Cebu has one of the most vibrant communities of lawyers in the country.
In fact, several cases thought to be too dangerous to be tried in other provinces have been brought to Cebu for trial—on the assumption that it is a safer place for the wheels of justice to grind.
One of the celebrated cases which had its venue transferred for hearing to Cebu is the case of the ex-mayor of Lezo town in Aklan Alfredo Arsenio who is accused of killing Bombo Radyo dyIN station manager Heherson “Boy” Hinolan in Kalibo, Aklan on Nov. 13, 2004.
While the court convicted the gunman Amador Raz in the Hinolan killing and sentenced him to jail time of at least eight years and one day to 14 years, eight months, the murder charge against Arsenio is still pending.
Another media killing case transferred to Cebu is the Nov. 17, 2008 killing of Gingoog City,
Misamis Oriental radio blocktimer Arecio Padrigao. The suspects, Ariel Degamo and Benjamin Palarca, are currently detained in a jail facility here in Cebu.
Unfortunately, impunity may have escalated as evidenced by recent violent attacks on lawyers here in Cebu.
In the last 13 months, there were three brutal attacks against lawyers, claiming the lives of two officers of the court and injuring one.
The latest was the gangland style killing of prominent lawyer Noel Archival last Feb. 18. The daylight ambush in Dalaguete town in southern Cebu also claimed the lives of Archival’s two aides and seriously injured another aid.
On Jan. 22 last year, lawyer Jubian Achas died in one of the court rooms of the Cebu Palace of Justice along with his client Dr. Rene Rafols.
The attack carried out by a distraught Canadian expat John Pope, also seriously injured lady prosecutor Maria Theresa Calibugan-Casiño.
Also in that grim list of lawyers claimed by a hail of bullets in the last 10 years is lawyer
Arbet Sta. Ana-Yongco who prosecuted cult leader Ruben Ecleo for parricide for killing his wife Alona Bacolod-Ecleo.
Ecleo who was a mayor of Dinagat town and congressman of Dinagat Island in Surigao del Norte was convicted of parricide in 2012.
Now a fugitive, he carries a P3 million bounty on his head.
On May 21, 2008, lawyer Richard William “Dick” Sison was shot dead around noon in M.J. Cuenco Avenue.
Then on Jan. 6, 2009, public prosecutor Patrick Ian Osorio died in an ambush in Mambaling, Cebu City.
Hopefully, the police will get to the bottom of the Archival killing. It must be noted that in all the cases that preceded his, the attackers were either found guilty or had died.
As officers of the court and advocates of the causes of their clients, it is inevitable that
lawyers often find themselves at the heart of conflicts.
But in a society where the rule of law is supreme, lawyers are instruments of justice and social order. That they are subjected to violence and/or threats of violence is a manifestation of a weak justice system.
Aggravating the sorry state of the justice system is the fact that the courtrooms of Cebu have been left in shambles by the 7.2-magnitude earthquake of Oct. 15, 2013. With the Palace of Justice uninhabitable, courts have been left to operate in tents inside the Capitol compound. Why this has been allowed to continue for more than four months needs explaining.
Providing our courts with decent settings and ensuring the safety of our judges, lawyers, court employees and litigants should no longer be delayed.
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