MANILA (5th UPDATE) - Around 17 detainees are still on the loose after escaping from the Bacoor City Jail on Friday, police said.

LOOK: 19 inmates who escaped Bacoor City Jail Friday afternoon (1/2)
(Courtesy: City government of Bacoor) pic.twitter.com/7htK5nFRDu

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) July 27, 2018

LOOK: 19 inmates who escaped Bacoor City Jail Friday afternoon (2/2)
(Courtesy: City government of Bacoor) pic.twitter.com/D3BWl6mlhQ

— ABS-CBN News (@ABSCBNNews) July 27, 2018

This after police caught 3 of the escapees in pursuit operations, while another two were accompanied by their relatives to a police precinct.

Isa sa mga nakatakas na preso sa Bacoor City Detention Center, sinamahan ng kapamilya na sumuko sa presinto. Ayon sa pulisya, 18 na lang ang mga pinaghahanap nilang preso | via @anjo_bagaoisan pic.twitter.com/v85fcnLQl3

— DZMM TeleRadyo (@DZMMTeleRadyo) July 27, 2018

Cavite Police Director Senior Supt. William Segun said a police officer was supposed to fetch a detainee for his mugshot when other detainees scrambled to escape around 5:15 p.m.

Segun said the jailbreak appears to have been planned since a detainee was already positioned at the entrance of the cell when the incident happened.

Police fired shots as they pursued those who escaped, he added.

The escapees are facing drug-related charges, Segun said, but are not high-value targets.

A manhunt operation continues, and Segun appealed to families of the escapees not to coddle them.

-- Reports from Ron Lopez, Eric Dastas and Anjo Bagaoisan, ABS-CBN News