DOJ disputes foreign lawyers’ report on Philippines killings

MANILA, Philippines — Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra yesterday contested a report issued by a delegation of foreign lawyers, which blamed the government for the killings and attacks on judges, prosecutors and lawyers under the Duterte administation.

Guevarra said the group’s preliminary findings, particularly the “state-sanctioned” attacks against legal practitioners, were preposterous and reckless.

“I find their conclusion that the lawyers’ deaths are state-sanctioned preposterous, unless they can back it up with some credible evidence. They, as lawyers, should be the first to show proof of facts before making reckless public statements,” Guevarra said.

He challenged the group to provide concrete evidence to support the preliminary findings of their investigation, which only took three days.

“It is my opinion that this is a very sweeping statement and should be backed up by competent proof before being made public,” he said.

Guevarra said these foreign lawyers should know better.

“I commiserate with the families of my fellow lawyers who got killed in the course of practicing their profession, but I am  not ready to impute the blame on the government unless I have clear evidence to support such a serious accusation,” he said.

Guevarra denied the claim of the group that there’s “no structural remedy” for victims, citing arrests and indictment of suspects in several cases of killings of judges, prosecutors and lawyers.

He cited, for instance, the killing of Quezon City deputy prosecutor Rogelio Velasco in May last year, wherein three suspects arrested by the police are undergoing preliminary investigation on murder charges before the Department of Justice (DOJ).

Guevarra said the killings should not be attributed to the government, particularly to President Duterte’s threats against the lawyers of drug suspects, judges and prosecutors in the narco-list as claimed by the group.

“There are so many reasons why lawyers get killed – work-related, personal, business, political, etc – and pinning the blame on government may be pushing it too far,” he said.

Guevarra gave assurance that legal remedies are available and the criminal justice system is working to provide justice to the victims.

“The DOJ will always do its part in protecting the members of the legal profession, who comprise the very heart and soul of our department,” he said.

Guevarra issued the statement in reaction to the findings by lawyers from six countries indicating that the attacks against legal practitioners are “state-sanctioned.”

The lawyers attributed their findings to Duterte’s public pronouncements that supposedly targeted the lawyers as among the bases of their conclusion.

They particularly cited a statement issued by Duterte in August 2016, wherein the President supposedly said: “Even their (drug suspects) lawyers, I will include them (in the drug war)” and “if they (lawyers) are obstructing justice, you shoot them.”

They also cited common patterns in the cases – masked killers operating on crowded streets, motorcycle-riding assailants and use of .22 caliber revolver.

The group said the killings targeted lawyers handling political and drug cases, adding that authorities “failed to sufficiently investigate the killings as there are no inventory of used guns, no documented files about the killings linked to the judiciary, refusal to protect witnesses and even harassment of witnesses by police or military.”

The delegates – composed of lawyers from Belgium, Italy, Japan, Korea, the Netherlands and the US – scored the government for supposedly failing to effectively address the growing cases of lawyers’ killing in the country.

The group, hosted by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL), came up with its report in just three days of gathering information and interviewing victims and families.

They recommended several measures to stop what they branded as “extrajudicial killings, threats and harassment of lawyers, prosecutors and judges.”

“President Duterte and his administration should refrain from publicly attacking lawyers and instead publicly condemn all attacks against lawyers, prosecutors and judges at all levels in strong terms,” the lawyers said.

The group urged the government to “end the practice of red-tagging and public disclosure of drug list” and create an independent body to investigate the cases and ensure an independent judiciary.

They called for the protection and safety of lawyers in accordance with the government’s commitment under the United Nations Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers.  

The delegation included members of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, Union of International Advocates and Day of Endangered Lawyers Foundation.  

They were invited by the IBP and NUPL to investigate 38 cases of killings of lawyers, prosecutors and judges under the Duterte administration.

They have so far covered 13 cases in their preliminary report.