BUTUAN CITY , Philippines – A task force has been formed to look into the killing of Judge Godofredo Abul Jr. and wounding of his wife Bernadita in an attack at their home in this city on Saturday.
The task force will be composed of officers from the Caraga police crime laboratory, scene of the crime office and Department of Justice, according to regional police director Chief Superintendent Rolando Felix.
“The task force will help the city police solve the killing,” Felix said.
Meanwhile, the Supreme Court condemned the killing of Abul and urged law enforcement agencies to speed up the investigation and arrest the assailants.
Senate President Aquilino Pimentel III also condemned the killing and described it as an insult to the Philippine National Police, noting the attack occurred at the victim’s residence in Barangay Tiniwisan.
Abul and his wife had just boarded a sport utility vehicle in their garage when the assailant entered through the open gate at around 10:15 a.m.
The assailant fired at the couple before fleeing on a motorcycle driven by another man.
Witnesses said the gunman was wearing a black T-shirt, a bull cap and a pair of denim pants.
Abul died from several gunshot wounds in the body and head, while his wife was taken to a hospital for treatment.
The judge was suspended for six months in February in connection with an extortion case filed by a Catholic priest whose relative is facing drug charges. – With Edu Punay, Paolo Romero