Unknown suspects blow up Manila court judge’s vehicle in Rizal

A Manila Regional Trial Court judge who has handled controversial cases narrowly escaped death on Wednesday after unidentified men blew up his vehicle parked in front of his home in Taytay, Rizal. Silvino Pampilo Jr., presiding judge of the Manila RTC Branch 26, said the explosive went off a few minutes before 6 a.m.., around the time he usually leaves for work at the Manila City Hall. Fortunately, he was still inside his home when the incident occurred. "I was still dressing up when my wife and I heard a blast. We thought a power transformer exploded, but when we went outside, we saw white smoke coming from the vehicle. The suspects know I leave for work between 5:45 to 6 a.m. They probably put a timer so the explosive would detonate around that time," Pampilo said in Filipino in an interview on GMA’s Unang Balita. He added that his sport utility vehicle, a government-owned black Honda CRV, was "totally wrecked." Among the controversial cases the judge handled were the constitutionality of the existence Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) and the alleged cartelization of oil firms.

Recently, the judge ordered the PASG’s abolition after founding the decree that created it was "illegal and unconstitutional." [See: Court orders abolition of presidential anti-smuggling group] While he did not tag anyone as the brains behind the incident, Pampilo disclosed he had been receiving death threats because of the controversial cases he handled. "My neighbors are afraid because in my village, they see suspicious motorcycle-riding men roaming around," he said. Pampilo said the explosion occurred because "my security had been lax because the death threats stopped." He added the suspects could have planted the explosive early Wednesday morning, when a brownout occurred in his area. International groups have condemned the culture of impunity in the Philippines, where journalists, activists, and human rights advocates had become targets. But rarely had public attention been done on the violence against judges. In 2008, Philippine investigative news organization Newsbreak received the European Commission’s Lorenzo Natali Prize for its piece that looked into the murders of 44 judges in recent years. The story indicated that "the judiciary does not have enough money to assign bodyguards to the 3,000 judges" and "only the chief justice enjoys a security detail." The article quoted former Chief Justice Artemio Panganiban as saying, "How can judges give justice to the people when they themselves are victims of injustice?" — Sophia Dedace/RSJ/LBG, GMANews.TV