DIPOLOG, Zamboanga Del Norte -- Court Administrator Jose Midas Marquez flew to this southern city on Sunday to pay tribute to a Regional Trial Court judge shot to death last week.

Judge Reymar Lacaya of the Liloy, Zamboanga del Norte RTC was boarding his vehicle outside his courthouse last Thursday when he was reportedly shot by a lone gunman.

"We lost another good judge," said Marquez who described Lacaya as "fair, honest, straightforward, and highly devoted to his work."

Lacaya was designated as acting judge of Liloy as his predecessor faced an audit by the Office of the Court Administrator.

The slain judge earlier canceled a supposedly erroneous bail granted by his predecessor and ordered the rearrest of several accused.

Marquez asked investigators to swiftly solve the case before he flew back to Manila.

Lacaya's brother Victoriano is a judge of the Dipolog RTC.