Still no suspect, motive in Zamboanga judge slay

ZAMBOANGA CITY, Zamboanga del Sur, Philippines — On the day he was felled down by an assassin’s bullets, Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Reymar Lacaya of Liloy town in Zamboanga del Norte had just came from a very tight trial schedule.

Police Capt. Gregorio Bongolan, Liloy police chief, said Lacaya, 62, was about to leave the courthouse in the afternoon of May 9 after hearing over 17 cases in RTC Branch 28 when a lone gunman approached him and pumped two bullets into his head.

“He came from a very busy court schedule, 17 cases and majority related to drugs, rape, illegal possession of firearms, car theft, robbery, homicide. The last was a rape case, before he concluded his day,” Bongolan said.

Hard time

The Liloy police had yet to identify the people or groups behind Lacaya’s murder, said Bongolan.

“We are having [a] hard time determining the particular motive of his killing. We are looking at many angles,” Bongolan said.

Police said Lacaya had just left his sala at 3 p.m. and was accompanied by court guard Nathaniel Antido to his vehicle. Investigators said Lacaya would usually leave the court at that time to go home to Sindangan town, about 57 kilometers from Liloy or about an hour and a half drive by car. The judge drove his own car and travelled alone.

But Lacaya forgot some documents in his office and asked Antido to get them.

Antido was on his way to the court building when he heard two gunshots. He hurried back to check on Lacaya but found the judge lying on the ground beside his car, covered in blood. Bongolan said the judge was shot twice on the right part of his face.

Liloy assignment

Lacaya died while being taken by court employees to Liloy Integrated Health District Hospital.

While the police had yet to determine the motive of the killing, a friend of the judge, who asked not to be named for safety reasons, said Lacaya’s family had earlier objected to his assignment in Liloy. Lacaya was RTC judge in Sindangan prior to his assignment in Liloy.

“There are so many drug cases in Liloy and we were told, Reymar (Lacaya) started opening up those cases,” the friend said.

Humble

He described Lacaya as a person who could not even harm a bug.

“He was kind; I never saw him get angry. He maintained a very low profile in the community,” he said.

Wilfredo Jay Balisado, another friend and the regional Commission on Elections director assigned in Cagayan de Oro City, said Lacaya had remained humble despite his stature in the community.

“He was down to earth, very humble and was someone willing to listen when you have something to say,” he said. —Julie Alipala