Press Release
January 4, 2006
PIMENTEL URGES USE OF JUDICIAL FUND TO HIRE SECURITY ESCORTS TO PROTECT JUDGES
Senate Minority Leader Aquilino Nene Q. Pimentel, Jr. (PDP-Laban)
today frowned on the proposal to issue firearms to justices and
judges to protect themselves from assassins in the wake of the
slaying of Regional Trial Court Judge Henrick Gingoyon.
Pimentel said a practical solution is to assign some sheriff
personnel as security escorts or detail law enforcers to court
officials, especially those who are receiving death threats.
He said the Supreme Court should consider tapping the Judicial Fund,
derived from court fees paid by litigants, to pay for the services
of private security agencies. He said he understands that the
Judicial Fund, primarily intended to augment the compensation of
justices and judges, has grown to such amount that it can absorb
part of the cost of securing court officials.
I dont think arming the judges is the solution. If you provide
them with firearms, who will prevent other public officials from
demanding a similar privilege by claiming that their lives are also
in danger? We dont want to see our society become another Wild,
Wild West where the rule of the gun will prevail over the rule of
law, Pimentel said.
He said the police authorities will also be under heavy pressures
from ordinary citizens to be granted gun permits on the ground that
they are not safe from criminals in their neighborhood and places of
work.
Pimentel said that the ultimate solution is for law enforcement
agencies to effectively discharge their function of maintaining
peace and order and ridding the community of criminal elements.
He pointed out that since sheriff officers are not serving court
warrants or summons to litigants all the time, they can double up as
security escorts for justices and judges.
Earlier, Pimentel urged the Supreme Court to work out with the PNP a
system of assigning police escorts to judges who will accept
assignments in Sulu.
He made the proposal in view of the fact that there are no operating
judicial courts in Sulu because there are no takers for the vacant
posts of judges in the Regional Trial Court in Jolo and the
municipal trial courts in the 17 other towns in Sulu.
There are no takers for the vacant court positions in Sulu because
of the volatile peace and order situation there, Pimentel said.
Litigants from Sulu have to travel for eight hours by boat to
Zamboanga City to attend court hearings there. |