Killing lawyers

EDITORIAL

Killings are being done with impunity in this Banana Republic and nowadays, anybody could be a target. Aside from drug-related killings, members of the media, business community and those in the legal profession are fair game. Not even judges are exempt and the latest victim was a lawyer.

Following this, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) and Philippine National Police (PNP) signed an agreement to protect lawyers who are under threat.

The agreement was signed by IBP president Domingo Cayosa and PNP chief Gen. Archie Gamboa at Camp Crame last week.

Under the accord, the PNP will help lawyers enhance their skills and knowledge in protecting themselves through proper use of firearms.

The agreement came two days after the murder of a 73-year-old lawyer in Talavera, Nueva Ecija. Bayani Dalangin, a former Public Attorney’s Office lawyer, was gunned down while attending to his clients in his office in Barangay Poblacion. (See page 1 for related story).

Meanwhile, Cayosa said the IBP will put up a P25-million fund to assist witnesses in cases committed against lawyers. 

The Lawyers’ Security and Justice Fund will reward and support crucial witnesses for the prosecution of the murderers of lawyers, according to Cayosa.

“The IBP goes beyond condemning attacks against its members. Families of slain lawyers regardless of their status or stature can avail themselves of IBP’s free legal aid. We personally and directly comfort the bereaved families,” he said. 

Aside from the PNP, the IBP is also coordinating with the Armed Forces of the Philippines and National Bureau of Investigation to ensure the protection of lawyers. “His death dramatizes the risks that workers in the justice sector face and the tragic trend of violence and impunity in our country,” Cayosa said, referring to Dalangin. 

Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra earlier said he would order the Task Force on Extrajudicial Killings to look into Dalangin’s murder for any indication that the incident was related to the lawyer’s work and advocacies. 

Dalangin is the 48th lawyer killed since 2016.