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Rule of law under siege, Pangilinan says as lawyer deaths rise during Duterte regime

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ABS-CBN News

<p>MANILA - Sen. Francis Pangilinan on Monday said the rule of law is &quot;under siege&quot; as lawyer groups tabulate dozens of deaths among members of their profession since the start of President Rodrigo Duterte&#x27;s term.</p><p>The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers listed 54 lawyers killed during Duterte administration in work-related deaths. In a separate report, the Free Legal Assistance Group said <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/11/21/61-lawyers-killed-since-duterte-assumed-office-in-2016-says-group">61 lawyers</a> have been killed since the president assumed office in 2016.</p><p>In a separate report on lawyers killed or disappeared since martial rule under the dictatorship of former President Ferdinand Marcos, FLAG listed 28 deaths from 1972 until 2016.</p><p>Pangilinan said there are reported killings &quot;almost daily,&quot; and these include police shootouts and &quot;lawyers lawyering for suspected communists or farmers, groups, human rights organizations.&quot;</p><p>&quot;The rule of law is under siege and this is a challenge,&quot; he told ANC&#x27;s Headstart.</p><p>Pangilinan said with numbers like this, the Philippine National Police cannot claim that these deaths among lawyers are isolated.</p><p>&quot;Fifty-four lawyers killed in the last 4 years. No way in any stretch of imagination can you say that is isolated. I beg to disagree with the observations, if this will be one of issues raised by the PNP—that these are isolated cases. They are not isolated cases,&quot; he said.</p><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1639949" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div><p>Panglinan said he welcomes the relief of Calbayog City police chief, Lt. Col. Neil Montaño, for command responsibility over his station&#x27;s intelligence officer&#x27;s request for a list of lawyers representing alleged &quot;communist-terrorist&quot; groups. Montaño&#x27;s relief also follows the deadly shooting of Mayor Ronaldo Aquino and 5 others.</p><p>&quot;We’re thankful they’re doing this, but they’re doing this because there has been a public outcry, lalo na sa legal profession...Vigilance is key, public outcry and organized efforts to oppose these incidents are also key,&quot; he said.</p><p>&quot;Yes, we welcome the relief, but we hope to see accountability,&quot; he added.</p><p>Calbayog intelligence chief Police Lt. Fernando Calabria Jr. wrote to a local court seeking a list of lawyers supposedly representing communist personalities. His letter, which surfaced last week, came with an attached table that had a column labeled &quot;mode of neutralization.&quot; </p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/14/21/calbayog-police-chief-received-from-post-over-march-8-shooting-intel-ofcrs-letter-to-court">Calbayog police chief relieved from post over March 8 shooting, intel ofcr&#x27;s letter to court</a></li></ul><p>PNP officer-in-charge Lt. Gen. Guillermo Eleazar has apologized for Calabria&#x27;s action, which he said was &quot;unprofessional&quot; and &quot;irresponsible.&quot; He added, this was not sanctioned by the PNP top brass. Calabria has since been <a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/03/13/21/calbayog-cop-sacked-for-seeking-list-of-lawyers-representing-communist-terrorist-groups">relieved</a> from his position.</p><div><strong>- with a report by Mike Navallo, ABS-CBN News</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO</strong></div><figure class="op-interactive"><iframe allow="autoplay; fullscreen" frameBorder="0" height="100%" id="ivsplayer01" scrolling="no" src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/html/iframe-src.html?iframeid=ivsplayer01&amp;key=e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603&amp;spid=3001339&amp;vid=1639656" width="100%"></iframe></figure><div class="iwantbar">Watch more in <a href="//www.iwantv.com.ph/">iWantv</a> or <a href="//tfc.tv/">TFC.tv</a></div>

<p>Sen. Francis Pangilinan on Monday said the rule of law is "under siege" as lawyer groups tabulate dozens of deaths among members of their profession since the start of President Rodrigo Duterte's term.</p>

Sen. Francis Pangilinan on Monday said the rule of law is "under siege" as lawyer groups tabulate dozens of deaths among members of their profession since the start of President Rodrigo Duterte's term.