The Supreme Court on Wednesday said its soon-to-be-created Office of the Judiciary Marshals (OJM) will also prioritize the investigation of the unsolved killings of more than 30 judges since 1999.
Speaking before the Kapihan sa Manila Bay media forum, Associate Justice Jose Midas Marquez, who is supervising the formation of OJM, stressed the body is likely to be activated within the first quarter of 2023.
“Once we are able to create, even at the initial creation of the Office of the Judiciary Marshals and once we already have investigators, we will have these killings looked into. Right now, I think we have around 33 or 34 judges killed while in service,” Marquez said.
“We will request the judiciary marshals to review all the cases of these judges because we cannot just let this go unresolved,” he added.
According to Marquez, out of the 33 or 34 judges killed, less than 10 percent have been resolved and in some of these cases, the masterminds were not arrested or charged.
He said the SC is now vetting persons for the position of Chief Marshall who is preferably a lawyer and a former or retired high-ranking officer of the Philippine National Police or the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the National Bureau of Investigation.
Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo emphasized that the judiciary marshals are basically intended to provide security and ensure the safety, and protection of the members, officials, personnel, and property of the judiciary, including the integrity of the courts of its proceedings.
Republic Act No. 11691, or the Judiciary Marshals Act was signed into law last April.
The law allows the creation of the OJM to address the killings and other forms of violence committed against the members of the judiciary.
The creation of the OJM, which was patterned after the US Marshal system, was the brainchild of retired Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta.
Under the law, the Office of the Judiciary Marshals shall conduct threat assessments, investigations, and forensic analyses of crimes and threats committed against judiciary members and court properties.
The judiciary marshals will also investigate alleged corruption committed by justices, judges, and other court officials as directed by the Supreme Court.
It shall have concurrent jurisdiction with other law enforcement agencies to undertake investigations of crimes and other offenses committed against justices, judges, court officials and personnel, halls of justice, courthouses, and other court properties.
The SC has allotted a P50 million budget for the OJM’s operations.