A FOURTH inmate has been discovered to have escaped from the national penitentiary, along with three others early Monday morning, and is now the subject of a manhunt by authorities.

Chris Candas Ablas, convicted of robbery with homicide, was identified as missing Tuesday morning and has been tagged as a potential fourth escapee from the maximum security facility of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City.

The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) said it is still confirming if Mr. Ablas was part of Monday morning’s coordinated escape or acted separately from the three.

Two of the inmates were killed in firefights with police and BuCor officers.

Still at large, apart from Ablas, is Drakilou Yosores Falcon.

Senate President Vicente C. Sotto, III, who authored a proposed law that will create a separate facility for heinous crimes convicts, said the incident “bolsters what I have been saying all along” on the need for such a more secure site. 

“We need to separate heinous criminals from the community of persons deprived of liberty,” Mr. Sotto said.

The bill has been passed by both chambers of Congress.

Also on Monday, the National Bureau of Investigation prevented an escape attempt by confessed drug lord Kerwin Espinosa from the same prison compound. 

Senator Leila M. De Lima, a former justice secretary, said in a statement that the recent incident should serve as another “wake-up call” for the government to make reforms and tighten security around the nations’ prison and correctional systems. — John Victor D. Ordoñez and Alyssa Nicole O. Tan

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