Toledo City Jail escapee remains at large

Law enforcers in Toledo City are now hunting down a certain Jonbie Cabatas, who is facing drug charges. He remains at large after he and four other inmates escaped the Toledo City Jail on April 22, 2020. The four other inmates have been recaptured. | via Paul Lauro

CEBU CITY, Philippines – Law enforcers in Toledo City, Cebu are now hunting down a prisoner who was among the five who bolted out of Toledo City Jail on Wednesday, April 22, 2020.

Officers from the Toledo Police Station and the Toledo City Jail are searching for Jonvie Cabatas after he and four others escaped the penal facility past 2 p.m. on Wednesday.

Initial findings from the barangay tanods of Toledo City, who received the jailbreak alerts from jail officers, showed that only Cabatas remained at large.

Cabatas, who was imprisoned last March 10, 2020, is facing drug charges.

His four companions were recaptured in separate hot pursuit operations by the Toledo City Jail together with several barangay tanods.

Jonil Pan, barangay tanod of Juan Climaco Sr. (Magdugo) and who was part of the team responding to the alarm, said they the multiple checkpoints present in the city helped law enforcers in recapturing most of the fugitives.

Three were arrested within the vicinity of Barangay Landahan, where the Toledo City Jail is located, on Wednesday evening or a few hours after the jailbreak was reported.

At the same time, barangay tanods in Subayon recaptured Roque Iwayan and transported him back to Toledo City Jail. Iwayan was accused of theft.

Authorities are still conducting an investigation to determine how the five inmates escaped the penal facility.

Toledo City is a third-class city located approximately 50 kilometers southwest of Cebu City. /bmjo