P2-million bounty offered as PNP intensifies manhunt for gunmen who killed Basilan RTC Judge Joseph Wee Sit
Zamboanga City Mayor Khymer Olaso has offered a P2-million reward from his own pocket for any information that would lead to the arrest of the gunmen who killed Basilan Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Joseph Wee Sit.
Based on the report of GMA News, Olaso strongly condemned the killing, calling it a heinous crime, and said he had already coordinated with the Philippine National Police (PNP) on the case.
Wee Sit, 38, the presiding judge of RTC Branch 2 in Isabela City, Basilan, was driving his red sports utility vehicle along Tumaga-Putik Road in Barangay Tumaga at around 5:25 a.m. on Thursday, November 12, when two men on a white motorcycle allegedly approached and fired at him.
The suspects reportedly fled toward Tumaga Bypass Road. The judge was rushed to the hospital but was declared dead on arrival. According to the initial PNP report cited by Inquirer, he sustained six gunshot wounds.
Authorities later recovered the motorcycle allegedly used in the attack, which was reportedly left in the Cawit-Maasin area of Barangay Maasin. The PNP also formed a Special Investigation Task Group (SITG) to handle the case.
PNP chief Gen. Jose Melencio Nartatez Jr. vowed to use all available resources to catch the suspects.
“An attack on any member of the judiciary is an assault on the very institution that upholds justice and the rule of law,” Nartatez said.
The Philippine Trial Judges League Inc. also condemned the killing and urged the PNP, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), and the Office of the Judiciary Marshals to go after both the gunmen and the masterminds, as reported by Inquirer. The group called the attack “a direct, cowardly attack on the independence of the judiciary.“
Basilan Vice Gov. Hadjiman Salliman likewise demanded justice, telling reporters, “We want his killers identified and prosecuted to the fullest extent of law,” according to Philstar.com.
Mayor Olaso appealed to residents, especially those who witnessed the shooting or know anything about the suspects, to come forward and help the authorities as the manhunt continues.
In a previous post, Basilan RTC Judge Joseph Wee Sit Killed in Ambush in Zamboanga City
