MALACAÑANG on Tuesday, May 21, pledged to bring to justice the killers of lawyers Val Crisostomo and Edilberto Golla Jr.

In a statement, Presidential Spokesperson Salvador Panelo said the Palace denounced in the strongest possible terms the recent murder of two lawyers in Pangasinan and Rizal provinces.

"We express our deep sympathies to the families, colleagues, and loved ones left by Attys. Val Crisostomo and Edilberto Golla, Jr. We ask authorities to leave no stone unturned in identifying the killers and the perpetrators of these two separate cold-blooded killings," Panelo said.

"We assure the families of the victims that all those involved will be brought to the bar of justice," he added.

Golla was shot dead last Friday, May 17, by unidentified armed men in front of his house in San Isidro village in Rodriguez, Rizal.

Meantime, Crisostomo, a legal counsel of Peryahan ng Bayan in Pangasinan, attended a court hearing last Friday when he was gunned down by an unidentified assailant.

The Philippine National Police has already formed a special investigating task force that will look into the recent killing of Golla and Crisostomo.

Panelo said the Palace likewise condemned the senseless murder of Butuan-based radio commentator Francisco Patindol, who was stabbed dead in April.

"We are closely monitoring the development of the case even as we symphatize with his family," he said. (Ruth Abbey Gita/SunStar Philippines)