Senate Minority Leader Aquilino “Nene” Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban) today said
the arming of justices and judges to protect themselves against hired guns
shows how badly law and order has deteriorated in the country.
Senator Pimentel
expressed grave concern that even justices and judges of the courts, upon whom
victims of crimes and violence rely in their quest for justice, are fair game
in a society plagued by extra-judicial killings and seemingly helpless against
attacks by criminal elements.
The arming of judges, he said, creates a scenario reminiscent of the “Wild
West”, during the “modernization of western America, where the fastest gunslinger was king.”
“It’s the duty of government to protect its people, including judges from
criminals,” he said.
“It’s a sad indictment of the law-and-order situation that a judge must buy guns
to protect themselves. While the judges can borrow money to buy guns, how about
the poor who can ill afford to buy a kilo of rice for their families? How will
they protect themselves from the criminals?” he asked
At least 15
judges of inferior courts have been slain by assassins since 1999. According to reports, the first batch of 200 judges and justices can procure
their own guns through a loan from a P10 million fund initially made available
by the Supreme Court for the purpose.
The decision to arm the officials of the courts was a preventive measure taken
by the judicial authorities in the wake reports that a number of judges have received
death threats.
At least 15 judges of inferior courts have been slain by assassins since 1999.
The latest victim was Calbayog City Regional Trial Court Judge Roberto Natividad,
who was gunned down last January.
Senator Pimentel observed that court trial rooms and halls of justice are
poorly secured, making the judges and litigants vulnerable to the threat of
physical harm from lawless elements and other people who have an axe to grind
against them.
In a recent incident, former Mayor Rey Yap of Sapang Dalaga, Misamis Occidental,
was killed after being peppered with bullets by a gunman who was able to enter
the court room at the Manila City Hall during the trial of a murder case. “The government’s
lukewarm attention in solving cases of extra-judicial killings solved has only
emboldened the assassins and the death squads in carrying out their evil
profession,” Mr. Pimentel said. Senator Pimentel said the problem would not have gone this far had the Arroyo
government not fallen short in the tasks of solving the spate of extra-judicial
killings, especially in seeing to it that the perpetrators are sent to jail.
The biggest number of victims of summary executions consists of leftist
activists and there is ample evidence that most of them have been perpetrated
by soldiers and policemen as part of the counter-insurgency campaign.
On the other hand, the killings of journalists, lawyers, justices and judges,
auditors and other public officials have been mostly perpetrated by mercenary
killers.
Senator Pimentel decried the government’s inept handling of the prosecution of
suspects in the extrajudicial killings of political activists. In fact, he said
there has been no conviction of military officers and men accused in these cases
despite the designation of 99 Regional Trial Courts as special courts to try
this type of crimes.
He said witnesses are scared of coming forward to testify against the culprits
because of lack of protection from the government and the perception that high-ranking
military and police officials are coddling the suspects.
“Undoubtedly, the government’s lukewarm attention in having the cases of extra-judicial
killings solved has only emboldened the assassins and the death squads in carrying
out their evil profession,” he said.
Contrary to the loud pronouncements of security and intelligence authorities, Senator
Pimentel said there have been no honest-to-goodness efforts to track down and
break up these gun-for-hire syndicates. # # #
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