MARIKINA CITY, Philippines— A scuffle took place on the fifth floor of the Justice Hall in the Marikina City Jail at around 4:30 p.m. of November 18 which has prompted Bureau of Jail Management and Penology (BJMP) personnel to fire warning shots, resulting to three casualties – one dead and two injured inmates.
Roel Diaz, one of the inmates involved in the riot, suffered from a fatal gunshot and was declared dead on arrival at Amang Rodriguez Memorial Medical Center, while two other inmates – Jason Malicding and John Cariño – sustained injuries from gunshots, too, according to various news sources.
Based on the initial investigation, BJMP officers used shotguns with rubber bullets to fire warning shots when the riot turned out of control.
The Marikina City Jail, which houses 456 inmates, allegedly implements jail policies which have gone overboard, such as requiring visitors to take off their clothes even underwear for inspection, hence the protest of inmates to condemn the unlikely security procedures.
Meanwhile, Marikina Police has conducted an investigation to look into the cause of the riot and to identify BJMP officers who fired the warning shots that harmed the inmates.
Pending police investigation, Chief Senior Inspector Nicanor Ambahan of Marikina Jail Management and Penology, was replaced by Chief Inspector Gregorio Acacio, according to Marikina City Police Chief Senior Superintendent Gabriel Lopez.
