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NUPL deplores killing of 3 lawyers under Pres Marcos' reign

Philippines | National

NUPL deplores killing of 3 lawyers under Pres Marcos' reign

By Jeffrey Damicog

There are now three lawyers killed under the administration of President Marcos, the National Union of Peoples' Lawyers (NUPL) said in a statement issued on Friday, Sept. 15.

Aside from Atty. Maria Saniata Liwliwa V. Gonzales Alzate who was killed last Sept. 14, Atty. Danny Pondevilla and Atty. Elmer Mape were murdered on Dec. 20, 2022 and Aug. 22, 2023, respectively.

The NUPL said it "condemns to the highest degree the murder of Atty. Alzate which increased the tally of lawyers killed to three since President Marcos assumed office."

“The NUPL firmly urges all law enforcement agencies to rigorously investigate this incident and, subsequently, bring to justice its perpetrators" at it echoed its "earlier calls made in the wake of attacks on lawyers: Stop the Attacks!”.

It lamented that the killing of shows a climate of impunity that “renders possible these brazen, daylight killings of members of the legal profession, including judges and prosecutors.”

It then conveys its "heartfelt sympathies to Atty. Alzate’s family for their loss.” It said "the NUPL mourns the loss of a colleague in the legal profession who was committed to serve the poor and marginalized."

The group cited that “Atty. Alzate provided exemplary legal assistance to a victim of illegal arrest, detention, and torture by members of the Philippine National Police in January 2023, for whom she was able to secure a Writ of Amparo issued by the Regional Trial Court in Abra.”

It said that Alzate was “a former president of the Abra Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and once served as its Legal Aid Committee Chair.”

“She had provided pro-bono legal service to indigent litigants and had served as private prosecutor in the slaying of a teacher allegedly by a barangay chairperson,” it noted.

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