Justice Secretary Menardo I. Guevarra declared “totally out of line and completely bereft of any statutory or legal basis” the request of the Calbayog City police to the city’s regional trial court (RTC) for a list of lawyers representing members of “communist terror groups.”
Guevarra, whose comment was sought by journalists on Saturday, March 13, admitted that “intelligence work is an essential part of law enforcement and the Department of Justice (DOJ) has no authority to interfere with this activity.”
But he assured and stressed that the DOJ “will oppose and call out any such activity if the same is in violation of existing laws or established policies, or unnecessarily endangers the security of certain classes of persons, most especially lawyers.”
He acknowledged that “lawyers are professionals and are not directly or personally involved in the causes that they represent.”
He pointed out that the issue on the request of the Calbayog City police for the list “is a matter for the court to resolve.”
The Supreme Court (SC) has yet to issue a statement on the issue.
Early morning on March 13, an advocacy group asked the SC to take immediate action against what it called as “unethical, unprofessional and dangerous” request by the Calbayog City police.
In a statement, Kapatid – a support group of families and friends of political prisoners – said the SC “must come to the defense of those who are only doing their job as officers of the court to provide legal assistance to the marginalized and vulnerable like activists and indigenous people.”
The SC has confirmed receipt by the Calbayog City RTC of the letter-request sent by P/Lt. Fernando Calabria of the city police’s intelligence division.
Calabria said in his letter that the request was in “compliance from higher PNP (Philippine National Police) offices regarding lawyers who represent Communist Terrorist Group (CTG) personalities in Court.”
Confirming receipt of the letter, SC Spokesperson lawyer Brian Keith F. Hosaka said: “Yes, the Office of the Clerk of Court of the RTC Calbayog confirmed receipt of the letter request this afternoon (March 12). However, no action has been taken on the request.”
Calabria has been sacked by the PNP.
Lt. Gen. Guillermo Lorenzo Eleazar, PNP officer-in-charge, said what Calabria did was a blunder that compromised the good relationship between the police and the judiciary.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), in a statement issued by its President Domingo Egon Q. Cayosa, said “the letter (sent to RTC by Calabria) “is improper, deplorable, and alarming.”
It asked concerned government agencies to thoroughly investigate, exact accountability, “and more importantly, promote state responsibility to ensure that lawyers can do their job without threats, harassment, intimidation, or retribution.”
In a statement issued Friday, March 12, Edre U. Olalia, president of the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL), described the request unbelievable “for its imprudence.”
“But then again, it fits into the puzzle on the who, what, why, and how of these attacks. The only remaining question is when and where," Olalia said.
The NUPL had said that a total of 61 lawyers, including prosecutors and members of the judiciary, have been killed since President Duterte assumed office in 2016.
Guevarra had said the DOJ has completed its inventory of cases on lawyers who have been killed since President Duterte assumed office in 2016.
However, Guevarra refrained from making the inventory public as “more details are needed.”
He said the inventory was culled from the cases under investigation by the NBI (National Bureau of Investigation), under preliminary investigation by the prosecution service, and undergoing trial in courts.