The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers has claimed that there has been a steady increase in work-related attacks on lawyers since the advent of the current administration. The NUPL has reported to the Supreme Court “that there have been 176 work-related attacks on lawyers, including 73 killings, in the past 10 years.” This number has alarmingly surged under the Duterte regime. According to the NUPL, “the highest number was documented in 2019, with at least 39 prima facie professions or work-related attacks. A steady increase in the number of such attacks has been observed since 2016.” Fifty-four reported killings of lawyers, including some judges and prosecutors, have taken place during the last five years coinciding with the Duterte presidency. Approximately, one lawyer was killed every month and many of them have been unsolved up to now.
Aside from killings, lawyers were also victims of other attacks—abduction, red-tagging, and intimidation. Many are subjected to threat, surveillance and stakeout. Actual cases of strafing, physical injuries and serious intimidation have occurred. Activist lawyers in the provinces who are away from media glare are most often the object of threat, nuisance action, vilifications and arbitrary detention. Most lawyer victims are human rights lawyers and legal practitioners who are advocates of public interest law who champion the cause of the poor and the disadvantaged. They have taken on powerful interests and stood up for the disenfranchised, the minorities, labor activists and other progressive groups. The list is getting longer. Atty. Rafael Atutubo was murdered in Bacolod City. In November 2018, a co-founder of the NULP, Atty. Benjamin Ramos, was killed by unknown gunmen while leaving his law office. Last month, Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen was stabbed in the head and back by two unidentified assailants. Guillen is the Secretary General of NULP in Panay island, and the 4th NULP lawyer to survive an assassination attempt since PRRD took office. He had just finished working late on his cases, mostly involving human rights violations, when he was attacked while on his way back to his boarding house in Iloilo City. He represents Bagong Alyansang Makabayan, Karapatan, Movement Against Tyranny and several other groups challenging the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. He survived by playing dead and the criminals fled with all his legal files contained in his laptop and discs inside his briefcase.
The dastardly killings and escalating attacks on the members of the legal profession send a chilling effect to the members of the bar and the bench. Lawyers are officers of the courts and are an indispensable part of our criminal justice system. If they are intimidated, if not prevented, from performing their critical tasks, then that will signal the end of the rule of law in our country. We need tough lawyers who are unafraid to prosecute the criminals and even challenge the authorities when they are wrong. This is the essence of an adversarial system. Good lawyers inevitably create enmities as they pursue their profession. As the famous American lawyer, Alan Dershowitz, has once said, “lawyers are also judged by the enemies they keep.” But it is more dangerous when the state or its agents take offense. What former Congressman Neri Colmenares has said is deeply concerning when he described the President as “most intolerant of dissent.” On the other hand, former VP Jojo Binay has claimed that lawyers are more scared now than they were under President Ferdinand Marcos during the Martial Law years. “I had thought all along that the years of Martial Law were the most dangerous years for lawyers. Sadly, I’m mistaken.” VP Leni Robredo shared the same observation when she declared in an earlier interview that the President should not be onion-skinned, rather he should welcome suggestions to improve governance. Notwithstanding these disparaging comments, it’s a relief that there are still some lawyers who take up their job seriously and pick up the cudgels for the marginalized people. They continue to uphold the rule of law no matter what the cost is. They don’t betray their noble calling and surrender justice and truth by sucking up to power or cowing to tyrants.
Guillen’s case will not be the last. Under a regime where the killing of perceived enemies of the state seems to be an accepted policy, many public interests lawyers may perish or get assaulted for their commitment to civil liberties and the rule of law. Some unprincipled agents of the state may take the extreme and blindly follow Shakespeare’s dictum, “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.” Under this perilous time, we need idealistic lawyers who will not be daunted by the forces of darkness and who we can count on to protect our rights and freedom. Their rights to speak out against the authorities should be respected and shielded. As a lawyer and former prosecutor himself, the President is fully aware of the hazards of lawyering. As the head of our government, he can disprove the prevailing perception that there is a culture of immunity enjoyed by the perpetrators of these crimes. Offenses committed against the lawyers should be promptly and fully investigated, and those found guilty should be held accountable. Reprisals against activist lawyers should end. Now.
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