THE Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) deplored on Monday the inclusion of three known lawyers in the Armed Forces of the Philippines’s (AFP) list of students from the University of the Philippines (UP) who were either killed or captured after joining the New People’s Army (NPA).
IBP President Doming Cayosa assured the AFP that lawyers Roan Libarios, Alexander Padilla and Rafael Angelo Aquino are not members of the NPA, contrary to the list posted by the AFP in its Facebook post.
In fact, Cayosa said the three lawyers were never captured and they are very much alive.
“We urge government authorities to right the wrong and set firm policies against red-tagging false and reckless publications, shortcuts, and questionable means destroy the very rights, public interests, or principles that we all seek to protect,” Cayosa said.
The IBP said Libarios is a past IBP national president and chairman of the 20thBoard of Governors.
During his college years in UP, Libarios became the editor in chief of the UP Collegian.
He also served as vice governor of Agusan del Norte, congressman of the Second District of Agusan del Norte, member of the government’s peace panel and member of the 2018 Consultative Committee on Charter Change.
On the other hand, Padilla served as the president of UP Law Student Government, assistant secretary at the Department of the Interior and Local Government, commissioner of the Housing and Land Use Regulatory Board, commissioner of Customs, undersecretary of Health, president of PhilHealth and government chief peace negotiator.
Aquino was a UP student leader and is the legal counsel of Rotary International District 3830, senior partner of a private law firm, and a volunteer lawyer of the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG).
“IBP decries red-tagging as it compromises the security and safety of the subjects, besmirches their reputation, causes unwarranted risks, tension, and distress to their families, friends and loved ones,” the IBP said.
“IBP calls out misleading claims not only for the sake of its members but for all victims of similar red-tagging. If lawyers and people of stature are put in jeopardy because of red-tagging, we cannot disregard the terror and prejudice that it brings to ordinary citizens who have no means or opportunity to clear themselves as they are unduly threatened, attacked, or even killed by the misguided and unscrupulous,” the group added.
The controversy arose following the Department of National Defense’s (DND) move to abrogate a 30-year-old accord with UP regulating the entry of police and military elements into the campus.
Cayosa personally expressed belief that while it can be argued that the DND could legally terminate the agreement, it would have been more ideal that prior consultations were held to resolve issues.
“While there is reason to decry and oppose the unilateral termination of the UP-DND agreement, it may be wise for UP and its stakeholders to focus more on what we can do and less on what we cannot control,” Cayosa said.