The Integrated Bar of the Philippines will set a P25-million Security and Justice Fund to provide reward and support witnesses in the prosecution of the killers of lawyers in the country.
The proposal was conceived following the killing of lawyer Bayani Dalangin, who was shot to death at his Talavera, Nueva Ecija office by a still unidentified assailant last week.
In a statement, IBP National President and Chairman of the Board of Governors Domingo Egon Cayosa said they would sign the Memorandum of Understanding on Lawyer Security with the Philippine National Police on Monday.
“IBP goes beyond condemning attacks against its members. Families of slain lawyers, regardless of their status or stature, can avail of IBP free legal aid. We personally and directly comfort the bereaved families,” Cayosa said.
The IBP condoled with the family of Dalangin, 73, a retired Public Attorney’s Office lawyer and law professor at the Araullo University.
“His death dramatizes the risks that workers in the justice sector face and the tragic trend of violence and impunity in our country,” Cayosa said.
“While we urge lawyers to courageously do their job and act within the ethical norms of the legal profession, we ask that our government will its work: identify the criminals, relentlessly pursue and hold them accountable sooner than later,” the IBP official said.