Jail warden sacked over jailbreak

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

 

BACOLOD City – The warden of the Negros Occidental District Jail (NODJ) in Bago City was relieved from his post on Sept 7, 2020, a week after the jailbreak incident in the facility.

Senior Inspector Norberto Miciano Jr., said yesterday that he was transferred to the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP)-Negros Occidental, as provincial administrator.

Miciano was replaced by Chief Inspector Julius Cesar Chavez who was previously assigned to San Jose, Antique.

His relief came after two persons deprived of liberty (PDLs) or detainees – Jimmy Sablon of Barangay Robles, La Castellana town, and Ramonito Ventura of Barangay Buenavista, Murcia town – bolted out of the jail by cutting the steel bar of their respective dormitories on Aug 31.

The BJMP offered a reward of P10,000 for the arrest of each escapee.

However, only Ventura, who was charged for robbery, was captured four days later at Barangay Sta. Cruz, Murcia town, through the help of the barangay officials.

Miciano said that Sablon, who was charged for frustrated murder, is still at large. The BJMP increased the reward money to P30,000 for his arrest, he added.

Miciano said his relief was part of the jail’s standard operating procedure.

“As jail warden, iyon po naman ang procedure, and trabaho lang naman po ang sa atin,” he added.

Miciano served as NODJ’s warden for about a year already, and it was the first jail break incident under his leadership since he assumed post.

He said investigation is still ongoing if indeed there were lapses on the part of the five jail officers who were on duty when the incident happened.