Killed in broad daylight – but still no case progress

More than a month has passed since the brutal assassination of Manila’s chief inquest prosecutor, which took place last July 7 at 11:05 a.m. The culprits have not been identified. The longer the criminals roam free, the greater the chances for them to evade justice for good.

While this crime took place during the height of the pandemic, the circumstances (almost noontime, amid traffic, with checkpoints nearby) warrant a speedy investigation into the crime and the prosecution of the killers. Indications are that the crime was perpetrated by professional killers involved with criminal syndicates, and possibly with connections to high officials.

How could they have dared to commit the crime in broad daylight, amid traffic and in the presence of passersby? How could they have had a number of cars involved in the execution of the plot, with the black van’s false plate number seen by witnesses and on CCTV, and yet not even one of the cars was apprehended at the checkpoints after the crime? How could they have had access to a high-powered M14, the murder weapon, if they were not well-connected? And why would they want to eliminate the late Fiscal Jovencio Senados? Because he could not be bought and bribed?

Please, do not let Fiscal Senados simply be the 50th entry in the list of judges, fiscals, and lawyers who have been murdered these recent years, leaving our justice system in shambles. Please, do not let the remaining trust of our law-abiding citizens in our justice institutions be shattered. Please end this “culture of impunity.” Please heed the just lament of the family of the late Fiscal Senados, especially of his inconsolable wife Bobbette Martinez Senados, who is still in shock at the brazen murder of her husband.

Justice for the late Fiscal Jovencio A. Senados!

Benny Q. Baisas, OFM (in the name of friends of Jovencio A. Senados)