Environmental lawyer

murdered in Bohol
Agence France Presse
Posted at Feb 17 2017 05:13 PM

MANILA - A Philippine lawyer who specialized in investigating crimes against

the environment has been ambushed and shot dead, police said Friday.
The murder on Wednesday of Mia Manuelita Mascarinas-Green deepened
concerns that the Philippines is one of the world's most dangerous places for
environmental campaigners, with more than 100 killed over the past 15 years.

33 environmental activists killed in PH in 2015: report

Four motorcycle-riding gunmen opened fire after surrounding a van being

driven by Mascarinas-Green -- with her children and nanny in the vehicle --
near her home on the central island of Bohol, the authorities said.
Mascarinas-Green was pronounced dead at a hospital but her children were
unharmed, regional police spokesman Senior Inspector Reslin Abella told
AFP.
"The victim is a known environmental lawyer. Investigators are checking
whether the attack had any link to the cases she had handled in relation to
environmental issues," Abella told AFP by telephone.
"They now have the identity of at least one of the perpetrators and a hot
pursuit operation is ongoing," she said without naming the suspect.
Abella said police were at the moment unaware if Mascarinas-Green had
been threatened previously in relation to her work.
Her children are twins, aged two, and a 10-year-old daughter, according to
local media reports.
Her death brings to 112 the number of environmental campaigners murdered
in the Philippines over the past 15 years, according to Filipino environment
monitor Kalikasan.
This includes 12 since President Rodrigo Duterte took office seven months
ago, Kalikasan said.
"Most of these cases remain unresolved as the government continues to
ignore the threat against environmental defenders," Clemente Bautista, its
national coordinator told AFP.
"What this means is that the perpetrators are emboldened to do it again and
again because no one ever gets caught."
Greenpeace Southeast Asia executive director Yeb Sano also said the killing
highlighted the culture of impunity in the Philippines, where powerful figures
abuse a corrupt political and justice system to literally get away with murder.
"Those who cause environmental destruction are resorting to savage
measures and deplorable acts to stop communities and people who are
standing up to protect our imperilled environment," Sano said.
Environmental monitor Global Witness separately lists 88 killings of
environmental activists and workers in the Philippines between 2010 and
2015.
The attacks spiked with 33 dead in 2015, ranking the Philippines as the
second most dangerous country in the world for environmental campaigners
behind Brazil.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/news/02/17/17/environmental-lawyer-murdered-in-bohol

Lawyer, pal slain in Manila

By Rey Galupo (The Philippine Star) | Updated June 3, 2017 - 12:00am
Crime scene investigators examine the bodies of lawyer Elmer Mitra and Alvin Cruzin in Paco, Manila Thursday
night. EDD GUMBAN

MANILA, Philippines - A lawyer and his companion were shot dead in Manila Thursday night.

Elmer Mitra Jr., 38; Alvin Cruzin, 43, and a still unidentified companion were cruising in a gray BMW (XDX-993)
at the corner of Perez and Belen streets just before 10 p.m. when shots were fired inside the vehicle.

The car skidded before hitting the gutter and turning over, witnesses said.

Closed-circuit television footage showed a man crawling out of the car from the backseat, then running toward
Apacible street.

Police officers said the man now considered the main suspect was wearing a blue T-shirt and cargo pants.
He was of medium build and at least 59 tall, they said.

Probers recovered four spent shells from a 9mm pistol, six bullets and a 9mm pistol with serial number
Z04575.

Nation ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

The victims identification cards were found in a brown bag.

Mitra is a son of former Pasay City prosecutor Elmer Mitra.

http://www.philstar.com/metro/2017/06/03/1706108/lawyer-pal-slain-manila
Victims came from rob case hearing:
Lawyer, two staff slain in ambush
By Bryner Diaz, Judy F. Partlow, Mylen P. Manto (The Freeman) | Updated February 19, 2014 - 12:00am

googleplus

The body of lawyer Noel Archival lies in the backseat of his SUV (above) which was peppered with bullets in
Barangay Corro, Dalaguete town yesterday. Police say his vehicle (left) was shot at more than 30
times. REYNAN VILLENA

CEBU, Philippines - A prominent lawyer and two of his staff were killed after they were ambushed in Dalaguete
town, Cebu, yesterday afternoon.

Noel Archival and one of his staff, Candido Mioza, were killed on the spot after the Ford Escape (YGE 240)
they were riding was ambushed in Barangay Coro, Dalaguete, past 1p.m. yesterday. Another of Archival's staff
Alejandro Jayme died hours later and Paulo Cortez is still in critical condition.

Archival was returning to Cebu City from a hearing in Dumaguete City Tuesday where he represented Jesuslou
Elcarte Alegria, the alleged mastermind behind the robbery of a pawnshop in Dumaguete last year, at the
Regional Trial Court Branch 38 in Dumaguete City.

Alegria, 42, a resident of Pagadian City, Zamboanga del Sur, was arrested after he and several other
accomplices still at large, allegedly robbed the Agencia Belen Pawnshop in downtown Dumaguete and
escaped with around P5 million in jewelry last year.
The stolen items were later recovered but only Alegria was arrested.

RTC Branch 38 presiding judge Cenon Repollo told reporters that the court proceedings against Alegria in
relation to the robbery was the first of a series. A continuation of the hearing was supposedly scheduled on
Wednesday; however, it was cancelled as Archival was reportedly set for another court appearance in
Camiguin.

Freeman ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch:

Dumaguete City police chief Supt. James Goforth confirmed Archival has been to Dumaguete a number of
times to represent Alegria, and previously, a certain Mark Lorenz Solon, a suspected big-time drug pusher who
was arrested last December.

Solon and Adams Guivelondo Cuevas, 50, of Barangay Batinguel, Dumaguete, were arrested during a buy-
bust operation. They were found with shabu, a hand grenade, and drug paraphernalia.

However, Solon reportedly terminated the services of Archival, Goforth said.

Both Alegria and Solon are currently inmates at the Dumaguete City Detention and Rehabilitation Center in
Barangay Bajumpandan.

Goforth said he believes the ambush is most probably related to his job, considering that he is handling high-
profile cases.

Ambush

Dalaguete police chief Insp. Rico Emperwa said Cortez' reported that when they passed Corro, a red Toyota
Hi-Lux went ahead of them and a black Toyota Hi-Lux tailed them before the ambush. The red vehicle would
not let them overtake and the black one kept driving up close behind them.

After several failed attempts to box them in, Cortez said the black vehicle drove up alongside them and
unidentified men inside the vehicle fired at Archival's SUV repeatedly, hitting all four of them.

Archival, who was seated at the right side at the backseat suffered gunshot wounds to the head and torso.
Mioza, sitting the right front seat, was hit in the back and different parts of his body.

Emperwa said the vehicle still rolled on even after Jayme, the driver, had been shot. It went on about 29 meters
before stopping with the engine is still running. The red and black vehicles never stopped and went on their
way.

Police said that the SUV had 31 bullet holes, they also recovered two M16 rifle slugs from the crime scene.

Almost P40,000 cash was recovered from the lawyer's pocket. Police also recovered a loaded 9mm pistol
registered under Archival under the driver's seat.

The victim's brother, Cebu City Councilor Nestor Archival, who was able to come to the scene, could only say
"My God" after seeing what happened. He told policemen he wants a speedy investigation into the killing.

Cebu lawyers condemn killing

Mae Elaine Bathan, president of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines Cebu City Chapter said she was
saddened by the news.
"I am saddened by this news as Atty. Archival is a respectful colleague in our profession and known as a jolly
person in and out of our court. This is not the first time that this has happened to a fellow lawyer and the IBP
Cebu City Chapter strongly condemns such ruthless killing," she said, adding they are calling the PNP to
expedite the investigation.

Former IBP Cebu City Chapter president Earl Bonachita said Archival was one of the most visible lawyers in
the courtrooms since he handled many cases. The act of killing was highly condemnable, he added.

Lawyers Filmore Gomos, Cornelio Mercado, Delfin Quilaquil and Cebu Provincial Prosecutor Pepita Jane
Petralba said yesterday was a sad day for the Law profession. They described Archival as a jolly person.

Quilaquil said both IBP chapters In Cebu will probably issue a resolution condemning the act of the killing.
Archival was a member of the IBP Cebu Province Chapter.

Cases handled

Archival was hired as legal counsel of former Dinagat Island Rep. Ruben Ecleo Jr. in his parricide case.
Although Ecleo was eventually convicted for killing his wife, Alona in 2002 by Judge Soliver Peras of Regional
Trial Court Branch 10, the legal battle is not yet over as they appealed the conviction.

Aside from being the legal counsel of Ecleo, Archival also handled other controversial cases like the Jaguar
KTV case and the one involving the killing of Nursing student Ruby Jade Ruba. /BRP (FREEMAN)

http://www.philstar.com/cebu-news/2014/02/19/1292075/victims-came-rob-case-hearing-lawyer-two-
staff-slain-ambush

Masked men gun down Pangasinan

lawyer
BALUNGAO, Pangasinan — Four ski-mask wearing men shot dead the chairman of the local
People’s Law Enforcement Board and wounded his wife while they were asleep in their farmhouse
in Barangay Angayan Sur here last Wednesday night, police said.

Senior Inspector Jeff Fanged, the town’s police chief, told The STAR that lawyer Carlo Magno
Uminga, 48, sustained multiple gunshot wounds, while his wife, Rosa Isabel, 55, was hit in the buttocks.

Police found 43 empty 5.56 mm shells and six empty shells from a US Carbine.

Fanged said they have two suspects who were made to undergo paraffin tests at the police crime
laboratory in Urdaneta City.
Mrs. Uminga said her husband’s killing might have something to do with the drug-related cases he
was handling.

Fanged said the incident was reported to the police after more than 30 minutes since the Umingas have
no neighbors and their farmhouse was isolated, about four kilometers away from the highway.

The farm’s caretaker, Liberty Fonacier, told police that she and the Uminga couple were lying on
the bamboo floor when they heard gun bursts, prompting them to cover themselves with blankets.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/331820/masked-men-gun-down-pangasinan-lawyer

Bacoor City civil registry official,

husband killed in ambush
BACOOR CITY, Cavite, June 14 (PNA) - The chief of Bacoor Citys Civil Registry Office and her
husband were waylaid Tuesday evening while on their way home in Las Pias City, police said
Wednesday.

In a police report from Las Pias City chief of police Senior Superintendent Marlon Balonglong to
Bacoor City police chief, Superintendent Christopher Olazo, it was said the two police stations are
now coordinating to track down and pursue manhunt operations for the two unidentified suspects.

The motive of the killing is being established in the investigation by Las Pias police in coordination
with Bacoor City police Station.

Supt. Olazo identified the victims as lawyer Dolores Yumol, 57 who was the head of Bacoor Civil
Registry Office and her husband Felipe Yumol, 53, an engineer whose residence is at 43 Circle
Drive, VAA Homes 2 in Barangay Talon 2, Las Pias City.

Bacoor City Mayor Lani Mercado-Revilla cancelled her Wednesday press conference after learning
of the incident and commiserated with the Yumol family members and kin.

Revilla was scheduled to discuss at the media gathering here for Bacoor Citys 5th Cityhood
Anniversary slated on June 23 when news of the ambush-slay reached her.

According to the report, a 19-year-old helper witnessed the shooting incident as the couple headed
towards their residence on board their white Toyota Altis with plate number ZJL 262.
Initial investigation based on the witness' account said the couple was traversing along Castillo
corner E. Trinidad Streets at the San Isidro Subdivision in Pamplona, Las Pias when two
unidentified suspects armed with small firearms emerged and suddenly opened fire.

The victims sustained gunshot wounds and were immediately rushed to University of Perpetual Help
Hospital by the Philippine Red Cross ambulance and rescue team.

The victims were declared dead on arrival by the attending physician Dr. Navarro due to several
gunshot wounds all over their bodies.

After the shooting incident, the two suspects sped off on board a motorcycle without plate number.

Scene of the crime operatives (SOCO) led by Police Chief Inspectors (PCI) Jayson Ermina and Jo-
Ivan Balberona conducted the technical aspects of the investigation.

They also recovered seven slugs of a Caliber 45 pistol and 14 empty shells of the same gun caliber.
(PNA)

http://www.pna.gov.ph/articles/995429

Lawyer of Albuera town mayor killed

in ambush
Metro Manila (CNN Philippines) The legal counsel of Albuera, Leyte
mayor and a teenage companion were killed in an ambush Tuesday
afternoon by still unknown assailants in the city's Barangay Lumbang 2.

Rogelio Bato, lawyer of Mayor Rolando Espinosa who had been named on
President Rodrigo Duterte's drug list, died due to multiple gunshot wounds.
An 18-year-old girl, who was a student in a city public school, was also
killed in the attack.

Police Sr. Supt. Rolando Bade, city police chief, said the two victims where
on a black Toyota Hilux owned by Atty. Bato when men on a white van
opened at them around 2 p.m.
Bade said witnesses told the police that the assailants' van bore no plate
numbers.

The police chief added that investigators were still finding out the motive
behind the attack as a manhunt operation had been launched against the
gunmen.

Bade said authorities still couldn't say if the assassination was related to
the illegal drug trade.

In a previous interview with Chief Supt. Elmer Beltejar, regional director for
Eastern Visayas, he said Bato was one of the personalities in the region
under investigation in relation to alleged links to the illegal drug trade.

Bato's client, Mayor Espinosa, had previously surrendered at Camp Crame

and had called on his son, Kerwin, to do the same to heed the President's
call against illegal drugs.

Related: Espinosa to possibly face charges despite surrender

Meanwhile, city mayor Cristina Romualdez, who rushed to the crime scene,
condemned the killing and called on authorities to bring the perpetrators to
justice.

http://cnnphilippines.com/regional/2016/08/23/Lawyer-Albuera-town-mayor-killed-ambush.html

Lawyer gunned down in front of kids in

Tagbilaran
A female lawyer was gunned down by two unidentified men on Wednesday in Tagbilaran City as she
was driving to her home in Loon together with her three children.

Manuelita Mascarias-Green, 49, succumbed to three bullet wounds to her head and four to the
body from .45 and 9mm caliber pistols during the attack at 4:30 p.m. at the corner of Zamora and J.A
Clarin Streets.

The victims children, 2-year-old twins and a 10-year-old, and house helper who were seated at
the backseat were unharmed, said Supt. Nicomedes Olaivar, Tagbilaran City police chief.

Green was rushed to the Holy Name Hospital where she died shortly after arriving.
Following the incident, Olaivar launched a manhunt against the gunmen who immediately fled
towards Corella on board a motorcycle after shooting Green.

More than 20 spent shells from .45 caliber and 9mm pistols were collected from the crime scene, said
Olaivar.

Tagbilaran policemen have not yet pinpointed the motive behind the murder case, but noted that
Greens killing could have been job related.

Meanwhile, police in Corella were alerted to keep watch against the suspects who were reportedly
headed towards the town. (Weli Maestrado)

http://www.boholchronicle.com.ph/2017/02/16/lawyer-gunned-down-in-front-of-kids-in-tagbilaran/

Oquendo daughter
lawyers for murdered
father and sister
MANILA, Philippines - The beginning of each day of the Ampatuan trial is a
reckoning of the dead. The prosecutions many lawyers stand, one at a time,
announcing their names and the names of the victims they represent.

Among those speaking in the entry of appearance is Atty. Maria Gemma

Oquendo, now standing for her father and sister in the murder trial against
Datu Unsay Mayor Andal Ampatuan Jr.

Catalino Oquendo Jr. and Atty. Cynthia Oquendo-Ayon were two of 57 found
massacred in Ampatuan, Maguindanao on November 23, 2009.

It is difficult for Gemma to be in court, sitting across the aisle from the man
she believes murdered her father and sister.

Catalino Oquendo, a former municipal treasurer, had completed his law

degree but never managed to take the bar. When his daughters Cynthia and
Gemma decided to become lawyers, it was a continuation of Catalinos
dream.

We all dreamed together, says Gemma in Filipino. When we passed the

bar, it was as if his dreams came true too.

Gemma is 33, one of seven Oquendo children. The entire family is based in
Polomok, South Cotabato. Cynthia, one of two women lawyers for the
Mangudadatu family, was 35 when she was killed. Catalino was 75.

It was always the three of us. We thought together, worked together.

The day before either sister would attend a hearing, Catalino would offer a law
book, an article, a case study for his daughter to read. It would help in the
case, he would say. He took it upon himself to accompany his daughters to
hearings, driving them to court even for simple motions.

He was with Cynthia in an L300 van on that Monday morning, part of a convoy
of seven vehicles.

He wanted to make sure Cynthia would be safe.

His 73-year-old wife, a former election officer, initially planned to go with her
daughter. The filing of Esmael Toto Mangudadatus certificate of candidacy
for governor of Maguindanao had been discussed among the Oquendos for
more than two weeks.

When the massacre happened, Gemma wanted to give up law. She could not
imagine practicing without her father and sister beside her.

I wanted to stop, maybe be a farmer instead. My mother told me not to be

sentimental.

It was her mother who told her that both father and sister would be
disappointed if Gemma stopped being what she was, a lawyer.

Sometimes, in court, I forget that Im standing for them, not with them.

On January 20, the third day of Andal Ampatuan Jr.s bail hearing, Atty. Maria
Gemma J. Oquendo, counsel for the heirs of the late Cynthia Oquendo-Ayon
and Catalino Oquendo Jr., will take her place again on the prosecution
bench.

http://news.abs-cbn.com/anc/01/15/10/oquendo-daughter-lawyers-murdered-father-and-sister

Ambushed La Union board member bet

dies
SAN FERNANDO, La Union, Philippines An independent candidate for provincial board member in the
second district of La Union who was shot in his office in Agoo, La Union on Monday morning died
yesterday at the Lorma Medical Center (LMC) here due to severe wounds in the abdomen.

Chief Inspector Artemio Infante, Agoo police chief, told The STAR that lawyer Lazaro Gayo, 62, also a
former vice mayor of Tubao town, died at around noontime while undergoing treatment.

Gayo was in his law office when his assailant barged in and shot him several times in the back with a .45-
caliber pistol.

He was first brought to the La Union Medical Center in Agoo town but was later transferred to LMC.

Police were looking into politics and job-related motives behind the killing.

The gunman escaped toward the north onboard a red motorcycle. Recovered from the crime scene were
three empty .45-caliber shells.

Nation ( Article MRec ), pagematch: 1, sectionmatch: 1

Gayos ambush happened barely a week after the killing of Rodolfo Estoque, a councilman of Barangay
Leones West also in Tubao town, by motorcycle-riding men.

Superintendent Ramon Purugganan, La Union police director, and other law enforcement units have
already declared Tubao and Agoo towns election hotspots or areas of immediate concern.
Augmentation forces have been sent to the two towns.

Tubao Mayor Dante Garcia condemned Gayos killing and other attacks in the municipality.

Let the police conclude the investigation on these incidents. I dont want these things happening with my
innocent constituents, said Garcia who himself survived an ambush recently.

http://www.philstar.com/nation/2012/10/31/861888/ambushed-la-union-board-member-bet-dies
LP councilor in Batangas shot dead
BATANGAS - A 64-year-old incumbent Liberal Party (LP) councilor was gunned down in
Tanauan City Friday evening or 3 days before election day, police said.
Tanauan City Mayor Thony Halili identified the victim as Atty. Epimaco "Peming"
Magpantay, a resident of Barangay Pantay Matanda, Tanauan City.
According to a police report, Magpantay was attending a meeting with a tricycle
operators and drivers association (TODA) in Barangay Darasa when a gunman
approached him from behind and repeatedly shot him at around 7 p.m.
Magpantay's driver-bodyguard Joel Garcia was also hit in the legs when he tried to help
his boss.
Witnesses said the two were rushed to Daniel Mercado Medical Center, but Magpantay
died as doctors tried to revive him at the emergency room.
Garcia, meanwhile, is now recuperating and has been declared out of danger.
The gunman and his motorcycle-riding cohort fled after the incident.
Police suspect that politics was behind the killing.
Magpantay was running for his last term as a city councilor.
http://news.abs-cbn.com/halalan2016/nation/regions/05/07/16/lp-councilor-in-batangas-shot-dead

Olongapo lawyer shot

dead
OLONGAPO CITY, Philippines - A lawyer handling the case of rogue Olongapo cops
who kidnapped and extorted money from relatives of teen actor Jake Vargas was shot
dead Saturday night, May 18, in front of his house.

Authorities told Rappler that a lone gunman shot lawyer Ian Vela Cruz, married and with
two children, thrice -- once in the head. Another man served as a lookout. The gunman
later boarded a black Yamaha Mio motorcycle that was driven by an unidentified
accomplice.

Vela Cruz was a resident of 25-C East Bajac Bajac village. He was shot in front of his
house at 845 pm Saturday. The victim, who had just come from a nearby Iglesia ni
Cristo chapel, was taken to the St. Jude hospital in this city where he was pronounced
dead on arrival.
A source in the law office where Vela Cruz worked told Rappler that the lawyer had
been working on a case filed by relatives of teen actor Jake Vargas who were
kidnapped by at least 5 rogue Olongapo cops last year.

The relatives of Vargas filed a case of kidnapping and extortion against the 5 Olongapo
cops after the actor's brother and sister-in-law were abducted by the cops and then
released after being paid P200,000.

Vargas' relatives said the cops forcibly entered their home, falsely accused them of
holding a pot session and extorted money from them. - Rappler.com

http://www.rappler.com/nation/29558-olongapo-lawyer-shot-dead

Lawyer gunned down by

cops in Antique
MANILA A lawyer was gunned down after figuring in an altercation with the
neighbor of his client in Barangay Puao in Hamtic, Antique on Saturday.
Investigations revealed that Atty. John Mark Espera, 39, came from a meeting
with his client when he bumped into the latters neighbor, Virgilio Suarez.
Espera was then with his bodyguard Romeo Gaslao.
Suarez challenged Espera to a fistfight when Suarezs siblings, police officers
Jose Suarez and Raymond Suarez, arrived and saw the two fighting.
Jose and Raymond then fired at Espera using a 9mm pistol when they
thought that their brother was aggrieved.
Espera sustained wounds which led to his death, while Gaslao was able to
escape and is now under the custody of the Philippine National Police.
Following the incident, authorities said there were also reports that residents
heard more gunshots inside the house of the suspects mother.
SOCO agents recovered an empty shell of a 12 gauge shotgun and 10 empty
shells of an M16 armalite rifle from the area.
Jose immediately surrendered to the police after the crime bringing with him
the 5.56 millimeter baby armalite with 10 magazines and a 9mm pistol which
was his issued firearm. Police have yet to capture Virgilio and Raymond.
Henry Luma, chief of the Hamtic Police, said it is possible that the Suarez
family and Espera have a long-standing feud. from a report by Kenneth
Ladigohon, ABS-CBN News Iloilo
http://news.abs-cbn.com/nation/regions/09/01/13/lawyer-gunned-down-cops-antique