Supreme Court Chief Justice Reynato Puno yesterday stressed the need to allow judges whose lives are under threat to carry guns, pointing out that the judiciary has had 15 casualties so far.

“This is not a complete arming, only those (judges)  with real threats on their lives” should be allowed to carry guns, said Puno, who was in Bacolod City to speak to about 3,000 Masons gathered at the Bacolod Pavillon and Resort for their 92nd annual communication.

Puno, a former grandmaster of the Philippine masons, said “This is because our security agencies cannot provide full and appropriate security for them.”

“As of the moment we already have some 15 casualties and a lot of other judges are receiving threats,” he said.

There is a need to arm, especially the judges trying very sensitive cases, like those involving drugs. “They are the ones under heavy pressure,” he said.

Puno also said the Supreme Court is trying its best to transform the judiciary so it can fulfill its mission of administering justice that is not only fair but fast.

“We still have a lot to do, but year by year, we are trying to improve our record of performance,” he said.

“This year, as we promised, we will accelerate the pace of resolving administrative complaints against judges and the non-judicial personnel of the judiciary,” he said.

Puno refused to answer when asked whether former president Joseph Estrada can run for president again. “I cannot answer that question, we anticipate a case on that matter,” he said.

‘SPREAD HARMONY’

In his speech before the Masons, Puno rallied them to spread Masonic harmony.

“One of man’s greatest tragedies has been its continuous failure to overcome disharmony,” Puno said.

Disharmony has caused the greatest loss of lives of man, greater than the losses suffered from the most devastating earthquakes, typhoons, tornadoes, tsunamis and epidemics all combined, he said.

The end of the cold war between the United States and Russia escalated the hope that we had stepped into a new and higher threshold of harmony but this was dashed to pieces by the new war on terrorism, he said.

Puno said disharmony has hounded man because of organized ignorance, materialism and prejudice that must be overcome for peace to be attained.

“It is our duty as Masons to spread harmony,” he said.

We should not tremble even if we are alone, or even if our voice momentarily sounds like the voice in the wilderness, he said.

Let s us not forget that we fight for eternal virtue that cannot be surrendered to any earthly power of kings or the elite, or the coercion of the majority, Puno also told the Masons.*CPG

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