At least 27 minors detained for offenses ranging from robbery and theft to drug use are now the subject of a search after they escaped from the Bacolod City police's Social Development Center Thursday.
Police women and children's complaints desk (WCCD) head Inspector Jovy Cabcaban said the escaped minors were between 13 and 17 years old.
The escape occurred at about 2:30 a.m. Thursday, according to a report Friday on news site Visayan Daily Star.
Cabcaban said four of the minors were facing robbery and theft cases.
The rest were “rugby users," referring to the drug-like addiction, common among street children, to sniffing chemical-based contact cements such as Rugby.
A house parent said one of the children had a duplicate key to the center’s main door, which they used to escape.
Cabcaban said an investigation as to who is responsible for giving the duplicate key to the child is now being conducted.
She also noted that minors escaped from the SDC almost every month. At least 10 minors escaped last April, she added.
Bacolod City Police Office chief Senior Superintendent Celestino Guara added there are two policemen on duty at the SDC but they should not be blamed for the escape as their duty is only to maintain peace and order and prevent rumbles from occurring.
Guara said he is concerned because more police effort will have to be mobilized to recapture the escapees.
Meanwhile, the city council has passed a resolution to construct a holding center for children in conflict with the law.
The resolution decreed that the holding center be built adjacent the Bacolod police’s WCCD office, so the police can closely monitor, secure and protect the children.—JV, GMANews.TV
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