Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to probe the killing of a Manila City regional trial court judge inside her office last Wednesday.
Judge Maria Teresa Abadilla of the Manila City RTC, Branch 45, was shot dead allegedly by her own clerk of court, Amador Rebato Jr., who also shot himself thereafter.
She was declared dead at 3:15 p.m. on Nov. 11 at the Medical Center Manila. where she was taken after the shooting.
“Though Judge Abadilla’s death appears to have arisen from an internal issue with her clerk of court, I have nonetheless directed the NBI to conduct a parallel probe, considering that the incident has implications on the personal security of our judges and justices,” Guevarra said in a text message.
He made his statement even as University of the Philippines Law sorority, where she was a member, said her killing was the latest in a string of “gross violations of justice” that had occurred under the Duterte administration.
The UP Portia Sorority said Abadilla’s killing by her own clerk of court highlighted the need for reform within the Philippine government.
“Her death abruptly put an end to the exemplary work that she has done; it is a stark reminder of the numerous gross violations of justice that have occurred under this administration,” the sorority said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court welcomed the parallel investigation that would be conducted by the NBI on Abadilla’s killing.
Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said the high court started its probe immediately after the incident on the instructions of Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta.
Peralta also ordered Marquez “to employ stricter measures to prevent incidents.”
“It is true that the NBI can conduct its own probe because a crime has been committed. But we are also investigating and reviewing our court policies,” Marquez said.
But Marquez said the review of security policies, “is more complicated with some courts in Manila because they are housed in the city hall, over which we do not have full control.”
While the high court has constructed many Halls of Justice in the country, many courtrooms and offices, like many courts in Manila, are still housed in local government buildings.
”The passing of Judge Abadilla is indeed a big loss to the Judiciary because I personally know her to be an upright and highly competent magistrate,” Peralta said in a statement on Wednesday.
Abadilla was a law clerk in the high court for more than a decade before she became a judge.
Retired Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin said “She was a hardworking judge. Her death, which was senseless, diminishes us all.”