PLM condemns violence, threats against lawyers

THE Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM), together with the university’s College of Law and Graduate School of Law, denounce on Wednesday what they described as “targeted attacks and atrocious killings” of lawyers, judges, and legal practitioners.

In a news statement, PLM stressed, “Violence directed towards lawyers puts in peril the rule of law in the Philippines and empowers even greater impunity.”

PLM, however, lauded efforts by the Supreme Court to protect judges and lawyers against threats to their safety and to deliver justice to those who have died in the line of duty.

Quoting figures released by the Free Legal Assistance Group, PLM said some 100 lawyers have died in the past 20 years, and 61 of them were killed within the past four years. Such a trend, the university said, “is appalling as this impairs legal representation and dispensation of justice.”

There is a “chilling effect” that leads to hesitancy in handling supposedly sensitive cases, PLM added.

“Mindful of its mandate, PLM as an institute of learning will remain steadfast in its resolve to advocate the role of education in the promotion of the rule of law and culture of lawfulness,” the statement read.

University President Emmanuel Leyco, Board of Regents Chairman Dr. Francisco Roman, Regent and College of Law Dean Atty. George Erwin Garcia, and Graduate School of Law Dean and retired Justice Hector Hofileña signed the statement of support dated March 26.