Laoag City lawyer survives shooting

BAGUIO CITY, Philippines — A lawyer who mostly handles drug cases was shot by motorcycle-rding gunmen in front of his house in Laoag City on Saturday night.

Lawyer Jason Perera, who was reportedly shot twice in the back, regained consciousness early Monday morning at the Roque Ablan Memorial Hospital where he was rushed after the shooting.

The lawyer's mother, who was able to visit him in the hospital, said her son communicated through hand gestures but could not talk.

Ilocos Norte police have activated a Special Investigation Task Group to look into the case.

The attack on Perera comes weeks after a Tagum City lawyer was killed by motorcycle-riding gunmen along the Apokon National Highway in Davao Del Norte. Lawyer Connie Villamor was declared dead on arrival on September 24 from multiple gunshot wounds.

"[A]n attack against any lawyer is an attack against the legal profession itself as it undermines the independence of lawyers," lawyer Rogelio Largo, president of the Davao City chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, said in a statement condemning the attack on Villamor.

In February, the IBP board of governors formed a task force "to investigate, document, prosecute or assist in the prosecution of cases involving the murder or violent assault against the members of the Bar and/or their families."

"The apparent continued attacks on the members of the Bar, none of which had been successfully resolved or prosecuted, create an impression of impunity, wherein State forces appear indifferent and helpless, or, worse, in one case, even involved in such violent assaults," the IBP said.