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Manila Bulletin devider Philippines devider National devider SC, DOJ, law enforcement prodded to address continued killings of lawyers

SC, DOJ, law enforcement prodded to address continued killings of lawyers

Published Dec 29, 2020 09:47 am

 Another organization of lawyers has prodded the government to take action against the continued killings of lawyers in the country.

“Centerlaw joins the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, civil society organizations, and the families of those slain in condemning all killings and violence against lawyers,” Centerlaw said in a statement issued on Monday, Dec. 28.

“With our halls of justice gripped in terror, Centerlaw calls on the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Philippine National Police to ensure that thorough, impartial, and focused investigations are carried out and to exact speedy accountability for the slain sentinels of justice,” it urged.

Centerlaw issued the statement after the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) revealed last week that the remains recovered in Capas, Tarlac back in October 30 was that of missing retired Court of Appeals (CA) Justice Normandie Pizarro.

“The killing of prosecutors, judges, and lawyers has become so commonplace that it has resulted in a frighteningly established expectation of news that lawyers being killed is a normal occurrence,” the group lamented.

“At least 54 of these ruthless killings have been documented since July 1, 2016,” it noted.

Because of this, Centerlaw pointed out that the killings has “bred a culture of fear among members of the legal profession in particular and the wider public in general.”

“This fear debilitates and even obstructs the wheels of justice,” the group warned.

“It compromises the integrity of our judicial system and casts serious doubt on the fair exercise of the rule of law,” it added.

Last week, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) had also prodded the government to address the unabated killing of lawyers in the country.

“The unabated killing of lawyers, too often with impunity, is a sad reflection  of the spiralling violence and disregard of, if not contempt for the rule of law in our land,” said IBP President Domingo Egon Cayosa had said in a statement.

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