President Rodrigo Duterte favors government prosecutors as part of their safety and protection amid the killings that targeted members of the National Prosecution Service.
“I’m ready for any suggestion. Options all are on the table. What do you want? Gun? I will allow it,” Duterte said in his speech during the 31st Annual Convention of the Prosecutors League of the Philippines in Puerto Princesa City.
President Duterte, a government prosecutor-turned politician in 1986, recalled that he himself could not go around without a gun as he was handling cases against alleged scalawags in the police and military.
“In my time, you ask those in my age, I carried a gun. I cannot go out without a gun. I was not comfortable without it. Like I was nude and naked,” he said.
He directed the leadership of the Prosecutors League of the Philippines to work with the Philippine National Police, National Bureau of Investigation and other relevant agencies to come up with solutions on how to better protect the prosecutors and their families.
Nonetheless, Duterte assured there would be speedy investigation of cases involving killings of prosecutors.
“As a former prosecutor, I understand the very important role that you play in the administration of justice, which unfortunately involves antagonizing lawless elements, hardened criminals and their powerful backers,” he stressed.
Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said in May last year that state prosecutors should start carrying guns for self-defense.
Guevarra also wants bullet-proof vests and vehicles for the prosecutors, but admitted it cannot be done easily due to lack of budget.