In the line of fire

Witnesses aren’t the only ones who are permanently silenced. Lawyers – whether representing crime victims or suspects – are also being targeted by those who want to thwart the administration of justice.

Last Tuesday in Tacloban City, men on a motorcycle pulled up to a car driven by Rogelio Bato Jr. and opened fire with a rifle and a .45-caliber handgun. Bato and his companion, a 15-year-old girl, did not stand a chance. The gunmen escaped.

Bato was the lawyer of Mayor Rolando Espinosa of Albuera town in Leyte. The mayor had been identified by President Duterte as one of the local government officials allegedly involved in drug trafficking. Espinosa pointed to his son Kerwin as the drug dealer. Kerwin is at large and believed to be abroad, but six of their family’s bodyguards were also shot dead during a police raid on one of their homes after Espinosa presented himself to the Philippine National Police.

Killing bodyguards who might have tried to stop the raid may be explained by the police, but why would anyone target a lawyer? And why include his teenage companion? Even persons convicted of the most heinous offenses are entitled to a legal counsel. Even if Bato has been eliminated, the Espinosas must be represented by a lawyer in case they face criminal indictment. If no private lawyer accepts the case, the state is required to provide one.

No formal charges have been filed so far against either of the Espinosas. But indictment, judgment and capital punishment appear to have been rendered on their security escorts and their lawyer, with a luckless girl as collateral damage.

Fearing for his life, the mayor, who has been stripped of supervision over his town’s police force, has reportedly sought protection from the state. Lawyers who dare to represent drug suspects should also be assured of similar protection. Members of the legal profession should have no fear in carrying out any aspect of their work.