BI launches manhunt vs American fugitive

PHOTO from Bureau of Immmigration website.

MANILA, Philippines–The Bureau of Immigration (BI) has launched a manhunt operation against an American national who escaped his detention facility in Davao last Sunday.

Commissioner Siegfred Mison also ordered a thorough probe into the reasons how Douglas Brent Jackson, an American national, managed to escape the BI holding facility at Davao City.

Initial investigation showed that Jackson used a tool to saw off part of the window grill in the confinement area which allowed him to escape thru the building’s second floor.

“Commissioner Mison has issued a directive to conduct an intensive investigation on the incident”, said BI spokesperson Elaine Tan. “We will make sure all personnel who may have a hand on the escape are meted the appropriate sanctions”.

Tan said Mison also ordered a lockdown and a stricter enforcement of detention rules following the escape.

Initial investigations show that Jackson cut off part of the window grill through the use of steel blades which may have been discreetly mixed with food items handed over to him by his visitors.

“It appears that Jackson carefully planned out the escape with the help of some friends from outside BI,” continued Tan adding that with the incident, all visitors of detainees inside the facility will have to undergo stricter security protocols.

Jackson was issued a summary deportation order on August 29, 2014 for being a fugitive in the USA for theft.

The deportation order was not implemented because he still has a pending criminal case in Davao for estafa. He was transferred to the holding facility in Davao in order to facilitate the processes of the criminal case and to expedite the actual deportation.

“We will beef-up security in our holding centers to make sure no similar incident will happen in the future”, Tan said.