SC incapable of securing judges nationwide

MANILA, Philippines - The judiciary lacks the resources to secure all judges, the Supreme Court (SC) has admitted, amid recent killings and threats against them.

SC spokesman Theodore Te said yesterday they rely on other agencies to provide security for over 2,000 judges nationwide.

“We have very limited resources in terms of assigning guards for 24 hours,” Te said in a television interview.

He said the SC does not have the resources to provide each judge with firearms. He said judges could only secure a loan from the high court to buy firearms.

“It has an effect, it sends a message that it is dangerous to be a judge… we are very alarmed and saddened,” Te said.

Te, however, gave assurance the judges would not be cowed by the killings, and would continue to perform their mandate. “They are doing their job with little fanfare,” he said.

The SC had ordered the creation of a task force to handle the spate of killings of judges in the country. It tasked its committee on security chairman Associate Justice Marvic Leonen to start discussions with appropriate agencies for the creation of the task force.

In September, Judge Erwin Alaba of Baler, Aurora regional trial court was gunned down. This month, Wilfredo Nieves of Malolos, Bulacan RTC and Reynaldo Espinar of Laoang, Northern Samar were also killed.

The SC said authorities should exhaust all measures to bring the perpetrators of the killings to justice.

In an earlier statement, the high court condemned the killings, saying they “represent the ultimate shortcut and an affront to the rule of law.”