Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday disproved claims that lawyers are subjects of killings under the Duterte Administration amid attacks against members of the legal sector.
Sec. Guevarra said it would be difficult to link the attacks against attorneys and prosecutors to President Duterte especially since he is also a lawyer.
“I am not in the position to say na may kinalaman kung sino ang presidente roon sa number ng mga namamatay na abogado o piskal o judge (I am not in the position to say that any president has involvement in the number of deaths among lawyers, prosecutors or judge),” he stated.
“Maraming possible causes kung bakit nagkakaroon ng deaths among members of the legal profession (There are many possible causes why there are deaths among members of the legal profession),” he added.
While he admitted that he cannot blame lawyers if they believe they are being targeted or being profiled, he urged them to be more cautious, “at kung mayroon silang nararamdaman na any threat ay i-report nila agad iyon sa kinauukulan o sa DOJ (and if they are feeling any threat, report it to authorities or to the DOJ),” he advised.
Meanwhile, Sec. Guevarra described as an isolated incident the action of the Calbayog police seeking the list of lawyers representing personalities allegedly linked to communist groups. The police personnel tagged in the incident has already been relieved from duty.
– Report from Kenneth Paciente#
