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Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, December 22) – More than 70 lawyers went to the Supreme Court on Tuesday to demand immediate action to stop the violence against legal professionals, with 54 killed in the past four years.
Deans of law schools, former legislators and former government officials flocked to the high court with a letter addressed to Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta seeking his help in pressuring the Executive Branch to solve these murders and protect other practitioners of damage.
“There have been at least 54 lawyers and judges who have been victims of extrajudicial killings and violent crimes since 2016 and we fear that the state of impunity in the country today will further fuel the avalanche of killings, not just against members of the legal profession. . but also common people, “said the two-page letter. “We call on the government to act and end this ongoing violence.”
Among those who signed the appeal letter were former Bayan Muna representative Neri Colmenares, former SC spokesman Theodore Te and the secretary general of the National Union of People’s Lawyers, Edre Olalia.
Law professors and firm partners are also part of the initiative. Among them are Atty. Howard Calleja, Dean of the Institute of Law of the University of the Far East Mel Sta. María, and the former dean of the Faculty of Law of the Ateneo Antonio La Viña.
READ: The Archbishop of Cebu calls for an end to the murder of lawyers in the province
“Continuous, escalating and more blatant killings of Filipino lawyers and judges have been going on for many years, but we have seen a sharp increase since President Rodrigo Duterte took office in 2016 and has made the legal profession one of the most dangerous careers in the country, “the lawyers said, citing the government’s duty under the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers to ensure the safety of legal professionals.
The lawyers made a three-point request to Peralta and the higher court. First, it must take steps “to ensure a thorough, prompt, impartial and independent investigation of all killings of lawyers.”
The court is also asked to convene a dialogue between the CS, the Philippine Integrated Bar Association, the Philippine National Police, the Armed Forces of the Philippines and other relevant state agencies and civil society groups to discuss interventions to ensure the safety and security. of lawyers.
The CS led by Peralta must also “demand accountability and justice for the victims of extrajudicial executions and violence against lawyers and judges.”
However, Peralta has announced that he will retire a year earlier and will leave office in March 2021.
On Monday, authorities confirmed that a decomposing body found in a vacant lot in Capas, Tarlac was that of former Deputy Court of Appeal Judge Normandie Pizarro. His identity was confirmed nearly two months after the body was discovered, and Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said there were four people of interest linked to the murder.
“Our laws never tolerate the murder and murder of any person. In fact, our courts will always condemn it,” Peralta said in a statement Tuesday. “I ask our law enforcement agencies to continue their investigation so that the perpetrators of this barbaric act can be caught and brought to justice.”
In their letter to Peralta, the lawyers added: “The attacks against the judges also undermine their independence and their ability to carry out their judicial function impartially and without fear of harassment, external pressure and threats to their life and safety.”
Just last month, two lawyers were shot and killed in Cebu, while another was shot and killed in Palawan.
CNN Philippine correspondent Anjo Alimario contributed to this report.
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