DOJ creates task forces to prosecute cases of unsolved killings

Several task forces under two assistant chief state prosecutors will be set up to handle cases of killings of political activists and journalists filed before special courts created by the Supreme Court.

Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño told reporters that the task forces will be composed of regional state prosecutors and would be under the supervision of Assistant Chief State Prosecutors Richard Anthony Fadullon and Miguel Gudio.

"I will be sending out memorandum orders to regional state prosecutors to organize their task forces," he said.

Zuño, vice chairman of the Melo Commission that looked into the killings, said the task forces will complement a Supreme Court order creating special courts in various regions to hear and decide cases of extrajudicial killings.

It is important to set up the task forces because the incidents of extrajudicial killings have "reached an alarming stage," he said.

The task forces would be concentrated in the Samar provinces, Leyte and the Bicol region where a large number of killings has been reported, Zuño said.

The Supreme Court had designated 99 regional trial courts to handle cases of killings of political activists and journalists.

Chief Justice Reynato Puno ordered that the trial of the cases should be terminated within 60 days from the start of the hearing, and that judgment should be rendered within 30 days upon submission for decision.

A total of 23 RTCs in the National Capital Judicial Region and 73 RTCs in the 12 judicial regions nationwide have been designated as special courts by the Supreme Court. – Mike Frialde