Senate adopts reso condemning killings, violence vs. lawyers, judges

The Senate on Wednesday adopted the resolution strongly condemning the killings and violence against lawyers and judges in the country.

During its plenary session, the chamber adopted Senate Resolution 691, filed by eight lawyer-senators, which also urges President Rodrigo Duterte to undertake steps to ensure the safety of the members of the legal profession.

The resolution was filed and approved a day after the Supreme Court denounced the killings of and threats against lawyers following calls for the high court to protect members of the legal profession.

In his sponsorship of the measure, Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon, himself a former justice secretary, lamented how lawyers are being gunned down, murdered, and summarily executed “at dawn, in broad daylight or at night” or “on their way to work, at work, on their way home or at home.”

Citing the study of the Free Legal Assistance Group, he pointed out that 100 lawyers have been murdered in the last 10 years.

He also mentioned the data from the Department of Justice showing that 54 members of the legal profession have been killed since 2016, of which only five cases reached the court.

“The situation is made worse by the lack of general condemnation, of prompt and efficient investigation, and impartial prosecution.... This horrendous pattern of taking lives and violence, impunity, lack of accountability, and apathy are symptoms of a government ran by rule of men and not by rule of law,” Drilon said.

“We must put a stop to this madness. We therefore condemn, in the strongest sense, these killings of and acts of violence, against members of the bar and bench.  To not act nor speak will be an act of cowardice," he added.

Drilon also called on the President to undertake necessary steps to ensure the safety and protection of judges, prosecutors, and lawyers.

"We ask that he lays out definitive solutions and actions to address the rampant and unspeakable violence and killings. We petition for prompt, impartial, and efficient investigation and prosecution of the cases. We seek justice for our slain colleagues,” he said.

“The failure to condemn, investigate, and prosecute these, and bring the perpetrators to justice is an act of injustice in itself.  To not act nor speak will be an act of cowardice,” he added.

Apart from Drilon, other senators who introduced the measure are Senators Sonny Angara, Pia Cayetano, Leila De Lima, Richard Gordon, Francis Pangilinan, Aquilino “Koko” Pimentel III, and Francis Tolentino. -MDM, GMA News