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MANILA, Philippines – The Calbayog City Police Station asked the Calbayog Regional Trial Court for a list of attorneys representing members of the Communist Party.
In a one-page letter with an attachment, Calbayog police said they are making a request in “compliance with the higher offices of the PNP regarding attorneys representing Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) personalities in court.” .
When asked for confirmation, the Calbayog RTC informed the Supreme Court that the police made such a request “but have not taken any action on the request.”
“Yes, the RTC Calbayog Clerk’s Office confirmed receipt of the letter request this afternoon. However, no action has been taken on the request, ”said the assistant spokesman and head of public information for the Supreme Court. Said Brian Keith Hosaka, relaying the message from the Clerk of the Calbayog Court.
Atty. Edre Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) said at the beginning that the request is incredible “because of its recklessness”.
“But again, it fits into the puzzle of the who, what, why and how of these attacks. The only question that remains is when and where, ”said Olalia.
He added that “this bold and difficult-to-refuse request is the smoke from the gun that goes back to the hand that pulled the trigger and the facilitators of various attacks on lawyers, especially human rights lawyers representing clients that the State does not like. ”.
A NUPL attorney, Angelo Karlo “AK” Guillén, was attacked and stabbed in the head earlier this month. He survived the attack. Guillén is one of the lawyers in the petition filed by Bagong Alyansang Makabayan (Bayan) against the implementation of the Anti-Terrorism Law before the Supreme Court.
From June 2016 to January 2021, there are already 56 members of the legal profession assassinated.
The number of murdered lawyers, judges and prosecutors is higher compared to the 41 lawyers murdered between 2001 and 2014 according to a report published in December 2014 by the Foundation for the Day of the Endangered Lawyer, the Association of European Democratic Lawyers (AED-EDL). ), the European Association of Lawyers for Democracy (ELDH) and the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL).
INQUIRER.net is trying to side with the Philippine National Police, but has yet to respond as of this writing.
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