BY DOMINIQUE GABRIEL BAÑAGA
BACOLOD City – Another escapee from the Negros Occidental District Jail (NODJ) was shot dead after he and two other companions allegedly opened fire at pursuing policemen in Hacienda Ambulong, Barangay San Fernando, Talisay City yesterday morning.
He was Danilo Celeste, brother of Marvin who was shot by cops in Barangay Blumentritt, Murcia town on Wednesday.
Police Major Jigger Gimeno, Talisay City police chief, said since Thursday night they were already monitoring the escapees after finding out that one of them, Alejandro Montoya, had a relative in the area.
As the escapees were preparing their lunch, operatives from the Talisay City police station, Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP), Negros Occidental 1st Provincial Mobile Force Company, and Philippine Army soldiers moved in.
A gun battle ensued. Celeste was killed.
Montoya and suspected crime group leader Francisco Epogon managed to flee.
Police seized a .45-caliber pistol, an improvised shotgun and cane cutters – the items believed to have been stolen from sugarcane workers in Murcia on Wednesday.
Either Montoya or Epogon was believed to have been wounded on a leg during last Wednesday’s scuffle in Murcia.
Yesterday afternoon, authorities shifted their search to neighboring Hacienda Santa Teresita in the city’s Barangay Dos Hermanas, as well as in Barangay Concepcion after concerned citizens reported sightings there.
Authorities have yet to give an update as of press time.
Police urged Negrenses to be extra vigilant against the “armed and dangerous” remaining escapees and immediately report any sightings to the nearest police station.
Earlier on Tuesday, the five individuals including Daniel Tamon bolted out of their cells at the NODJ in Barangay Tabunan, Bago City.
Tamon was later recaptured in Barangay Blumentritt, Murcia after authorities tracked down their location when they allegedly robbed a group of sugarcane workers.
The Negros Occidental Police Provincial Office (NOCPPO) already placed all of the police stations in the province on heightened alert.
Investigators from the NOCPPO have also started digging further into the backgrounds of the escapees./PN
