Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra said on Tuesday, Jan. 18, he may consider the transfer of alleged drug lord Roland “Kerwin” Espinosa to another detention facility after his reported attempt to escape was foiled by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI).
“We believe that Kerwin Espinosa should be transferred to a more secure detention facility in view of the numerous cases that he is currently facing,” Guevarra said.
While Espinosa had been cleared by the Makati City regional trial court (RTC) on illegal drugs charges, he still has many cases pending before the Manila and Leyte courts, and before the Department of Justice (DOJ).
If Espinosa will be transferred to another detention facility outside of the NBI jail center, “we shall need commitment orders from the courts where his cases are being tried,” Guevarra said.
“Ordinarily, un-bailed individuals awaiting completion of their trial are detained in facilities of the BJMP (Bureau of Jail Management and Penology),” he said.
On Espinosa’s attempt to escape from the NBI detention center in Manila, NBI Officer-in-Charge Director Eric B. Distor assured that “security measures at the jail have since been tightened with regular inspection of all jail facilities.”
Distor said the swift and timely action of his agents prevented the escape of Espinosa and two detainees from the facility.
He said that last Jan. 13 the chief and the executive officer of the NBI’s Security and Management Section (NBI-SMS) received information that Espinosa and two detainees were planning to escape from the detention facility through the hole of the exhaust fan at the ceiling.
“On the same night, they immediately conducted an inspection of the jail,” he said.
“In one of the cells of the jail, the raiding team observed a deformed exhaust fan, which when removed, exposed a hole fit for a detainee to escape,” he added.