3 escaped minors have still to return to Cebu City’s Operation Second Chance

Cebu City Mayor Edgardo Labella visited the Operation Second Chance in Barangay Kalunasan on Wednesday morning, October 9, 2019, to check on the status of the place and fulfill the request of the children for fastfood chicken and spaghetti. | Delta Letigio

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Three of the 11 children in conflict with the law (CICL) who escaped from Operation Second Chance (OSC) have yet to be returned to the facility 15 days after Cebu City Mayor  Edgardo Labella gave the OSC management 10 days to account for all the children who bolted from the facility on October 4, 2019.

Ambrocio Ybones, the director of the city-owned youth correctional facility in Barangay Kalunasan, said they already traced the location of the three children’s parents and they are now negotiating with them to bring their children back to the facility.

Ybones said he was grateful for the mayor’s understanding why they were unable to meet the deadline and for deciding not to file charges against OSC officials and personnel.  Labella earlier warned he would  file charges of  infidelity in the custody of prisoners against concerned OSC personnel if they would fail to bring the children back to facility within the deadline he set.

Read: Labella gives Operation Second Chance 10 days to find escaped children

“Nakasabot ra sad ang mayor nga gamay ra man kaayo mi dinhi. Naninguha mig kuha nila pero nag atiman pud mig 80 ka bata. (The mayor understood that we are only a few of us. We are trying to get them back, but we are also handling 80 children),” Ybones told CDN Digital by phone on Saturday, October 26, 2019.

The director assured that three CICL will be returned safely to the facility as they continue negotiations with the parents.

He said they would prefer a full and voluntary surrender by the escaped CICL so the children would no longer attempt to escape again.

Ybones also hoped that Labella would soon fulfil his promise to provide additional houseparents and social workers in the facility.

Read: DSWS: Operation Second Chance needs more social workers, psychologists

OSC has only 15 security personnel, two social workers, and at least 10 house parents caring for over 80 CICLs. This is not enough as the children are difficult to handle and to connect to, especially as they through the rehabilitation, said Ybones.

He believed that having additional house parents, social workers, and even security personnel would ensure that the needs of the CICL are taken cared of.

Recently, the Cebu City Police Office (CCPO) has also stationed two policemen per shifts per day in the facility to ensure that no similar escape incident will happen again. /elb