MANILA — The National Prosecution Service (NPS) through the Office of the Prosecutor General has condemned the killing of Quezon City Deputy Prosecutor Rogelio Velasco.
“The NPS conveys its extreme outrage and condemns the senseless killing of prosecutors, whose lives have been imperiled by acts of barbarity. The merciless persecution of prosecutors not only demoralizes those who have remained passionate and hardworking in their profession, but these acts of inhumanity resonates how prosecutors are further exposed to the perils of the job that place them at a greater risk now that these series of savagery has shaken our institution again with the untimely and gruesome death of Deputy City Prosecutor Rogelio Velasco of the Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon City,” Acting Prosecutor General Jorge G. Catalan Jr., said in a statement Saturday.
“As arbiters of the law, we prosecutors stand united in condemning the killings. We shall not cower in fear in this time of threat, intimidation and uncertainty. We shall continue to uphold the rule of law at any cost despite the apparent risks and danger involved,” he noted.
Velasco was killed in an ambush while on his way to pick up his wife from work on Friday afternoon.
He was driving his red Toyota Innova along Holy Spirit Drive in Barangay Holy Spirit when attacked by unidentified perpetrators at around 4:55 p.m.
A witness told police that a white Innova cut into the path of Velasco’s vehicle. Assailants shot the prosecutor several times before fleeing the scene.
Velasco is the latest prosecutor killed so far under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, who is a former prosecutor himself.
The others were Quezon Assistant Provincial Prosecutor Reymund Luna, Caloocan City prosecutor Diosdado Azarcon, Quezon City prosecutor Noel Mingoa, Rizal assistant prosecutor Maria Ronatay and retired Mandaluyong City Prosecutor Pablito Gahol.
Catalan added the continued brazen attacks on prosecutors all over the country has alarmingly grown in number.
“This latest attack on the NPS sends a clear message that these shameless perpetrators are not afraid of anything or anyone.Nonetheless, our voices will remain vigilant and will not simply be silenced by these atrocious acts,” he said.
For his part, Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to probe the killing of Velasco
Guevarra said he has directed the NBI to identify the perpetrators, determine their motive and bring them to justice.
He described the incident as another “murderous act” even as he assured that prosecutors are unfazed in performing their duties despite the latest killing.
“As we condemn another senseless attack to our dedication and passion in the performance of our prosecution task, let us remain firm in our commitment to serve justice and find comfort in the thought that this too will pass away and hope that Prosecutor Velasco’s fall is the last in the prosecution service,” Guevarra stressed in a statement.
“As we await for results of the investigation being conducted by police authorities and the NBI, let us remain hopeful that the truth will be revealed and the perpetrators be made to suffer the consequences of their treacherous acts,” he added. (Christopher Lloyd Caliwan/PNA)
