IBP calls for protection of lawyer, son after Cebu attack

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) on Wednesday appealed for the protection of a lawyer and her son after they were attacked in Mandaue City, Cebu.

Lawyer Karen Quiñanola-Gonzales and her 19-year-old son, Jeremy Keith, were driving home when they got ambushed last week.

The lawyer sustained bullet wounds in her neck, and her son was shot in the back. Both were immediately rushed to the hospital after the incident.

“The IBP respectfully calls upon our law enforcement agencies, particularly the Philippine National Police (PNP) and the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to thoroughly investigate the matter, exact accountability, and all the more significantly elevate state responsibility to guarantee that lawyers can do their job without any threat to their safety and security,” IBP said in a statement.

“It likewise requests the PNP and the NBI to possibly provide protection to the victims until this matter is successfully resolved,” it added.

Further, the IBP reiterated its call for strengthened protection for the members of the legal profession, saying those working in the sector “must be able to do their duties freely, without fear of reprisal or violence”.

It likewise vowed to continue working with the Supreme Court, Department of Justice, and other law enforcement agencies to address and put an end to the attacks against their members.

The NBI on Tuesday said it has started its probe on the ambush and attempted murder of Quiñanola-Gonzales.

Meanwhile, the Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) condemned the attack against the lawyer and urged Congress to enact legislation protecting human rights defenders and penalizing attacks against them.—Sundy Locus/AOL, GMA News