(UPDATED) Fifteen children in conflict with the law escaped from the Operation Second Chance facility in Barangay Kalunasan, Cebu City evening on April 11, 2026.

Thirteen of them were rescued in the hours that followed, said Councilor Dave Tumulak, head of the City Council’s Disaster Risk Reduction Management, Safety, and Climate Change Adaption. 

Tumulak said the minors, 15 to 17 years old, got the chance to escape during a Greyhound Operation conducted by social workers at around 8 p.m.

Three mobile phones were confiscated during the operation but this reportedly sparked a noise barrage among residents of the facility. About 80 other minors participated.

As social workers tried to pacify the residents, the 15 minors found the chance to carry out the escape plan. They exited the facility by going through a space used for ventilation and jumped down a 12-foot concrete fence to the ground.

Residents near the facility were quick to alert the police and a rescue operation was hatched by personnel of the Guadalupe Police Station, Cebu City Police Office, and Special Weapons and Tactics.

Eight minors were rescued first while four others were rescued dawn the following day. One other was rescued later in Naga City. By 6:10 p.m. on Sunday, April 12, 2026, all were rescued.