain fully mobilized to protect public safety and maintain order,” he said.
Police encouraged the public to remain calm, vigilant, and cooperative, and to immediately report any information on the whereabouts of the escapee.*
