The Supreme Court (SC) was asked on Friday, Jan. 17, to disbar former president Rodrigo R. Duterte for alleged violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) and conduct unbecoming of a lawyer.
The complaint was filed by human rights advocates and families of the victims of reported extrajudicial killings during the former president’s war against illegal drugs.
It was received and docketed by the SC’s Office of the Bar Confidant. A copy of the complaint was not immediately available.
No legal basis
Former chief presidential legal counsel Salvador Panelo said the disbarment case has no legal basis since former president Duterte has not committed any unethical conduct nor violated any law as a member of the bar.
“A citizen cannot be called a criminal without being convicted by a competent court of a commission of a crime,” Panelo said in a statement.
He added that “no admission was made on extra-judicial killings.”
“They should read the transcript of the proceedings. All his statements on killings were all hyperbole. They will not stand in court,” Panelo said.
Duterte finished his law degree in 1972 and passed the Bar examinations on the same year.
He was a prosecutor, vice-mayor, mayor, and congressman of Davao City. In 2016, he was elected president.
Disbarment proceedings against lawyers are confidential under Section 18, Rule 138-B of the Rules of Court.
However, in its previous decision the SC ruled: “It is settled that Section 18, Rule 138-B of the Rules of Court is not a restriction on the freedom of the press. As long as there is a legitimate public interest, the media is not prohibited from making a fair, true, and accurate news report of a disbarment complaint.”
The complainants are lawyer Vicente Jaime Topacio, son of National Democratic Front of the Philippines consultants Agaton Topacio and Eugenia Magpantay who were killed in their home in November 2020; Llore Pasco whose sons Crisanto and Juan Carlos were found dead in October 2017; Rosenda Lemita whose daughter Ana Mariz and son-in law Ariel Evangelista were killed in the so-called Bloody Sunday police raids in Southern Tagalog in 2021; and human rights advocates Liezel V. Asuncion, Len Redino P. Porquia, Saturnino C. Ocampo, Cristina Palabay, Manuel Garchalian, Ofelia Balleta, Norman Dollaga, Orly Marcellana, Rammond Palatino, Gabriela Krista Dalena, J. Luis Burgos, Bonifacio Ilagan Sr., Eleanor Llanes, and Tina Agel Romero.
During an interview after the filing of the complaint, Topacio said: "With Duterte's invocation of his role as lawyer and prosecutor as some kind of authority in his recent testimony at the hearings at the House of Representatives and the Senate, we believe it is time for victims of human rights violations to speak up.”
He also said: “It is time for us to appeal to the Supreme Court to reinforce how the law should work in the Philippines, how the law should shield victims of human rights violations as they seek justice and should ensure dignified and proper conduct in the practice of law.”
"This petition for disbarment is especially relevant, since Rodrigo Duterte has presented himself as one of the legal counsels of his daughter, Vice President Sara Duterte, who is currently facing at least three impeachment complaints," human rights group Karapatan Secretary General Cristina Palabay said.
Palabay expressed hope that “the disbarment petition will be given due course by the Supreme Court."
“Hindi siya (former president Duterte) karapat-dapat na maging abogado (he is not worthy to be a lawyer),” Palabay said.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been investigating the reported extrajudicial killings during the administration of Duterte for alleged crimes against humanity.
During a Senate inquiry, former president Duterte said he was taking “full responsibility” for the illegal drugs operations during his term.
“I offer no apologies, no excuses. I did what I had to do and whether you believe it or not I did it for my country," Duterte had said.
"The war on illegal drugs is not about killing people, this is about the innocent and the defenseless," he had also said.
As of posting, former president Duterte has not issued any statement on the disbarment complaint filed against him. (With a report from Betheena Unite)