Robredo condemns arrest of lawyers in Makati bar raid

Vice President Leni Robredo condemned on Monday the arrest of three lawyers in a Makati bar raid, calling it an “alarming erosion” of their Constitutional rights and the rule of law.

In a statement, Robredo, who is also a lawyer, said the arrest of Lenie Rocel Rocha, Jan Vincent Soliven, and Romulo Bernard Alarcon for monitoring a police search last week was an issue that concerns not just the legal community but every Filipino.

“It must be made clear: a citizen’s legal and Constitutional rights, whether asserted directly or through lawyers, can be invoked at any time, in any venue, and not just in court. The Bill of Rights in the Constitution serves as a constant shield against official abuse, a continuing guarantee to every person of fair treatment and respect for dignity,” Robredo said.

“It is not a document that is of concern only for lawyers and courts, but for every citizen, in every interaction with government,” she added.

Robredo claimed that some members of the police force “now feel that they can brush aside claims to legal rights and due process and bully and intimidate those asserting them.”

“If even lawyers, fully educated on their Constitutional rights and trained to assert them, can be treated with such official disdain, then we can only imagine how much worse less informed, less empowered Filipinos will fare when subjected to abusive behavior by agents of government,” the Vice President lamented.

Robredo made the statement after the Makati police detained the three lawyers on August 16 for alleged “obstruction of justice” when they monitor the search on the raided Time Bar in Makati City.

READ: Lawyers arrested for ‘threatening’ cops in Makati bar raid

Rocha, Soliven, and Alarcon were released a day after their arrest.

The Vice President then urged members of the Philippine bar to “continue condemning” the arrest of the three lawyer and “stand firmly” for the strict observance of the Bill of Rights and the rule of law.

“I likewise call on all citizens to add their voices and express their concern, their alarm, their outrage, so that all will know that free Filipinos will not let even the slightest relapse into tyranny pass unchallenged,” she added. /ee

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