Though they were injured, the rest of the 15 inmates still attended their court hearing at the Argao Palace of Justice hours after the accident happened.(CDN/TONEE DESPOJO)
Fifteen inmates and five jail personnel were hurt when a service vehicle of the Cebu provincial jail figured in an accident in Sibonga town in southern Cebu yesterday.
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The accident did not stop the inmates from attending the court hearing scheduled yesterday at the Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 26 in Argao, around 16 kilometers from the accident site.
Two inmates, however, had to be brought to the Isidro C. Kintanar Memorial Hospital in Argao because of cuts on their forehead.
Ricardo Dueñas, 50, and Arthur Lanticse, 38, were released from the hospital after doctors patched them up. Dueñas is facing drug charges while Lanticse was charged for rape and acts of lasciviousness.
They joined 13 other inmates, who were transported by responding policemen to the Argao RTC after the accident.
The 13 inmates, including high-profile prisoner Ciriaco delos Santos, suffered only contusions and body pain from the accident.
Delos Santos was a barangay councilman who was tagged as the suspect in the killing of Alcoy police station chief, Insp. Crisanto Abella, in August last year.
Four jailguards and the driver of the Cebu Provincial Detention and Rehabilitation Center (CPDRC) vehicle, a box-type Fuso Canter with plate number SGH 111, also sustained minor injuries.
P03 Herbert Pananganan, investigator of the Sibonga Police Station, said driver Roberto Creer told them that the vehicle’s brakes failed while he was negotiating a slight curve along the national highway in barangay Bahay, Sibonga, around 50 kilometers south of Cebu City.
Creer reportedly said he decided to swerve the vehicle to the right to avoid hitting a car and a trisikad in front. The vehicle hit a tree and fell on its side at around 9:30 a.m. yesterday.
“Pag-apply niya’g brake, basiyo na kono, wala na’y motapot sa brake. Iya nalang gilihay ngadto sa tuo ang iyang sakyanan aron dili mabangga sa awto, ug didto natumba ang iyang sakyanan (When he applied the brake, it did not function anymore. So he swerved the vehicle to the right side of the road to avoid hitting the car, but it instead fell on its side),” Pananganan said.
Prison guard Charlie Batandolo, in an interview, said all of them suffered contusions and body pains. He identified fellow guards as Mario Bastida, Joseph Cabahug and Marlyn Cinco.
“Sakit pa kaayo akong abaga ug tuhod hangtod karon (My shoulder and knees are still painful),” he said.
He said Creer and his fellow guards were also experiencing body pains.
HELP
Batandolo said the inmates, who were handcuffed inside the secure part of the vehicle, shouted for help after the vehicle fell.
The guards called for assistance from the Sibonga and Argao police stations, which sent a police car and ambulances.
Bastida said personnel of the Regional Public Safety Battalion Central Visayas (RPSB-7) immediately responded and surrounded the detainees. The RPSB headquarters is located near the accident site.
“Most of the detainees are residents in the area. There should be immediate responding police officers for security detail, not just to restrain them from escaping but also avoiding the worst case scenario and that is – some of the relatives might come and rescue them,” Bastida told CDN.
Thirteen inmates, who only had minor injuries, were transferred to the police car and ambulances and brought to the court in Argao.
They were identified as Elmer Nelson, 24; Rogen Rebalde, 33; Jupiter Postrano, 31; Michael Sabellano, 27; Jonas Gelbolingo, 56; Pedro Bacalso, 29; Jeric Mapa, 20; Ciriaco de los Santos, 56; Julieto Deliya, 24; Franklin Malaya, 35; Jomar Gerson, 26; Richard Solis, 45; and Jasmin Tubig, 35.
Segundino Ricardo, a resident of Sibonga who witnessed the incident, said he was fixing a motorcycle along the highway when he heard a loud thud.
He told Cebu Daily News that he ran when he saw the vehicle speeding towards him.
“Pagtan-aw nako, ang driver kay napiit na kuyog ang iyang mga kauban nga jail guard. Nangayo sila og tabang so amo-ang gi-ukab ang samin sa atubangan (When I checked, the driver was pressed against the seat. They asked for help so we detached the wind shield to rescue them),” he said.
THANKFUL
Lanticse, who sustained a cut on his forehead, said he was still dizzy from the minor surgery when CDN talked to him at the lobby of the Argao RTC at past 1 p.m. yesterday. But he was thankful for being alive. His family brought food that he could take back to jail after the hearing.
“Dili jud ko makastorya kung unsa kay grabe kasakit ang akong ulo pero nalipay ko nga buhi ra gihapon ko karon. Wala koy laing nasangpit kundi ang Ginoo (I cannot tell what happened. My head is pounding so bad. But I am glad that I am still alive. I prayed to God),” he said.
He was also thankful that Judge Maximo Perez waited for him.
“Sa usa ka tuig, maka schedule kag hearing mga ikatulo ang isa pa ana kay ma-postpone kay dili mutungha ang complainant.
Makapalipay lang na namo aron pod intawon mahuman na ni ang among kaso sa dali nga panahon (In one year, only three hearings are scheduled. One is usually postponed because the complainant fails to show up. I’m glad that he waited so that this case will be resolved soon),” he said.
His mother, Maria, said she waited for Lanticse for more than an hour.
“Wala ko kasabot, kulba kaayo. Alas otso pa gud mi diri, pirmi ko mutagbo niya diri sa padad-on nga pagkaon. Pwerte gyod namong huwat niya, maayo intawon nga samad ra sa agtang iyang naangkon (I couldn’t understand how I was feeling. I’ve been here since 8 a.m. I never fail to attend his hearing and send food back with him. I’m glad he sustained only a cut on his forehead),” he said.(With Jhunnex Napallacan/ CDN Reporter)
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