Rody orders probe of Negros lawyer’s slay

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra yesterday ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to conduct a parallel probe into the killing of lawyer Anthony Trinidad in Guihulngan City, Negros Oriental on Tuesday.

Guevarra issued the directive as President Duterte ordered a thorough investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said Malacañang strongly condemns the gun attack that also left Trinidad’s wife wounded.

Panelo said the Duterte administration is concerned about the killing of lawyers, especially those who are helping the poor.

“Lawyers are officers of the court... They help in the dispensation of justice and we cannot further stress the atrociousness of this act should it be discovered that the felony is work-related,” Panelo said.

“We will prosecute these killers and ensure that they will face the appropriate punishment... we commit to deliver justice not just for the family of Trinidad, but for the entire Filipino community,” he said.

Trinidad, 53, and his wife Novie Marie were in a sport utility vehicle when they were shot by unidentified motorcycle-riding men. He was declared dead on arrival at the Guihulngan District Hospital.

Several months before the incident, Trinidad reportedly received death threats. He asked for police escorts whenever he attended hearings.

Shock, sorrow

Meanwhile, the Department of Education called for an investigation into the killing of a school principal and a DepEd official also in Guihulngan on Thursday.

The DepEd expressed ”shock and sorrow” over the killing of Arthur Bayawa, principal at Guihulngan National High School, and his sister Ardele, curriculum implementation chief in the schools division office.

Education Secretary Leonor Briones ordered the regional director and schools division superintendent to submit situation reports and obtain an investigation report from authorities.

The DepEd said it would also provide assistance to the family of the victims.

”DepEd enjoins the community, local officials and law enforcement agencies to work hand in hand to ensure opeace and unity amid the recent spate of killings in the province,” the DepEd added.

Aside from the Bayawa siblings, a barangay chairman was killed in a gun attack in Guihulngan on Thursday.