IBP urges gov’t to add lawyers to COVID-19 vaccination priority list

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) has asked the government to include lawyers in the priority groups under the COVID-19 vaccination program.

In a letter to National Task Force Against COVID-19 chairman and Defense Secretary Delfin Lorenzana, IBP president Domingo Cayosa said lawyers should be part of the priority population group A4, which includes frontline personnel in essential sectors, uniformed personnel, and local officials.

“Courts and other tribunals as well as necessary physical contact between lawyers and their clients have been proven spreaders of the COVID-19 virus,” Cayosa said in a letter dated March 30.

“Quite a number of judges, prosecutors, and practicing lawyers have succumbed to the COVID-19 virus, despite repeated site or area lockdowns and travel restrictions.”

Cayosa also underscored the role that lawyers play in encouraging the public to cooperate with government authorities in addressing the health crisis.

“IBP officers, members, and chapters all over our country have been proactively supporting COVID-19 patients, health workers, and frontliners and we effectively collaborated with government agencies and local government units in educating the public about laws and ordinances pertaining to the pandemic,” he said.

“More importantly, the presence of preferred counsel is constitutionally required especially for those charged with criminal offenses, and lawyers are deemed essential ‘officers of the court’ in their mandate to dispense justice, maintain peace and order, and safeguard public welfare under the rule of law.”

Earlier, the NTF included the employees of the judiciary in the A4 category following a request from the Supreme Court.

A portion of the vaccine doses that will arrive in the country this month will go to the judiciary.—AOL, GMA News