By Joseph B.A. Marzan
Other petitioners against Republic Act No. 11479 (Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020 or ATA) joined the growing chorus calling for the Supreme Court (SC) to intervene amid continued attacks against petitioners and their counsels.
Sixty-two lawyers, who were either counsels or petitioners against the ATA, were signatories to a new statement asking the high court to take measures “as the constitutionally-appointed guardian of civil liberties and protector of the legal profession”.
The statement also called on other lawyers to condemn the continuing attacks, as well as on the government to stop the killings and impunity “that have seriously eroded the rule of law and our democratic order.”
It cited recent incidents including the stabbing of Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen of the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) in Iloilo City, as well as the “red-tagging” of petitioners and counsels in the ATA petitions and members of the media covering the oral arguments at the SC.
The statement also cited recent incidents of “spurious” issuances of arrest and search warrants and killings against organizers in Cavite, Laguna, and Rizal.
The signatories said the issuance of a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) will quell the violence against lawyers and other sectors.
“We call on the Supreme Court as the constitutionally-appointed guardian of civil liberties and protector of the legal profession to take immediate measures to stop these attacks including those committed against petitioners and counsel in the ATA petitions. The issuance of a TRO on the enforcement of the ATA pending the final adjudication of the 37 petitions could help address the worsening situation.”
Retired SC Associate Justices Antonio Carpio and former Ombudsman Conchita Carpio-Morales, former Vice President Jejomar Binay, and former Senator Rene Saguisag were some of the signatories.
Some of them also held a press conference in Manila and via Zoom on Tuesday to read out the statement and discuss matters surrounding the attacks.
During the press conference, Atty. Neri Colmenares mentioned that the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) had already written to all lawyers to act in addressing the killings of lawyers and judges.
Colmenares also said that the IBP had also been conversing with law enforcement agencies for speedy investigation in these killings.
Lawyers are also planning to conduct more active responses in April, he added.
In the press conference, Atty. Howard Calleja called the attacks against lawyers as “attacks on the Filipino people,” citing the 56 killings of lawyers and judges since 2016.
Calleja also revealed that persons pretending to be Grab delivery drivers had attempted twice to enter their house.
“We brought the issue of the [ATA] to the Supreme Court as a legal issue, not as an issue of harassment or violence. We went to the proper forum, but recently the forum brought to us was the opposite. Lawyers are defenders of the rule of law, officers of the court, but what is being done to us, instead of being allowed to defend the law and the people, we are being threatened and harassed,” Calleja said.
Colmenares tackled other recent incidents in the Southern Tagalog region.
He directly addressed President Rodrigo Duterte by chiding him for violence which he said “did not have any positive effect.”
Colmenares also called on the High Court to amend its rules and review the issuance of search warrants if the subject of the warrant dies.
Another proposal was for the Judicial and Bar Council (JBC) to ask judicial applicants, especially those for the SC and other high-level courts, on their position on Malacañang’s recent statements ignoring human rights.
“What is happening to our country, Mr. President? Since 2016, there have been violence and repeated killings. What problems have been solved by this? The people are still poor, and we still have a poor COVID response. That is why we are calling on the [SC] to intervene on these attacks on lawyers, judges, and other extrajudicial killings,” said Colmenares.
Atty. Antonio Gabriel La Viña termed the violence as an “existential crisis” and called on law schools and law students to join the calls for the SC’s intervention.
“This is an existential crisis because lawyers, human rights defenders, activists, and even ordinary people, are being affected at this time. What is sad is that the law is being used as a way to attack human rights. It’s important that we have to be united. If we lawyers are attacked, what about ordinary people? I must add [to call on] law schools and law students, as well as corporate lawyers in the firms, to join us,” said La Viña.
Atty. Virgina Suarez called on more people to join their calls and “to be louder against the violence” and the “weaponization of the law”.
Suarez mentioned a group of petitioners, Pagkakaisa ng Kababaihan para sa Kalayaan, who were arrested in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday while rallying against the violence.
“There is no other reason for [the ATA] but to silence us all. All these killings, all these harassments, are meant to silence us all. But silence breeds violence and impunity, and therefore the more silenced that we become, and more killings mean more impunity, that we lead to chaos,” said Suarez.
