Lawyer killed inside office
DUMAGUETE CITY—A Dumaguete lawyer succumbed to bullet wounds Friday afternoon some three hours after he was shot by a still unidentified suspect inside his office here at 11 a.m.
Lawyer Archer Baldwin R. Martinez, 48, was shot thrice in the chest and was rushed to Holy Child Hospital where doctors later pronounced him dead.
The motive for the shooting is still undetermined.
Lawyer Cynthia Sulit-Portugaleza, Martinez’s law partner, said she was attending to three clients in their office at the second floor of the Leq Tak Building located at corner San Jose and Sta. Catalina Streets when she heard loud explosions. Portugaleza said her table was hidden from Martinez’s view by a divider.
“We heard three very loud blasts. We did not know where the sound came from, and neither did we know it was gunfire but everyone ducked for cover,” Portugaleza said.
It took about 10 minutes before they noticed that Martinez was already slumped on his desk. “That was when we learned that the gunshots came from inside our office and that it was Martinez who was shot,” Portugaleza said.
Martinez was taken to the hospital by his secretary, Vincenzo Galera, and a traffic aide.
Portugaleza said she did not know if Martinez had been handling a sensitive case.
Lawyer Raymund Mercado, past governor of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) in West Visayas, said he, too, was unaware of cases that Martinez was handling which could have endangered his life.
“What I know is that he handled many cases and had clients from distant places, like Guihulngan City,” Mercado said. Guihulngan City is 116 kilometers north of Dumaguete.
Senior Supt. Rey Lyndon Lawas, Negros Oriental PNP chief, said they recovered three shells of a .45-cal. pistol and two live bullets at the crime scene.
The police have launched a manhunt for the suspect, who, witnesses said, was wearing a dark baseball cap and a white T-shirt.
Martinez taught at the Foundation University College of Law and was the incumbent vice president of the IBP Negros Oriental Chapter. He was also past president of the Rotary Club of Dumaguete South.
