Another judge was shot on Monday by the usual suspect - an unidentified motorcycle rider - in a predawn ambush in Ilocos Sur Monday, a regional police official said. He was the second judge murdered in northern Luzon this year.
A culture of impunity has made the Philippines one of the most dangerous places in the world to be a judge, journalist, or activist.
Ilocos region police head Chief Superintendent Orlando Mabutas said Vigan Regional Trial Court Branch 20 Judge Reynaldo Lacasandile was waylaid as he was about to go to Vigan at 4:45 a.m.
"Si Judge patungong Vigan City, ang sasakyan niya naka-park along the highway. Umabot sa sasakyan niya, pinagbabaril siya ng isang lalaki na allegedly naka-motor. Dinala siya sa hospital pero nag-expire," Mabutas said in an interview on dzBB radio.
(The judge was on his way to work in Vigan City. His vehicle was parked along the highway leading from his house in Tagudin town to Vigan City. Motorcycle-riding men pulled up and one of the passengers shot him. He was rushed to a hospital but died while being treated.)
Mabutas said they are looking into whether the killing was related to the cases being handled by the judge.
"We are not discounting other angles but we are initially checking the work-related angle because of the nature of his work," he said in Filipino.
He said he has formed a task force to investigate the incident. He also sent out a flash bulletin about the suspect.
Culture of impunity
Only last May, unidentified gunmen shot dead a judge while he was heading for his boardinghouse in Cagayan province.
Judge Andres Cipriano of Aparri town succumbed to at least two gunshot wounds in the body and died instantly. (See: Report: Judge shot dead in Cagayan province)
International groups have condemned the culture of impunity in the Philippines, where journalists, activists, and human rights advocates had become targets. However, rarely has public attention been focused on the violence against judges.
In 2008, Philippine investigative news organization Newsbreak received the European Commission’s Lorenzo Natali Prize for its piece that looked into the murders of 44 judges in recent years.
The story indicated that "the judiciary does not have enough money to assign bodyguards to the 3,000 judges" and "only the chief justice enjoys a security detail."
The article quoted then Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban as saying: "How can judges give justice to the people when they themselves are victims of injustice?" — with Sophia Dedace/RSJ/HS,
