The Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Friday denounced the killing last Sept. 14 of
lawyer Maria Saniata Liwliwa V. Gonzales Alzate, IBP’s commissioner on bar discipline, in Bangued, Abra.
“Unacceptable,” Justice Assistance Secretary and DOJ spokesman Mico Clavano said, in a strongly worded text message to reporters.
“We hope the manhunt operation will result in the murderer’s capture so he or she can feel the full force of the rule of law,” Clavano
added.
The IBP urged the National Bureau of Investigation, the Philippine National Police, and “all relevant investigative agencies to promptly
launch comprehensive investigations into this heinous crime, along with all other unsolved cases targeting lawyers.”
“We ask that they ensure the expedient resolution of these investigations, thereby holding the perpetrators truly accountable,”
the IBP said, in a statement.
The country’s mandatory organization for lawyers said Alzate “upheld the highest standards of the legal profession, leaving behind an
enduring legacy for us all.”
“We unite in solidarity with the legal community and the family of Atty. Alzate. We honor her memory as an esteemed public interest
lawyer and a dedicated Commissioner of the Integrated Bar,” the statement said.
The killing of Alzate, it said “serves as a stark reminder of the pervasive threats faced by lawyers, judges, and officers of the Court
across the Philippines.”
“In a society built upon the foundations of justice and equity, there is no place, nor can there be any tolerance, for those who would
assail those dedicated to upholding the legal profession and cause of justice,” the IBP said.
