Calbayog PNP’s request for list of lawyers an ‘isolated case,’ says DOJ

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra on Monday said the Calbayog police’s request for a list of lawyers representing alleged members of communist groups is an “isolated incident.

Guevarra noted that the Philippine National Police (PNP) has already cited the incident as improper and has already sacked the policeman who is responsible for the request.

“It was an isolated incident lang iyong nangyari sa Calbayog City ‘no. Kaya siguro hindi naman iyon something that happens to everyone else. Wala naman tayong ibang nababalitaan na mayroong ganiyang klaseng insidente rin anywhere else in the country,” he said in a Palace briefing.

(It was an isolated incident. I think it is not something that happens to everyone else. We don’t receive other reports of similar incidents anywhere else in the country.)

However, Guevarra said he cannot blame lawyers for having fears that they are being targeted or there is profiling happening.

He instead encouraged them to take necessary precautions and coordinate with law enforcement agencies if they feel their security is being threatened.

“Kung mayrron silang nararamdaman na threat to their personal security ay ireport nila kaagad yun sa kinauukulan,” he said.

Not tolerated

For its part, Malacañang said lawyers have no reason to fear that they are being targeted, saying the policeman who is responsible for such a request in Calbayog has been relieved.

“Nakita po natin na hindi naman po kinunsinti ng gobyerno iyan, at dahil diyan po ay walang dahilan para matakot ang mga abogado,” presidential spokesman Harry Roque said in the same briefing.

(We saw that the government is not condoning that and because of that, lawyers have no reason to fear.)

From June 2016 to January 2021, there are already 56 members of the legal profession killed.

The number of lawyers, judges, and prosecutors killed is higher compared to the 41 lawyers killed from 2001 to 2014 based on a report published in December 2014 by the Foundation of 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 Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL).