Retired judge tagged in 2019 murder of Zamboanga judge nabbed

MANILA, Philippines — A retired judge was arrested by agents of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for his alleged involvement in the May 2019 murder of another judge in Zamboanga, the Supreme Court’s Office of the Court Administrator said on Saturday.

In a text message to reporters, Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez said he informed Supreme Court Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta that NBI agents nabbed retired Judge Oscar Tomarong who was involved in the murder of Zamboanga Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 28 Judge Reymar Lacaya.

Tomarong was also a former agent of the NBI, Marquez added.

Tomarong applied for optional retirement after Lacaya was killed inside the court’s premises, Marquez said.

Marquez also noted that “applications for optional retirements are normally approved without prejudice to outcome of administrative cases, if judge has any.”

Lacaya was fatally shot twice in the face by suspects on board a motorcycle at the premises of the Zamboanga RTC.

On Sept. 2, 2019, the NBI arrested  Juliver Cabating, who was identified as one of the suspects in the killing. Cabating was Tomarong’s errand boy.

Tomarong, meanwhile, became a person of interest in Lacaya’s killing because of his link to Cabating.

/MUF