BY JEFFREY DAMICOG
The Department of Justice (DoJ) has tasked the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to investigate the deaths of two lawyers in Cebu City and in Palawan this month.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said Wednesday that he ordered the NBI to probe the death of lawyer Joey Luis Wee, 51, in Cebu City and the killing of lawyer Eric Jay Magcamit, 35, in Palawan.
“The NBI is working hard on the investigation of the violent deaths of Attys. Magcamit and Wee,” Guevarra told reporters.
“More field operatives have been deployed in Palawan and Cebu to intensify their hunt for the perpetrators of these treacherous crimes,” he added.
The secretary assured that “the government is very much concerned about the increasing number of crimes committed against lawyers, prosecutors, and judges.”
According to police, Wee was gunned down while walking to his office in Barangay Kasambagan last Monday, Nov. 23. The victim was rushed to a local hospital where he died.
Police said there were two unidentified gunmen responsible involved in the shooting of Wee who became the 53rd lawyer killed under the administration of President Duterte. He was also the third lawyer slain this month.
Magcamit was killed last Nov. 17 in Narra, Palawan after his vehicle was flagged down by unidentified assailants.
Prior the two killings, Judge Maria Teresa Abadilla of Manila Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 45 was shot and killed last Nov. 11 inside her courtroom at the Manila City Hall by her clerk of court, lawyer Amador Rebato, who later committed suicide.
