By AARON RECUENCO, JEFFREY DAMICOG
A lawyer was shot dead yesterday morning by two armed men while on his way to work along national highway in Barangay Malinao in Narra town, Palawan, police said.
Brig. Gen. Pascual Muñoz, director of the Mimaropa (Mindoro Occidental and Oriental, Marinduque, Romblon and Palawan) Regional Police, has ordered the provincial director of Palawan to look into all the possible motives behind the death of lawyer Eric Jay Magcamit, 35.
Based on the police report, Magcamit was driving his car on his way to Quezon from Puerto Princesa at around 6:46 a.m. when flagged down by two armed men and was forced to go out of the vehicle. He was then repeatedly shot.
The lawyer died on the spot from two gunshot wounds.
“Before the incident, he told his spouse that he was being followed on several occasions by a vehicle. This angle is being pursued by our investigators,” said Muñoz.
“The strongest motive is work related,” he added.
Magcamit took his undergraduate, Bachelor of Science in Environmental Science at the Palawan State University where he graduated cum laude and a Department of Science and Technology Science Education Institute awardee.
He took his law degree in the same university and was admitted to the Bar in 2010. He worked at the Provincial Legal Office, as legal researcher for Palawan Rep. Abraham Mitra and a teacher at the Palawan State University.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines condemned the killing of Magcamit.
“It is our consistent stand that violence has no place in this civilized society, especially against those in the legal profession who are courageously helping in the administration of justice. This tragic incident is not only an attack to a member of the IBP but also an attack to the legal order and justice system by means of fear and violence. The perpetrators must be swiftly brought into the hands of the law by those in authority,” the IBP said in a statement.
MIMAROPA regional police spokesperson Lt. Col. Imelda Tolentino said local investigators are making progress in the conduct of the probe.
She said dash cam footages of the two male suspects were already obtained.
“Our investigators are also searching Closed Circuit Television (CCTVs) along the route to and from the crime scene for clearer image,” said Tolentino.
NBI STEPS IN
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra also ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the killing of Magcamit.
The secretary said he has been informed by NBI Officer-In-Charge Eric Distor that the NBI Puerto Princesa District Office (Puerdo) has been directed to investigate the case.
Guevarra instructed Distor to “alert our NBI field agents to stand by and render assistance to the local police in the investigation, if necessary.”
Magcamit is the 53rd lawyer who was killed during the administration of President Duterte.
Last Nov. 11, Judge Maria Teresa Abadilla of Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 45 inside her courtroom at the Manila City Hall by her clerk of court, Atty. Amador Rebato, who later committed suicide.
