2 lawyers killed in Pangasinan, Rizal; IBP condemns slays

MANILA, Philippines — Two lawyers were killed in separate incidents in Pangasinan and Rizal provinces on Friday.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) condemned the murders of lawyers Val Crisostomo of the IBP-Pangasinan chapter and Adilberto Golla Jr. of the IBP-Manila IV chapter.

In a statement, IBP executive vice president and incoming president-elect Domingo Egon Cayosa said the organization hoped the killers of the two lawyers would be apprehended soon.

“We sympathize with their families and loved ones. IBP will cooperate with the authorities to determine and apprehend their killers and make them accountable,” Cayosa said.

Golla, 45, died after being shot repeatedly while inside his vehicle at Eastwood Greenview Subdivision in Barangay San Isidro, Rodriguez, Rizal.

Globaltech lawyer

Crisostomo, on the other hand, was standing across the the Dagupan City Hall Of Justice when he was shot by a gunman who fled on a motorcyle. The lawyer was rushed to a hospital but was pronounced dead upon arrival.

Crisostomo was the legal counsel of Globaltech Mobile Online Corp., the operator of the Peryahan ng Bayan (PNB) numbers game, which is currently embroiled in a legal dispute with the Philippine Charity Sweepstakes Office.

The incoming IBP chief lamented there was no reason for lawyers in the line of duty to suffer violent deaths.

Globaltech likewise condemned the brazen attack on Crisostomo, one of their lawyers, who was on his way to court.

Cases vs NBI agents

“We condemn in the strongest terms this cold-blooded murder in broad daylight of our lawyer who was merely doing his job,” said lawyer Bernard Vitriolo, Globaltech head for legal, in a statement.

Vitriolo said that Crisostomo was attending to the criminal and civil cases filed against several agents of the National Bureau of Investigation who illegally raided and arrested their personnel involved in PNB startup operations in Pangasinan.

Globaltech called on authorities to identify and arrest the killers and masterminds behind cold-blooded murder of their lawyer in Pangasinan.

Vitriolo said that Crisostomo’s murder was very likely connected to their efforts to start up PNB operations in Pangasinan. —Jerome Aning