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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Lawyers take up the cudgels for Sereno

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SEVERAL lawyers’ groups have asked the United Nations rapporteur to investigate President Rodrigo Duterte for his attacks on Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, which they say may be perceived as detrimental to the independence of judges and lawyers in the Philippines.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines, National Union of People’s Lawyers, Alternative Law Groups, Ateneo Human Rights Center, Free Legal Assistance Group, Manananggol Laban sa EJKs, and the International Pro Bono Alliance urged the Special Rapporteur to take “urgent action” on President Duterte’s statements against Sereno, whom he wants to be removed as chief justice.

But Malacañang on Wednesday defended Duterte’s verbal attacks on Sereno, saying his call to impeach Sereno did not originate from the President but was merely a reaction to such accusations.

“The President’s rebuke of the Chief Justice must therefore be taken as a dislike of the Chief Justice and not an attack [on] the judiciary or an affront to judicial independence,” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said.

In a statement, the groups said they were particularly concerned over Duterte’s call to speed up Sereno’s impeachment.  

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“The recent tirades of the President against the Chief Justice do not sound at all foreboding,” the groups said. 

“They rather expectedly punctuate the long-winded attacks on judicial independence that began almost two years ago, when the Chief Justice dared to resist an apparent intrusion into judicial power.”

Aside from the quo warranto petition before the Supreme Court, Sereno is also facing a possible ouster through impeachment in the Senate.

The groups also cited the President’s public reprimand of IBP president Abdiel Fajardo for speaking about the need for the Office of the Ombudsman to be “insulated from political pressure” and for public officials not to be “onion-skinned.”

They also criticized the petition for proscription filed by the Justice department seeking a terror tag on the Communist Party of the Philippines-New People’s Army, in which 600 individuals, including a lawyer, a former congressman, and a UN Special Rapporteur, were enumerated as alleged officers or members of the rebel group.

“It appears that lawyers who criticize government policies, as well as those whose clients have been tagged as ‘dissenters’ or ‘activists’ are harassed. The lawyers are labeled ‘rebels’ and ‘criminals’ and consequently subjected to intense surveillance,” the groups’ statement said.

The groups also noted an alarming rise in the number of lawyers getting killed, and that such cases remained unresolved or not prosecuted.

“The State’s continued inaction towards the deaths of lawyers creates an environment where lawyers are hesitant to accept drugs cases, especially to participate as legal counsel for persons accused of illegal drug activities,” the groups said.

According to the lawyers’ groups the state is unable to stem the “weakening” of the judiciary, a situation that they said “gives rise to international responsibility.”

“Such jeopardizes the very essence of democracy in the Philippines, particularly the matter of checks and balances. Hence, this appeal for urgent action on the part of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Independence of Judges and Lawyers,” the groups said.

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