Slain lawyer Anthony Trinidad. CONTRIBUTED PHOTO
MANILA, Philippines—President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered a thorough investigation into the killing of lawyer Anthony Trinidad, who was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in an ambush in Guihulngan City in the province of Negros Oriental.
“PRRD (Duterte) has already ordered a thorough probe on the incident to determine who these perpetrators are and to ascertain the motive of the ambush,” Duterte’s spokesman Salvador Panelo said in a statement Thursday.
Trinidad, who had been tagged as a supporter of communist rebels on Negros Island, was driving his white SUV when the assailants aboard a motorcycle shot him and his wife Novie Marie.
The couple was rushed to the Guihulngan District Hospital, but Trinidad was declared dead on arrival.
Malacañang condemned the assault and vowed to prosecute Trinidad’s killers.
“We will prosecute these killers and ensure that they will face the appropriate punishment for such criminal act as we commit to deliver justice not just for the family of Atty. Trinidad but for the entire Filipino community,” Panelo said./ac