IBP condemns killings, warns against threats to lawyers

Following the death of a counsel for a suspected drug lord, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Friday warned against attempts to intimidate lawyers for doing their jobs, calling it a threat to democracy.

“’The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers,’ the famous line from Shakespeare’s ‘Henry VI,’ is one of the most misunderstood and misapplied. The context of the statement in the play meant that in order to create chaos and pave the way for tyranny, the best way is to eliminate those who would stand in the way and remove the guardians of independent thinking, the lawyers,” IBP said in a statement.

The statement from the constitutionally mandated association of Filipino lawyers came after Rogelio Bato Jr., lawyer of alleged drug lord Rolando “Kerwin” Espinosa Jr., was killed with a 15-year-old companion in Leyte on Tuesday. Unidentified men aboard a white pickup and a motorcycle fired at the vehicle they were riding in.

READ: Lawyer of suspected drug lord, teener shot dead in Leyte

Amid the mounting unresolved deaths in the government’s bloody war against drugs, the IBP said a “strong and effective legal profession is one of the best safeguards against chaos and anarchy in a democratic society.”

“Thus, when lawyers are made to live under threat of violence and even murder for performing their sworn functions, the rule of law is seriously degraded and those intending to subvert the law can do so with impunity,” it added.

Saying that “we are a nation of laws and not of men,” the IBP earlier denounced the spate of extrajudicial killings in the country, as it called for a “serious and credible” investigation of drug-related deaths.

READ: IBP calls for ‘serious, credible’ probe of vigilante killings

“In ending, the IBP strongly appeals to the Philippine National Police, the National Bureau of Investigation and other law enforcement agencies to act with dispatch and seriously pursue the conclusion of investigations into the many unresolved killings of lawyers and judges,” IBP added.

The statement was signed by Rosario Setias-Reyes, national president and chair of the board; Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo, executive vice president and governor for Western Visayas; Franklin Calpito, governor for Northern Luzon; Jose de la Rama Jr., governor for Central Luzon; Romeo Igot, governor for Greater Manila; Bienvenido Somera Jr., governor for Southern Luzon; Mae Elaine Bathan, governor for Eastern Visayas; Emerson Aquende, governor for Bicolandia; Caesar Europa, governor for Eastern Mindanao; and Domingo Redelosa IV, governor for Western Mindanao./rga