CHR welcomes PNP move vs. cop asking court for info on 'CPP lawyers'

The Commission on Human Rights on Sunday welcomed the PNP's decision to relieve Calbayog City Police Station intelligence chief for requesting a court to identify lawyers representing personalities identified with the Communist Party of the Philippines.

In a statement, CHR spokesperson Atty. Jacqueline Ann de Guia said, "the immediate relief of Police Lieutenant Calabria, Jr. by PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar to make way for an impartial probe on the matter is a welcome move."

On Saturday, Eleazar ordered the relief of Calbayog intelligence chief Police Lieutenant Fernando Calabria, Jr

According to De Guia, "Calabria's action is unbecoming of a police officer; transcends all legal and statutory basis; and threatens the legal profession by failing to appreciate the role of lawyers in upholding the people's Constitutional rights."

Moreover, she said, "The right to an independent counsel of an accused, preferably of their own choice, is guaranteed by the Constitution, our laws, and the Rules of Court. By targeting lawyers, the concerned police officer equally threatens the rule of law."

She also stressed that Calabria's action is "concerning as it occurred at a time when killings of lawyers remain at an all-time high and red-tagging remains to be a pervasive problem."

On the other hand, the CHR also welcomed Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra's comment  opposing and calling out the PNP for "any such activity if the same is in violation of existing laws or established policies, or unnecessarily endangers the security of certain classes of persons, most especially lawyers."

"We urge the PNP to come up with clearer guidelines for its law enforcers on information gathering to assure the public of the reasonable exercise of police power," the CHR added

Earlier, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) said the letter of the Calbayog Police asking a trial court to furnish them with the names of  lawyers representing “communist terrorist group personalities” is "improper, deplorable, and alarming." —LBG, GMA News