Lawyers petition brushed for lack of proof

Lawyers for Lawyers urged the Philippine government to take swift action on the perceived abuses against those in the legal profession in the country

Malacañang on Monday brushed off the consolidated petition filed by local and international groups of lawyers calling on President Rodrigo Duterte to act on the alleged attacks and state-sponsored killings on Filipino lawyers.

Lawyers for Lawyers, along with 76 international lawyers’ groups from 49 countries, last week urged the Philippine government to take swift action on the perceived abuses against those in the legal profession in the country, a move presidential spokesman Salvador Panelo said the Chief Executive is unaware of.

According to him, claims of human rights abuses and extrajudicial killings against lawyers critical of the Duterte administration should be substantiated by documentary proof.

“You know, like what I’ve been saying, you have to present evidence, you cannot just generalize. Because there are lawyers who die because of their involvement personally with whoever they are at odds with,” stated the Palace official.

Lawyers for Lawyers, an organization based in The Netherlands with affiliates in the Philippines, in a statement posted on its website, issued a joint call to put a stop to what it described as an “escalating” attack against lawyers in the Philippines.

The group has slammed the extrajudicial killings and harassment, grave implications of threats and labelling, and sharp deterioration of human rights allegedly being condoned by the government against Filipino barristers.

It also lamented what the supposed prevailing “culture of impunity” by the Duterte administration and said that it “has shown no indication that they will step up to fulfill their obligation to conduct prompt and full investigations into these cases, to hold perpetrators accountable in order to do justice for victims and to prevent reoccurrence of violations.”

“Most killings and attacks of lawyers took place as a result of discharging professional duties or are believed to be otherwise work-related. Especially at risk are lawyers representing people accused of terrorist or drug related crimes, or government critics, such as journalists, political opposition leaders and human rights defenders. Lawyers providing legal representation in high-profile cases impacting established interests, such as land reform, or lawyers taking part in public discussion about human rights issues, also face reprisals,” part of the group’s statement read.

The declaration also called out the government for its supposed tagging of slain lawyers as “communists” and “terrorists.”

Panelo, however, insisted that Mr. Duterte will never issue a directive that will violate the rights of the people.

“We have laws, if you violate the law on that, then you will be prosecuted,” he noted.