The Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) on Thursday confirmed that the person deprived of liberty (PDL), Michael Cataroja, who was reported missing on July 15, is alive and was recaptured by the Angono Municipal Police at Sitio Manggahan, Brgy. San Isidro, Angono, Rizal

According to Area Police Command, Southern Luzon Commander PLtGen. Rhoderick Armamento, Cataroja, 26, has been apprehended by the Angono MPS after a concerned citizen provided a valuable tip regarding the inmate’s whereabouts in their area.

Moreover, the inmate’s mother stated that Cataroja went to his cousin’s house, tired and hungry and that he immediately fell asleep.

Cataroja, according to Armamento, is now in the custody of the Angono MPS and will be given over to BuCor for suitable disposition.

Earlier, the New Bilibid Prison (NBP) asked for the Philippine Coast Guard’s K9 unit’s assistance to look for Cataroja over a 10-hectare prison facility, which led them to a septic tank that was believed to have contained the inmate’s chopped remains.

After recovering the bone fragments, they were sent to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), where it was confirmed that they were not human bones.

Cataroja was initially sentenced and confined to the BuCor on July 26, 2022. He was transferred to the New Bilibid Prison Maximum Security Compound on October 20, 2022, due to pending charges of carnapping.

With the incident, BuCor Director General Gregorio Pio Catapang Jr. ordered a full-blown investigation into Cataroja’s ability to escape NBP and wants to find out who was responsible for such activity.