Lanao del Sur lawyers ask Lorenzana: Stop, probe martial law abuses

Lawyers from Lanao del Sur are calling on the Duterte administration to stop alleged abuses amid the martial law declaration in Mindanao.

Members of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) chapter in Lanao del Sur said they have been getting “first-hand data and information” of rights’ violations committed by members of the military and the police in Lanao del Sur and in Marawi City, the center of clashes between government troops and the Maute local terror group.

The Lanao del Sur lawyers called on Defense Sec. Delfin Lorenzana, martial law administrator, to stop the alleged abuses, including warrantless searches in houses and businesses, “ransacking” in these residential and commercial establishments, and “total disregard of plain view doctrine in searches and seizure activities.”

Moreover, it called for the creation of “a credible multi-agency investigation committee, composed of independent groups and individuals,” to look into the incidents.

“If, in the remotest possibility, this urgent plea falls on deaf ears, the IBP-Lanao del Sur Chapter will not hesitate to take appropriate legal action,” the group said in a statement, signed by its president, Aminoden Macalandap.

The IBP-Lanao del Sur aired its “severe outrage and condemnation” over the alleged abuses after declaring its support for the martial law declaration.

It noted “rampant loss of valuable personal belongings,” as well as establishments now “laid open to looters all over the besieged city.”

It also asked all IBP chapters, as well as other sectors, for support “to ensure that the people’s bill of rights in Lanao del Sur and Marawi City … is respected and honored, never suppressed, at all times, even during the effectivity of martial law.” — Rose-An Jessica Dioquino/BM, GMA News