Lawyer murdered after attending court hearing

CEBU, Philippines – Another lawyer, who has retired from the government service as head of the Public Attoneys Office, was shot dead while on his way to his parked car after attending a court hearing in Bayawan City yesterday morning.

Senior Superintendent Dionardo Carlos, OIC director of the Negros Oriental Police Provincial Office, confirmed that a lone gunman shot at close range lawyer Ramon Elesteria. Before leaving the scene, the killer fired more shots on the chest and head, while the victim was already lying on the ground.

Initial investigation showed Elesteria was in Bayawan City for the scheduled hearing of a drugs case, of which he was the counsel for the accused. He was last seen conversing with another lawyer on his way out of the Regional Trial Court-Branch 63 and was shot dead before reaching his car.

Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Negros Oriental chapter president Cyrus Riconalla condemned the killing, and called for an emergency meeting of the organization today at the IBP office in Dumaguete City to take up a resolution denouncing the “dastardly act.”

While mourning for the death of a colleague in the profession, Riconalla said he might urge lawyers to skip attending their court hearings for one month to send a strong message of condemnation.

It was not long ago when lawyer Archer Martinez was also murdered in his office in Dumaguete, a case that remained unresolved until now.

Riconalla also cited the murder of Judge Orlando Velasco in 2007, then the presiding judge of RTC Branch 63 in Bayawan City, and the killing of agrarian lawyer Eleazar Casipong.

The IBP-Negros Oriental urged the police to do what it can to bring the perpetrators to justice in a number of shooting incidents, and the killings of lawyers as well.