Press Release
January 16, 2008

KIKO CALLS ON PNP TO HALT ATTACKS ON MEMBERS OF
THE JUDICIARY

With another judge figuring in an extra-judicial killing

Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today raised the alarm on the unabated attacks on members of the judiciary. "It is disquieting how those who are turning the wheels of justice in this country fall victims to injustices.

This latest murder is the 15th assassination since 1999 and we have yet to see a concrete response from the PNP," Kiko said. Calbayog City RTC Branch 32 judge Roberto Natividad was shot and killed by a still unidentified assailant using a .45 caliber pistol last Monday in front of a drugstore in Calbayog, Samar. He had reportedly been receiving death threats since last year. After the shooting, the gunman fled on foot towards Barangay Balud, 400 meters away from the crime scene. The police are considering the victim's work as one of the motives for the murder, and a political angle after Natividad had an altercation with a congressional candidate in Samar last year.

"The buck stops with the PNP to resolve this case swiftly and arrest the perpetrators. The courts must now protect their members by swiftly resolving the case and ensuring that the guilty are punished. Only with a higher conviction rate can we restore fear in the hearts of would be criminals and regain a greater respect for the rule of law," Kiko ended.

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