High court orders tight security for 15 justices

By Benjamin B. Pulta

07/04/2009

After a bomb explosion in front of the Office of the Ombudsman and the discovery of explosive devices in other government offices, it’s now the turn of the Supreme Court (SC) to tighten security on all of its 15 justices following the announcement of the death threats against Associate Justice Arturo Brion early this week.

SC spokesman lawyer Midas Marquez said this prompted them to increase the security detail issued to Justice Brion even as they had tightened the security for the 14 other magistrates of the high court.

He added security at the SC main office on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila was also doubled as the result of this threat.

Marquez confirmed that the Philippine National Police (PNP) is presently conducting a parallel investigation into the matter.

The investigation is aimed at determining who ordered and what was the motive of such "death threats" on the SC justice.

Reports indicated the threat against Justice Brion stemmed from the SC’s affirmation of the conviction of a drug dealer who is now languishing at the New Bilibid Prisons (NBP).

It also stated that a lawyer-informant informed the SC about such "death threats" in the last week of May this year which was also tackled in the SC en banc session.

Marquez said the SC cannot just take the death threats "sitting down" and said the death threats could be connected to a drug conviction affirmed by the SC .

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