MANILA, Philippines – Chief Justice Renato C. Corona led Sunday the entire judiciary in launching a fund-raising drive to assist the families of slain judges.

As this developed, the Supreme Court (SC) scored the continued refusal of the Commission on Elections (Comelec) to grant gun ban exemptions to judges during election periods.

The fund-raising drive kicked off with a fun run which started and ended at the SC Building on Padre Faura Street in Ermita, Manila Sunday morning.

Dubbed as “Fun Takbo sa Kaarawan ng Punong Mahistrado,” the benefit 1-kilometer, 3-kilometer and 5-kilometer runs also commemorate the 62nd birth anniversary of Chief Justice Corona.

It was attended by some 1,500 justices and judges as well as the families of slain judges who received the proceeds of the fun run from the Chief Justice himself.

Court Administrator and SC Spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said they could not determine the total amount of the proceeds yet because “we’ll still be collecting pledges this week.”

Marquez said the fund-raising event was also an opportunity for the SC to reiterate its appeal for Comelec to exempt judges from the election gun ban.

He said the Comelec’s continued refusal to grant the exemption “is not helping the situation” as it makes it “easier for assassins to consummate their crimes.”

Marquez argued that judges should be distinguished from other gun ban exemption applicants “simply because they are charged with a different responsibility, and that is to decide significant life-altering, if not life and death, cases or property lawsuits involving large sums of money.”

Records showed that eight judges have already been murdered during the last five elections.

In the 2001 legislative and local elections, Judges Hassan Ibnohajil and Eduardo Geminiano brutally met their deaths on Feb. 5, 2001 and June 11, 2001, respectively.

In the 2004 presidential elections, Judge Paterno Tiamson was stabbed to death on Feb. 21, 2004, while Judges Voltaire Rosales and Milnar Lammawin were gunned down by suspected guns for hire on June 10, 2004 and Aug. 9, 2004, respectively.

During the legislative and local elections of 2007, Judge Nathaniel Pattugalan was shot to death in Quezon City in broad daylight by unknown assassins on Jan. 19 2007, while his application for a gun ban exemption was pending.

In the 2010 presidential and national elections, Aparri Regional Trial Court (RTC) Judge Andres Cipriano was shot to death on May 18, 2010 as he was about to enter his rented room.

Just less than two weeks ago, on Oct. 4 2010, Vigan RTC Judge Reynaldo Lacasandile was shot to death while waiting for a bus ride to his court. Except for one, all the eight cases remain unsolved.

Beginning 1999, some 21 judges have been murdered. Only two cases have been solved as their perpetrators have been convicted and are now serving sentence. Four cases are undergoing trial.

The rest have yet to produce leads. (Edmer F. Panesa)