MANILA, Philippines — The Commission on Human Rights on Saturday expressed alarm over the arrest of three lawyers by Makati police on Thursday for alleged obstruction of justice.
According to the Southern Police District, the three lawyers "entered the premises of the bar, took several pictures and videos of the scene [and] intimidated the members of the searching team" while police were implementing a search warrant on TIME in Manila, a bar in Makati City where a sting operation was conducted last Saturday.
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The SPD said the lawyers did all these "without proper and prior coordination."
In a statement, the CHR said lawyers Romulo Alarkon, Jan Vincent Soliven and Leni Rocha were only fulfilling their obligation as counsels of their client, which is a constitutional right of every Filipino.
“It shows an utter disrespect not only of the law profession but also of constitutionally enshrined rights. It emboldens other law enforcement agencies and puts at risk ordinary Filipino citizens,” the rights watchdog said.
“The Commission for its part, shall continue to pursue its investigation on the matter,” it added.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines will be filing a petition for a writ of habeas corpus to challenge the “questionable arrest and detention” of three lawyers. — Ian Nicolas Cigaral