Police told: Hunt down Negros judge's killers

Bacolod City, Philippines – Chief Justice Renato Corona and Negros Occidental Gov. Alfredo Maranon Jr. have ordered authorities to immediately arrest the two men who gunned down Kabankalan City Judge Henry Arles on Tuesday night.

Corona, in a statement, said he condemned the killing of Arles, presiding judge of the Kabankalan Regional Trial Court Branch 61, and urged the police to hunt down the two gunmen.

Arles, 62, succumbed to three gunshot wounds and was declared dead on arrival at the Southern Negros Doctors’ Hospital in Kabankalan.

Arles, who had received various awards for his speedy disposition of cases, was on his way home to Barangay Dancalan in Ilog town, when a tricycle drove alongside his Nissan Sentra and the two men aboard it fired at him three times. 

Corona said he has instructed Supreme Court administrator Jose Midas Marquez “to extend all assistance” to Arles’ family.

Maranon, for his part, also condemned the killing, saying he has ordered Senior Superintendent Allan Guisihan, Negros Occidental police director, “to investigate the killing thoroughly and solve it immediately.”

Following the killing, police officials in Western Visayas offered to provide security to judges and other court personnel in the region who are receiving threats.

“We cannot just ignore this incident, we need to do something to protect our court personnel, particularly our judges, whose lives are always at risk, especially when they are handling sensitive and high-profile cases,” said Chief Supe-rintendent Cipriano Querol Jr., Western Visayas police director.  – With Cecille Suerte Felipe