‘Negros judge’s slay a setback in SC initiative vs unsolved killings’

The continued violence against lawyers highlighted by the recent slaying of Bayawan, Negros Oriental judge Orlando Velasco threatens the initiative of the Supreme Court to put an end to the unsolved killings plaguing the country by designating special courts for these cases, a lawyers’ group warned yesterday.

The Counsel for the Defense of Civil Liberties (CODAL) condemned the killing of Velasco, who died Friday, nearly 36 hours after he was shot in front of his house in Bayawan City by motorcycle-riding men.

“The killing of judges may be interpreted as a warning against those who seek to intervene in cases of extrajudicial killings. Judges of special courts will find it difficult to give justice to the families of victims if they themselves are defenseless victims,” Codal spokesman Neri Colmenares said in a statement.

Velasco was the 13th judge killed since 2001 while 26 human rights lawyers also suffered the same fate, Colmenares said.

Before he died, Velasco said: “This was part of my job,” referring to the attack.

Codal said the attack against judges and lawyers “is an insidious attack on the legal profession itself as it instills fear in judges and lawyers who are required to do their jobs with utmost competence, independence and integrity.”

The Philippine Trial Judges Association (PJTA) also condemned Velasco’s murder, as it called on the speedy resolution of the case.

“As trial court judges, our job is to simply serve justice based on the facts presented to us , and Judge Velasco is one of the many who have shown impartiality throughout his career,” said Judge Guillermo Agloro, former executive judge at the Regional Ttrial Court in Malolos City and president of the PTJA. – Perseus Echeminada, Dino Balabo