Palace: Lawyers for suspected communists are no gov’t targets

Lawyers serving as legal counsel for individuals suspected of being communists have nothing to fear about the government’s crackdown on communist rebels, presidential spokesperson Harry Roque said Monday.

Roque made the assurance in the aftermath of Philippine National Police officer-in-charge Police Lieutenant General Guillermo Eleazar’s move to relieve from his post the chief of the Calbayog City Police Station intelligence unit for requesting a court to identify the lawyers representing personalities identified with the Communist Party of the Philippines (CPP).

The intelligence chief who was relieved from his post was Police Lieutenant Fernando Calabria.

“Sa aking pananaw po, walang ganoon [na dapat matakot] dahil sinibak nga po iyong humingi. Siguro po kung hindi sinibak iyong humingi ay dapat may dahilan nang matakot,” Roque said in a Palace briefing.

[I don’t think lawyers should be afraid because the police official involved has been relieved. If that official was allowed to keep his post, then there is a reason to be fearful].

“Pero nakita po natin na hindi naman po kinunsinti ng gobyerno iyan, at dahil diyan po ay walang dahilan para matakot ang mga abogado,” he added.

[But we have seen that the government  does not tolerate this so there is no reason for the lawyers to be afraid].

As this developed, Roque also defended the court judges who issued search warrants in the police operations last March 7 which left nine activists in the Calabarzon Region dead.

“We have to accord our judges the presumption of regularity in the discharge of their function. We have a constitutional requirement that no search warrant shall be issued except by a judge and upon finding of probable cause,” Roque argued.

“I would like to presume that all judges discharge their functions on the basis of affidavits and submissions, and that they are convinced that there is a reason to issue search warrants. Let us trust our justice system. And to those feeling otherwise, they can avail of [legal] remedies,” he added.

The United Nations has already said that the deaths of the nine activists are appalling, but Roque has appealed to the public and the international community to give Philippine authorities a chance to solve the case.

Roque also assured the public that police officials will be equipped with body cameras in operations by April to quash fears as to whether police carry out their operations in accordance with laws. — RSJ, GMA News