DAVAO CITY (March 25) — The brothers of murdered lawyer Rex Jasper Lopoz said their brother was a victim of the Duterte administration’s extrajudicial killings.
Lopoz was murdered by still unknown gunman inside the vicinity of City Mall shopping center along the Davao-Butuan highway in Visayan Village , Tagum City, Davao del Norte, at about 7:21 p.m. on March 13.
A week after he was buried, the family has yet to get a significant development on the case.
“Until now wala pa jud,” says his brother Atty. Jaime Lopoz Jr. in an interview with NewsLine.ph.
Lopoz’ older brothers, Jaime and Dexter who are also lawyers claim Rex was murdered and a victim of EJK.
The family wants justice to be served, saying he didn’t deserve to die.
Senior Insp. Anjanette Tirador, Tagum City police spokesperson said, Lopoz was moving towards his vehicle form the mall when he suddenly fell to the ground.
The family hinted Lopoz’ was a victim of the administration’s war on drugs.
Atty. Dexter, the older brother of the victim on a Facebook post stated his brother was not a saint ” He had his failings. Killed in the Duterte Drug War. Summarily KILLED. Again, by riding-in-tandem killers. I want to curse! I want to shout! But I won’t give them EJK enablers the satisfaction that they’d get by my cussing and cursing and even my grammatical mistakes. I’ll take comfort in knowing these people won’t be in power forever. There will be a reckoning. HINDI LAHAT NG ARAW PASKO! My heart breaks. And, I curse ALL of you EJK enablers and supporters!. “
There are reports however, which indicated that the gunman was onboard a Toyota Innova.
His driver identified as Danny Santos told investigators, he thought Lopoz just collapsed due to heart attack and immediately brought him to he nearby hospital, but he was declared dead upon arrival.
A mall security guard allegedly heard a single gunshot and saw the victim fell.
The victim, according to his brother Atty. Lopoz Jr., was legal counsel to political detainees and was also handling drug-related cases.
Davao del Norte Provincial Police Commander Police Senior Superintendent Ferlu Silvio told NewsLine.ph “I already ordered the Tagum City Police to conduct a thorough investigation on the matter.”
Atty. Jaime Lopoz said he already requested the police to provide the a CCTV of the area where his brother was gunned down.
In a statement, IBP national president Abdiel Dan Elijah S. Fajardo reiterated their concern over the deaths of lawyers in recent months.
“We call on the police and investigative authorities to solve these cases with a real sense of duty and competent dispatch,” Fajardo said.
The group noted that Lopoz’s killing closely follows the assassination of Prosecutor Mary Ann Castro in Cebu City last January 17 and the abduction of lawyer Alwyn Mendoza in Nueva Ecija last February 23, 2019.
The IBP renewed its call for the Supreme Court to initiate an investigation into all the killings of Filipino lawyers by convening a dialogue among the SC, the IBP, state security forces and other relevant organizations, for the parties to engage in open and constructive discussion on ensuring the safety and security of lawyers.-Editha Z. Caduaya/NewsLine.ph
