The road to rare SC statement on attacks on lawyers: Threats, killings, and pleas to courtsMANILA, Philippines — In a rare move on Tuesday, the 15-member Supreme Court collectively condemned the continued killings of lawyers and threats on judges. An independent Free Legal Assistance Group tally puts the killings at 61, while the NUPL records showed 56 killings. The SC, in its statement, requested cooperation from courts and law enforcement agencies for relevant information on cases linked to threats or killings of lawyers in the last ten years. A decade later, in April 2019, NUPL lawyers themselves sought protection from courts against perceived state harassment through a petition for writ of amparo but failed. The Commission on Human Rights joined lawyers in welcoming the SC’s course of action to defend the country’s lawyers.

Source: Philippine Star March 24, 2021 08:26 UTC