IBP condemns ‘heinous’ killing of ex-Cebu prosecutor

The mandatory organization for all Philippine lawyers has again condemned the "surging frequency" of violence against legal practitioners as it decried the "heinous" killing of a former Cebu City prosecutor gunned down in his own home on Monday.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Tuesday urged authorities to solve "with competence and dispatch" the case surrounding the killing of Salvador Solima, a lawyer and a former assistant city prosecutor in Cebu.

"Lawyers, prosecutors, and judges are being targeted with surging frequency and impunity. This has spawned a dark halo of fear that impacts negatively on the most important pillars of the justice system," the IBP said in a statement.

"Murder and other permutations of mindless violence have no place in civilized society," it added, stressing that lawyers must not be associated with the alleged crimes of their clients.

"We are sworn to advocate our clients’ causes within the bounds of law, free from fear and intimidation, and regardless of our own opinions as to their guilt and innocence," the group said.

Meanwhile, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the Department of Justice is "ready to assist the police" in solving the case.

But he said he does not believe the killing was connected to Solima's work as a prosecutor 20 years ago.

Solima was dismissed from the service on June 26, 1998 over charges of gross misconduct/grave abuse of authority and gross ignorance of the rules on inquest.

He and his wife were reportedly shot inside their home at Barangay Guadalupe in Cebu City on Monday. His wife, Verose, was reportedly in critical condition. — MDM, GMA News