(UPDATE) BJMP guard slain, 132 inmates escaped in Cotabato jail attack

KIDAPAWAN CITY -– At least 132 inmates escaped from the North Cotabato District Jail (NCDJ) in what was believed to be the biggest jail escape, so far, since 2000, here. Felix Capalla, one of the leaders of the inmates at the NCDJ, said more than a hundred armed men stormed the jail around 12:30 a.m., Wednesday, and killed on-the-spot on duty jail guard identified Jail Officer 1 Hexel Rey Desibo. Capalla said the attackers, clad in black suits and armed with high-powered firearms, rescued prisoners who are mostly members of the 105thCommand of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighters (BIFF) under Ombra Kato, among them the Tamayan brothers, both facing murder charges, and Salik brothers who are charged for drug trafficking. Capalla, known among NCDJ inmates as the ‘chief expediter,’ disclosed that even before the January 4 attack, he already tipped provincial jail warden, Superintendent Peter John Bungat, of the possible rescue operations. I gave him (Bungat) an information that some of the inmates have told us to prepare for rescue and escape.This was last December 31.I saw additional troops deployed in the area from December 31 up to January 1.But after that, I saw few people manning the jail, then came the attack, said Capalla. Around 4 a.m., Wednesday, village guards of Barangay Amas and some soldiers, captured an inmate while scouring the area after the jail attack. Bungat could not be reached for comment. The January 4 jail escape, authorities said, was considered the biggest escape in North Cotabato since 2000, when more than 40 inmates, many of them considered high-risk, escaped from prison.Some have been rearrested.