KIKO: FILL UP COURT VACANCIES, STRENGTHEN THE RULE OF LAW TO STOP KIDNAPPINGS
"With 46.67% court vacancies in Sulu courts, how can we instill fear and respect for the rule of law?"

Following the release of broadcast journalist Ces Drilon and her crew from Sulu and Malacañang's order to launch an all-out offensive to pursue and neutralize their kidnappers, Senate Majority Leader and Independent senator Kiko Pangilinan today called for authorities to likewise institute long-term solutions to the problem such as strengthening the rule of law by addressing court vacancies.

"We are behind the all-out search for the abductors of Ces and her crew, as kidnapping does not only trample on the safety of our citizens, it also poses a condemnable threat to our journalists in the practice of their profession and the delivery of truth to the public. Crimes against journalism practitioners have a chilling effect on the media, and this impairs press freedom, but we cannot just stop at apprehending the criminals," Kiko said.

Drilon and her team were in Sulu for an interview with a leading member of the rebel group Abu Sayyaf when they were kidnapped in June 8. After negotiations, Drilon got out of her kidnapper's lair on Tuesday, June 17.

"If we are to put a stop to kidnapping in this country, and all other types of criminality for that matter, we need to strengthen the fear and respect for the rule of law. We need to ensure that we punish the culprits and we punish fast. To be able to do this, we need to channel enough attention and funding to the judiciary and other prosecutory arms of the law. This is a long-term and inevitable solution to this problem. We cannot just go after every group after they have committed a crime, we need to act even before they can challenge the rule of law in this country," Kiko added.

"In Sulu, there are 3 Regional Trial Courts with 2 incumbent judges and one vacant court. There is also one Metro Trial Court and it's vacant. There are 4 Municipal Circuit Trial Court and all are vacant. One Shari'a district court and it's also vacant. 6 Shari'a circuit court and 6 are filled up. There are therefore 15 courts, and 7 are vacant. That's a vacancy rate of 46.67%. If we want kidnapping in this area to be addressed for good, we need to ensure that Sulu is able to dispense justice. We need to fill up these courts' vacancies," Kiko ended.