Attack on Iloilo rights lawyer shows need to stop Red-tagging, says Drilon

ILOILO CITY—The need for a stronger government policy against Red-tagging has been proven by the attack on Iloilo-based human rights lawyer Angelo Karlo Guillen, Sen. Franklin Drilon said on Friday (March 5).

“The assassination attempt on Guillen is particularly disquieting in light of the issue on Red-tagging,” Drilon said in a statement.

“Guillen, a human rights lawyer, has been Red-tagged. His case lays the basis for the need for a stronger policy against Red-tagging,” Drilon said.

The senator, a native of Iloilo, said Congress “should provide sufficient remedies to protect the victims of Red-tagging activities.”

Two unidentified men repeatedly stabbed Guillen with a screwdriver late on Thursday (March 4) as he was walking home to a boarding house in Iloilo City. The assailants took his bags with his laptop and files before fleeing on board two motorcycles driven by accomplices.

Guillen, assistant vice president for Visayas of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), was seriously wounded and is recuperating in a hospital.

Investigators are initially looking at robbery as a motive but were also considering the cases handled by Guillen.

The NUPL and Guillen have been repeatedly Red-tagged and accused of being a “front” or supporter of communist rebels.

Guillen is among the lawyers representing one of 37 groups of petitioners questioning the legality of the new Anti-Terror Act at the Supreme Court. He is also one of the counsels of 16 members of the Tumandok indigenous people’s group, who were arrested in a police operation in Capiz and Iloilo on Dec. 30, 2020.

Drilon condemned the attack on Guillen.

“The attempt on the life of Guillen sends a chilling effect on members of the legal profession – lawyers, judges and justices,” Drilon said.

“When lawyers can no longer do their job freely and without fear of being killed, that is when the rule of law begins to weaken,” the senator said.

“We should not let this horrific attack on members of the legal profession continue. Guillen’s case should not just add to the strings of unresolved cases of killing of and assassination attempts on lawyers in the country,” he said.

“I urge the authorities to bring those responsible to justice,” Drilon said.

TSB