The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Wednesday, Sept. 7, called on the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to provide security to a lady lawyer and her teen-aged son who were attacked in Mandaue City last Sept. 1.
The IBP aired its request as law enforcement agencies continue to investigate the attack against lawyer Karen Quinanola-Gonzales and her son, Jeremy Keith. Both survived and are now recuperating in a hospital.
It had appealed to both the PNP and the NBI “to thoroughly investigate the matter, exact accountability, and all the more significantly elevate state responsibility to guarantee that lawyers can do their job without any threat to their safety and security.”
It had also renewed its call for “a nationwide effort to protect our lawyers, judges, and their families.”
In a statement, the IBP said it will continue “to work with the Supreme Court, the Department of Justice, the National Bureau of Investigation, and the Philippine National Police to address and arrest and prevalent attacks against its members.”
“Members of the legal profession must be able to their duties freely, without fear of reprisal or violence,” it stressed.
“More often than not, lawyers are given the difficult task of striving for justice, as unfortunately, many have done so at the cost of their own lives and at the risk of their families’ safety,” it lamented.