World | Philippines
Three detained over judge's assassination
Three people have been detained over the killing of a popular judge last week, while the Supreme Court is planning a special judge protection team.
- Agencies
- Published: 00:00 January 3, 2006
Manila: Three people have been detained over the killing of a popular judge last week, while the Supreme Court is planning a special judge protection team.
President Gloria Arroyo announced the arrest on national television on Tuesday.
Judge Henrick Gingoyon was gunned down by two men in Cavite last December 31.
Justice Secretary Raul Gonzales said that police have detained the suspected killer, a lookout, and the person who supplied the gun.
"One of them has already confessed his participation," he said, adding that the investigation showed that the crime could be part of a "wider conspiracy".
Gingoyon, in a controversial case last year, ordered the government to pay P3 billion as compensation to the business group that put up the Ninoy Aquino International Airport Terminal 3.
Meanwhile, Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban told local media that the judge protection team will be patterned after the US Federal Bureau of Investigation marshal system.
Panganiban said he saw the need for long-term precautionary measures for judges. Data from the Supreme Court showed that 10 justices have been slain since November 1999.
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