Supreme Court wants task force created to address judge killings

MANILA, Philippines – The Supreme Court (SC) is pushing for the creation of a task force to investigate the recent killings of court officials and provincial judges.

The SC Committee on Security, headed by Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, will be in charge of the investigation and with coordinating with various law enforcement agencies, SC spokesman Theodore Te said on Tuesday, November 24.

“[Justice Leonen will] start discussions with appropriate agencies of government towards the creation of a task force to address the continuing assassinations and killings of judges while in the performance of their duties,” he said.

The move comes after the killing of a Samar provincial court judge on Sunday, the second judge killed this month and the fourth court official killed in the country this year.

Judge Reynaldo Espinar of the Laoang Municipal Trial Court was shot 3 times in the head by an unidentified gunman while watching cockfights at an arena in Pambujan town in Samar on November 22.

The gunman then fired warning shots, causing a stampede. This gave Espinar’s bodyguard, Wilfredo Saromenes, the opportunity to kill the gunman.

The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), which has formed a team to investigate the incident, said it will look into the motive behind the Samar judge’s killing.

“We will ask his family and office staff about the judge’s activities, and if he has received threats before the shooting, if he has any known enemies,” NBI Assistant Director Medardo de Lemos said.

Aside from Espinar, 3 other court officials have been killed this year.

Barely two weeks before Espinar was gunned down, Malolos Regional Trial Court Judge Wilfredo Nieves was killed by gunmen along MacArthur Highway in Barangay Ticay, Malolos, Bulacan.

In September, Judge Erwin Alaba was shot dead in Baler, Aurora. Court interpreter Ibnohajar Puntukan of Shariah court in Jolo, Sulu, was killed on March 4.

The killings have drawn condemnation from the SC, Malacañang, and the Central Luzon chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.

“The killing of judges represents the ultimate shortcut and an affront to the rule of law. Killing of judges not only threatens other judges in the performance of their functions, but it also undermines the neutral environment so essential for fair and evenhanded decision-making,” the SC said.

Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno has called on law enforcement authorities to “take all necessary steps with all deliberate speed to do justice” for the slain judges. – Rappler.com