Former presidential legal adviser Salvador Panelo said the disbarment case against former president Rodrigo Duterte has no legal basis as "he has not violated" any law as a member of the bar.
"The disbarment case against FPRRD has no legal basis. He has not violated any unethical conduct or law as member of the bar," Panelo said in a statement on Friday, Jan. 17.
"A citizen cannot be called a criminal without being convicted by a competent court of a commission of a crime," he added.
Panelo stressed 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 added.
A disbarment complaint was filed against the former president for alleged violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA), a conduct unbecoming of a lawyer.
It was filed by human rights advocates and families of the victims of reported extrajudicial killings during the former president’s war against illegal drugs.