Ex-prosecutor killed, wife wounded in Cebu

MANILA, Philippines — A retired prosecutor died while his wife was critically wounded after unidentified gunmen shot them inside their residence in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City late Monday.

Police said Salvador Solima died from three gunshot wounds while his wife Verose is in critical condition after being shot in the head.

Cebu City Police chief investigator Chief Supt. Ryan Devaras said one of the suspects was arrested during a follow-up operation.

Devaras identified the arrested suspect as Ricarte del Corro, a resident of Barangay Labangon who was positively identified by a witness who was in the same room as the victims. 

Police said brothers Alberto and Alvin Baluyos, the alleged accomplices, are considered persons of interest, as investigators still have to establish their participation in the crime. 

Raquel Zaragosa identified Del Corro as the gunman. She was in the room with the victims when the suspect pulled a handgun and shot Solima three times and Verose once in the head, police said.

Zaragosa said Del Corro, together with one unidentified man, asked to consult Salvador regarding an acquaintance’s drug case that had been delayed for 15 days.

Del Corro and his accomplices were made to wait at the second floor living room. 

Zaragosa said there was nothing unusual in their behavior, though it was the first time she saw them. 

Upon discussing the placement fee of P150,000, the two bargained it down to P120,000. 

However, moments after discussing the placement fee, Del Corro reportedly drew a handgun and shot Salvador three times. 

“I saw his face (Del Corro), and when Salvador got up to reach for his daughter who was eating at the table, he shot him with his gun, I did not know what to do, I tried to (leave) the area where he was shot, and heard another gunshot, I didn’t know it was already (being shot),” Zaragosa said. 

Police said Del Corro was arrested during a drug sting operation yesterday.

The new norm

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) yesterday condemned the killing of Solima.

The IBP and DOJ called on police investigators to immediately resolve the killing.

The IBP Cebu province chapter, through its president Mundlyn Misal-Martin, described the incident as a “vicious act” and “act of pure evil.”

“We call for justice and we call for a fast investigation. We call on our authorities to resolve this case and to put the culprit in jail,” the group appealed in a statement yesterday.

Martin said the killing of Solima was puzzling as he was a respected prosecutor before he ventured into private practice. He said Solima is known to be accommodating to his clients.

But he lamented how the killing of lawyers is becoming a “norm.”

“This act of killing is almost the ‘new norm’ when it should not be. When will this end? When will people understand that killing/hurting another lawyer is not the ‘real justice’ they think they deserve. Justice cannot be attained by an injustice. Killing of a lawyer, or any other person, is unjustifiable and will never be a solution/resolution to misery. This is not supposed to happen in this generation,” the IBP official added.

The IBP, mandatory organization of over 55,000 lawyers in the country, earlier created a task force to investigate the spate of killings of lawyers in the country following the murders of Argel Cabatbat last Feb. 13 and Jonah John Ungab last Feb. 19. Ungab was the vice mayor of Ronda town in Cebu who also served as counsel of detained drug lord Kerwin Espinosa.

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra, for his part, also condemned the latest killing of a lawyer.

But he believed Solima’s killing could have nothing to do with his being a former prosecutor.

“He retired from the DOJ in 1998. I don’t think the murder had anything to do with his duties when he was still a prosecutor 20 years ago,” Guevarra said in a text message.

Guevarra though vowed the DOJ is ready to provide assistance to police investigators in solving the case, including a possible parallel probe of the National Bureau of Investigation. – With Edu Punay