MANILA, Philippines – The number of escapees from the Marawi City Jail and the Malabang District Jail has increased to eight after another inmate voluntarily turned himself in on Monday, June 19.
The latest escapee who yielded to police was identified as Mohaderin Acampong. He was earlier detained for murder and is now in the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP).
Acampong was among the 107 prisoners freed by members of the terrorist Maute Group during its attack on the two prisons on May 23, the day President Rodrigo Duterte imposed martial law in the entire Mindanao to address the crisis in the Lanao del Sur capital.
Acampong stayed in Novaliches, Quezon City for weeks before deciding to surrender to authorities, according to BJMP Chief Jail Director Serafin P. Barretto Jr.
“We are here to ensure his safety back into the fold of the law. We know that like him, there are other escapees who are still waiting for the right chance but I can assure them, they will be more safe with us,” he said in a statement released Monday.
Barretto said he understood that “it will be a tough decision on their part to leave their family again.”
“(B)ut I assure them of a significant deduction on their possible sentence thru the immediate granting of Good Conduct Time Allowance or with other incentives provided by law,” he said.
He also urged other inmates who were freed to coordinate with the BJMP should they need further assistance on their plan to surrender.
Based on an earlier statement by Department of Interior and Local Government officer-in-charge Catalino Cuy, members of the Maute group disarmed then tied jail officers of the Marawi City Jail and Malabang District Jail before freeing the prisoners from their cells.
One prisoner at the Marawi City Jail was immediately recaptured in Iligan City two days after the jailbreak. Four other prisoners surrendered early June during the visit of BMJP head Barretto to Marawi.
Another one was found on June 8 in one of the temporary shelters inside the Provincial Capitol in the Lanao del Sur capital.