Women’s group Gabriela on Friday, Sept. 15, strongly condemned the murder of a female lawyer in front of her home in Bangued, Abra.
In a statement, Gabriela expressed its strong condemnation of the killing of lawyer Maria Saniata Liwliwa Gonzales Alzate.
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https://mb.com.ph/2023/9/15/abra-governor-condemns-murder-of-lawyer
Gabriela Secretary Clarice Palce conveyed her concern for Filipino women and the people, especially those victimized by state forces.
"When pro-people lawyers like Atty. Alzate are being killed with impunity, justice becomes more elusive for aggrieved Filipino women and the people, especially those victimized by state forces," she said.
"The killing of Atty. Alzate also signals the continuing attack on the judicial system that supposedly provides a venue for redress to victims of human rights violations (HRVs)," she added.
Citing the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL), Gabriela stated that the victim was the third lawyer killed during President Marcos' administration.
As per the NUPL data, there are 66 lawyers and judges killed from 2016 to 2021, at least 10 of those were women.
Meanwhile, due to the incident, the group raised the alarm "on intensifying attacks on women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in the country, including those providing services to victims of state-perpetrated attacks."
Moreover, the women's group "also took note of other forms of attacks carried out against members of the judiciary who issue rulings in favor of those the government deem "enemies of the state.'"
Gabriela mentioned the case of Judge Gaminde-San Joaquin who survived an ambush in October 2020 a few weeks after ordering the release of illegally detained WHRD and former officer of GABRIELA Jen Nagrampa-Caballero; Judge Monique Quisumbing-Ignacio who was thanked in printed tarpaulins that bore the logos of the CPP-NPA-NDF for her dismissal of the trumped-up cases filed against similarly red-tagged journalist Lady Ann Salem in 2021; Judge Marlo Magdoza-Malagar who, in 2022, was heavily red-tagged by former PCOO Undersecretary Lorraine Badoy following her dismissal of the government's proscription case against the CPP-NPA-NDF; and Judge Aimee Marie B. Alcera who is currently facing an accusation of "grave abuse of discretion" due to her decision to acquit the 10HRDs implicated in the perjury charge filed by former National Security Adviser Hermogenes Esperon, Jr.
The mentioned cases have also been submitted by Gabriela to the United Nations Committee on the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (UN CEDAW).
This submission highlighted the Philippine government's violations of women's human rights and its treaty obligations, the group said.
"We cannot allow these intimidation tactics and attacks against lawyers and the judiciary to continue, especially amid growing cases of human rights violations against women and other oppressed and marginalized sectors,” Palce said.
"We must fight for an independent and accessible judicial system to combat the prevailing culture of impunity," she added.