Mindanao prosecutors vow to pursue high-profile cases

CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY, Philippines – The shooting of Lanao del Norte provincial prosecutor Macadatar Marsangca Wednesday morning will not deter the Department of Justice (DOJ) here from pursuing high-profile cases, regional state prosecutor for Northern Mindanao Jaime Umpa said yesterday.

Unfazed by Marsangca’s death, Umpa said the prosecutors will not be cowered from handling sensitive cases.

He said threats or attempts on the prosecutor’s life is just part of the job but it doesn’t mean that they should stop working on the cases being assigned to them.

“Our prosecutors are capable of handling all kinds of cases. But they should be always mindful of any threat on their lives,” Umpa said.

Umpa said his advice to the prosecutors is to endorse a case to him if the parties involved in a case would resort to violence, and he in turn would decide if there’s a need to elevate it to the DOJ office in Manila.

“I can do that (elevation of cases), but only under extreme conditions to avoid clogging up the DOJ central office,” Umpa said.  

He said he thinks the perpetrators could be anyone of the lawless groups operating near, or within Lanao whose cases Marsangca may have had handled.

“His (Marsangca) is a great loss to the prosecution. He was an honest and trustworthy man,” Umpa told The Star yesterday.

Marsangca, Umpa said, was one of the most trusted chief of prosecutors under his leadership.

Umpa said even the cases he had handled would require him with bodyguards he refused to be escorted.

“He was a religious person. That’s why he was not afraid to die,” he said.

Umpa said his office has fully cooperated with the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) by providing them with the necessary information.

Meanwhile, the Iligan City police said they have learned that Marsangca, prior to his death, had received threats but did not report it to authorities.

It appeared that Marsangca just kept the death threats to himself, police said.

A task force, organized by law enforcement agencies in Iligan, was organized Wednesday to investigate Marsangca’s murder.