Antipolo judge charged for killing driver in traffic row

A judge of the Antipolo Trial Court allegedly gunned down Friday a driver of Antipolo Mayor Angelito Gatlangbayan during a traffic altercation in the city.

Police said Judge Francisco Queruben, of Antipolo RTC Branch 74 was the main suspect in the killing of Gerardo Martinez, 44, of Sitio Knights of Columbus, Barangay San Roque, Antipolo City.

Investigation showed that the incident took place near the corner of P. Oliver and Circumferential Road at around 9 p.m. last Friday when Queruben, on board a gray Ford Lynx (WKW-567) overtook the motorcycle of Martinez.

Martinez caught up with Queruben and punched the window of the car with a brass knuckles.

Police said the judge went out of the car and approached Martinez but the latter boxed him on the head and eyes. The judge pulled out a .357 Python revolver and according to the police, fired a warning shot in the air.

Martinez, reportedly ignored the warning shot and was poised to attack Queruben again when the latter fired at him, hitting him in the left abdomen.

The victim was rushed to the Unciano Medical Center where he died while undergoing treatment. The suspect, on the other hand, was brought to the Antipolo Doctor’s Hospital and later transferred to the St. Luke’s Hospital for treatment.

In another development, Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr. has directed all judges across the country to make an inventory of all the temporary restraining orders (TROs) they have issued.

In issuing Administrative Circular 62-2002, Davide told the judges of 2,130 lower courts — from municipal to regional trial courts — that these status reports on TROs should be submitted "not later than Jan. 15, 2003."

At the same time, Davide ordered Court Administrator Presbitero Velasco, whose office supervises lower courts and monitor judges and their performance, to see to it that judges comply with the administrative circular.

"It must be emphasized that an improvident issuance of TROs or writs of preliminary injunction or an unreasonable delay in the disposition on the merits of such cases would have serious impact on the parties affected thereby, government projects, the banking industry and the economy," he said.

In the two-page SC order, Davide also said that all those cases to be enumerated in the status reports — where trial has begun — "should be terminated on or before Sept. 2003, or eight months from Jan. 15," the deadline for the submission of the TRO inventory.

For the past months, the business community has complained to the chief magistrate of the indiscriminate issuance of freeze orders by judges, which have "impeded" government and private projects and have driven away foreign investments in the country.

Davide, likewise, reminded the jurists to strictly adhere to Administrative Circular 07-99, which advises them to "exercise caution, prudence and judiciousness" in issuing TROs, and Administrative Circular 11-2000 which bans them from stopping government infrastructure projects. — With Delon Porcalla