Supreme Court looking for persons to lead judiciary marshal office

Once the Supreme Court has found the right person to head the newly created Office of the Judiciary Marshals, it will immediately move to investigate unsolved killings of judges.

This was revealed by Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo during yesterday's Kapihan sa Manila Bay, where he said the High Court is now vetting persons for the position of Chief Marshal, one who is preferably a lawyer and a former or retired high-ranking officer of the Philippine National Police or the Armed Forces of the Philippines or the National Bureau of Investigation.

Gesmundo said the soon-to-be established Office of the Judiciary Marshals will look into the unsolved killings of more than 30 judges killed since 1999.

Associate Justice Jose Midas Marquez, who is supervising the formation of the OJM, said the body is likely to be activated within the first quarter of 2023.

"Once we are able to create, even at the initial creation of the Office of the Judiciary Marshals and once we already have investigators, we will have these killings looked into. Right now, I think we have around 33 or 34 judges killed while in service," said Marquez.

"We will request the judiciary marshals to review all the cases of these judges because we cannot just let this go unresolved," he added.

Out of the 33 or 34 cases of judges killed, Marquez said less than 10 percent have been resolved, and in some of these cases the masterminds were not arrested or charged.

The chief magistrate said the judiciary marshals are intended to provide security and ensure the safety and protection of the members, officials, personnel, and property of the judiciary, including the integrity of the courts of their proceedings.

Republic Act No. 11691 or the Judiciary Marshals Act was signed into law last April.

The law allows the creation of the OJM to address killings and other forms of violence committed against members of the judiciary.

The creation of the OJM, patterned after the US Marshal system, was the brainchild of retired Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta.

The Office of the Judiciary Marshals shall conduct threat assessments, investigations, and forensic analyses of crimes and threats committed against judiciary members and court properties.

Also, it will investigate alleged corruption committed by justices, judges, and other court officials as directed by the Supreme Court.

It shall have concurrent jurisdiction with other law enforcement agencies to undertake investigations of crimes and other offenses committed against justices, judges, court officials and personnel, halls of justice, courthouses, and other court properties.

Per the SC, the OJM's operations have a P50 million budget allotment.

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