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Lawyer shot dead in South Cotabato, 58th killed under Duterte admin - NUPL

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Davinci Maru, ABS-CBN News

<div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt="Courtesy of Atty. Juan Macabbad" s="" Facebook="" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/tvpatrol/09/11/lawyer.jpg"/><figcaption><em>Courtesy of Atty. Juan Macababbad&#x27;s Facebook Page</em></figcaption></figure></div><p>MANILA <strong>(UPDATE)</strong>—A lawyer was shot dead by unidentified men outside his home in Surallah town, South Cotabato Wednesday afternoon, authorities said.</p><p>Juan Gammad Macababbad, 68, was pronounced dead on arrival at the hospital due to multiple gunshot wounds, the Philippine National Police said.</p><p>Macababbad is a member of the National of Union of Peoples’ Lawyers and vice chair of the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao.</p><p>He is the 58th lawyer and the third NUPL member killed under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, the UPLM said.</p><p>&quot;The murder of Atty. Macababbad is connected to his vocation of lawyering for the people,&quot; the UPLM said in a statement, adding the victim had received death threats before the incident.</p><p>The group decried what it sees as a &quot;culture of impunity&quot; and the &quot;lack of serious investigation and prosecution&quot; in the country.</p><p>&quot;The legal profession is not spared, and our colleagues have become main targets especially those who resist tyranny and defend human rights,&quot; the UPLM said.</p><div class="embed-wrap"><figure data-feedback="fb:likes,fb:comments"><img alt=" Courtesy of Surallah Municipal Station" src="http://sa.kapamilya.com/absnews/abscbnnews/media/2021/news/09/16/surallah-municipal-station.png"/><figcaption>Courtesy of Surallah Municipal Station</figcaption></figure></div><p>Police Maj. Romy Castañares, chief of Surallah Municipal Station, said the perpetrators might have pretended as clients to get close to the victim. An empty envelope was found at the crime scene.</p><p>While Macababbad handled many clients, he withdrew from a case due to a threat, he said.</p><p>&quot;We have received information that manifested to withdraw from a particular case because of the threat. We are trying to find it out from the courts,&quot; Castañares said in Filipino.</p><p>PNP chief Gen. Guillermo Eleazar on Thursday ordered the Soccsksargen police to conduct a &quot;thorough investigation&quot; into the killing of Macababbad.</p><p>&quot;The Philippine National Police joins the legal community and the Filipino people in condemning the killing of a lawyer in South Cotabato,&quot; he said in a statement.</p><p>Eleazar said he ordered the local police to focus on the case in order to determine the motive of the incident and identify the 3 perpetrators who fled on a motorcycle.</p><p>The PNP chief also tasked the Directorate for Investigation and Detective Management to check on the status of other cases involving members of the legal community.</p><p>&quot;Walang lugar sa ating bansa ang mga ganitong uri ng karahasan,&quot; he said.</p><p>(There&#x27;s no place for this kind of violence in the country.)</p><p>Last month, a lawyer was ambushed by a lone gunman in Barangay Guadalupe, Cebu City.</p><ul class="op-related-articles">	<li><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/08/26/21/lawyer-gunned-down-in-cebu-driver-injured">Lawyer gunned down in Cebu; driver injured</a></li></ul><div><strong>—With a report from Chat Ansagay</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=1758241" 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>

A lawyer was shot dead by unidentified men outside his home in South Cotabato on Wednesday afternoon, the victim's group and police said.

Lawyer shot dead in South Cotabato, 58th killed under Duterte admin - NUPL

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Lawyer shot dead in South Cotabato, 58th killed under Duterte admin - NUPL

Davinci Maru,

ABS-CBN News

Published September 16, 2021 01:04 PM PHT

|

Updated September 16, 2021 04:15 PM PHT

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Regional news

Regions

lawyer killed

South Cotabato

Surallah

crime

shooting

killing

Juan Macababbad

NUPL

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