THE Philippine Judges Association (PJA) has sought the creation of a marshal system that would protect judges and members of the Judiciary against violent attacks and attempts against their lives in light of the recent killing of a trial court judge in Ozamiz City.
PJA President and Marikina Regional Trial Court Judge Felix Reyes said the passage of a law for the creation of the Philippine Marshal System (PMS) should be pushed following the assassination of Ozamis City RTC Judge Edmundo Pintac.
Judge Reyes said the PMS should be composed of retired police, military personnel and legal officers who will provide security for justices and judges and handle cases of killings and attacks against them.
“This Philippine Marshal System will address the security concerns facing our justices and judges,” he said, while noting that the PJA is now in the process of coming up with a draft bill for the creation of PMS which will be submitted to Congress soon.
Judge Reyes said part of the group’s proposal is to give the PMS the power to investigate and prosecute those behind the attacks against the members of the Judiciary.
Meanwhile, Court Administrator Jose Midas P. Marquez has admitted that security provided to judges nationwide “may be not enough.”
“Currently, there’s only one staff who can accompany a judge to and from work. They can also request for police escorts in case of death threats. But there are currently about 2,500 judges nationwide,” he pointed out.
A total of 30 judges have been killed in line of duty over the past 10 years, according to Marquez.
“I talked to investigators and the widow and it appears that Judge [Edmundo] Pintac’s death was really work-related,” he said.
Pintac’s death is now being investigated by the Philippine National Police (PNP) and looking at the possibility that it is related to the drug cases against Parojinog siblings Ozamiz Vice Mayor Nova Princess and Reynaldo Jr.
Pintac, who handled the said cases before they were transferred to the Quezon City RTC earlier this year, denied the siblings’ request that they be allowed to attend the funeral of their parents and other family members who were killed in a raid conducted by police in July last year.