By Dominique Gabriel G. Bañaga

The inmate who earlier escaped from the Escalante City District Jail was recaptured on Wednesday in Sagay City. Sagay City police chief, Police Major Antonio Benitez, Jr., said 28-year-old Perlito Sico was arrested while he driving a pedicab in the city’s Barangay Poblacion 1.
The police official noted, a concerned citizen identified the fugitive and immediately contacted police.
When questioned by police, Sico claimed he was afraid of being transferred to the New Bilibid Prison.
Following his escape, he accepted a job driving a pedicab as he did not have any family or relatives in the city.
He also avoided being identified by using a t-shirt to cover his face.
Sico managed to escape last week by climbing two perimeter fences and making a dash for a nearby sugarcane field.
One of the jail guards, Jail Officer 1 Rodney Cobrado, spotted the escapee and fired several warning shots; however, Sico refused to stop and eventually escaped.
He is currently serving time on three illegal drugs cases, along with illegal possession of firearms charges.
In addition, the recaptured inmate also has pending charges in violation of the Commission on Elections gun ban.
Sico now faces additional criminal charges for escaping and has since been returned to the custody of the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology./DGB, WDJ