IBP fines PASG exec for beating up lawyer

MANILA, Philippines - The Integrated Bar of the Philippines has fined Presidential Anti-Smuggling Group (PASG) director for administration Jeffrey Patawaran for allegedly beating up lawyer Bonifacio Alentajan.

The IBP found Patawaran and his lawyer, Edgar Imperial, guilty of contempt and ordered them to pay P1,000 each. The IBP penalized Imperial for failing to control his client.

The IBP’s Commission on Bar Discipline also warned them that a repeat of such acts “shall be dealt with more severely by the Commission.”

Police, based on Alentajan’s statements, have filed direct assault and physical injury charges against Patawaran and Imperial before the Office of the Ombudsman.

They were also charged for alleged violation of the Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees before the Office of the Ombudsman.

Alentajan claims that on Jan. 21, Patawaran attacked him outside a hearing room of the Commission on Bar Discipline following a heated argument during a hearing of a disbarment case filed against him by Patawaran.

During the hearing, he allegedly figured in a heated discussion with Patawaran over the latter’s authority to file a case against him before the IBP.

He alleged that Patawaran filed the disbarment case to get back at him for representing British national Alpha Kwok, who was arrested by the PASG for allegedly smuggling expensive jewelry and gems into the country.

The Department of Justice (DOJ) dismissed the case against Kwok, who later filed graft and other charges against the PASG before the Office of the Ombudsman and a petition seeking to dissolve the agency before a Manila court.