Vigan judge shot dead

CAMP FLORENDO, La Union, Philippines – A judge was gunned down in Ilocos Sur yesterday.

Judge Reynaldo Lacasandile of Regional Trial Court Branch 20 in Vigan City was waiting for a ride at 4:45 a.m. along the national highway in Barangay Lacong, Tagudin, Ilocos Sur when two men on a motorcycle shot him, according to Ilocos region police director Chief Superintendent Orlando Mabutas.

Lacasandile sustained two gunshot wounds in the chest from a caliber .45 pistol.

He was declared dead on arrival at the hospital.

One of the suspects was wearing a white t-shirt and dark pants, according to witnesses.

Lacasandile traveled for over two hours from his house in Tagudin to his office in Vigan City everyday, according to police.

Senior Superintendent Agrimero Cruz Jr., Philippine National Police (PNP) spokesman, said they are ready to provide security to judges and other individuals receiving death threats.

Criminal Investigation and Detection Group chief Director Leon Nilo de la Cruz sent a special team to Ilocos Sur to track down and arrest the killers of Lacasandile, he added.

Police will review all the pending cases Lacasandile was handling, Cruz said.

At the Supreme Court, Chief Justice Renato Corona said yesterday judges facing threats on their lives must be allowed to carry firearms.

“There are two sides to a coin,” he said.

“On one hand I would like to say that judges whose lives are at risk should be allowed to carry firearms,” he said in Filipino.

“On the other hand, how would the judiciary appear if all judges are carrying a .45?”

In other words, he said this should be balanced.

Corona said it would not be good for the judiciary’s image if all judges and justices are seen armed with .45s and M16s just like “in the wild, wild west.”

However, the judiciary recognizes the fact that some judges face threats to their lives and should be given ample protection, he added.

The Commission on Elections (Comelec) must also give notice to this reality, especially during the election period, Corona said.

At Camp Crame, PNP chief Director General Raul Bacalzo ordered yesterday strict enforcement of the gun ban nationwide following the killing of Lacasandile and the ambush of an election officer in Basilan and a barangay chairman in Sultan Kudarat.

Bacalzo directed “the conduct of Comelec checkpoints operations, Operation Sita and Operation Bakal, in your areas of jurisdiction effective immediately to preempt the occurrence of similar incidents in the future.” Last Sunday, Entong Musa, election officer of Tuburan, Basilan, was killed in Isabela City.

Barangay chairman Romeo Sombreto was gunned down in Lambayong, Sultan Kudarat last Saturday.

Meanwhile, the National Election Monitoring Action Center (NEMAC) reported that a total of 192 people were arrested from Sept. 25 until yesterday for violating the gun ban.

Of the 192 arrested, nine were government officials, four were policemen and two were soldiers, according to Cruz.

The arrested police officers will undergo retraining, he added. – Jun Elias, Sandy Araneta, Cecille Suerte Felipe