CAGAYAN DE ORO -- Jail authorities managed to prevent a possible escape of inmates at the Cagayan de Oro City Jail in Lumbia following the discovery of an 86-meter tunnel under construction near the jail complex Tuesday afternoon.
City Jail Warden Superintendent Clint Russel Tangeres said the two-meter-wide tunnel is nearly complete when it was discovered.
Tangeres said the starting point of the tunnel was concealed by a makeshift hut some 170 meters away from the jail located inside a lot owned by a certain Don Ramon Aberasturi.
The endpoint of the tunnel, which was still unfinished, would lead to the jail.
“From the entrance point up to the jail, it measures around 86 meters, so four meters nalang ang kulang at aabot na talaga sa selda ng mga inmates,” Tangeres told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
Police recovered some digging equipment in the area.
Police authorities believed the tunnel has been under construction for almost five months.
Tangeres said had the tunnel not discovered, at least 100 prisoners would have escaped from prison.
He said he could not exactly determine who would “benefit” from the tunnel since there is an old compound where members of Batang Mindanao 29 and the Batman gangs are being housed.
“There is also the Reception and Diagnostic Center where high profile cases or personalities are detained,” he said.
Among those high profile cases include two Swedish nationals who were convicted for life sentence for human trafficking, two Chinese nationals who were also convicted for life sentence for drug trafficking, a police officer accused of rape and a drug lord, among others.
“This is the first time na may well-funded activity kagaya nitong na discover at sigurado ako na hindi basta-basta ang nag-finance,” Tangeres added.
Two men who were seen working near the tunnel were invited by the Lumbia Police Station for questioning but claimed they only served as caretakers.
Senior Inspector Joel Nacua, station commander of Lumbia Police Station, identified the two as Charlie Laguna, 23, and Albert Laguna, 26, both residents of Tambo, Iligan City.
“We just interviewed them. We never held them. They were fetched by their lawyers so we allowed them to go since no case is filed against them,” Nacua told Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro.
It was learned that somebody rented the lot allegedly for two years.
The person even reportedly paid 50 percent of the rent.
However, police have yet to identify the person renting the lot.
With the discovery, Tangeres said security inside the jail has been tightened, though, he stressed that no inmate was able to escape using the tunnel, with the 1,135 inmates all accounted for. (Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro/Sunnex)
