Nationwide round-up (04/06/21) | BusinessWorld bworldonline.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from bworldonline.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
On a late Wednesday evening in early March, Filipino human rights lawyer Angelo Karlo Guillen headed home after a long day at his office in Iloilo, a city renowned for its well-preserved Spanish-era homes in the central Philippine island of Panay.
As he walked to his residence, two men wearing ski masks appeared and started attacking him.
The assailants took his backpack, which contained his laptop and court case files, but left his wallet and smartphone untouched, according to the police report. They escaped with two other accomplices on separate motorbikes, and have never been found.
The 33-year-old lawyer was left slumped on the ground, fighting for his life. When rescuers found him, a yellow-handled screwdriver was still stuck in his left temple.
By Reuters Staff
3 Min Read
MANILA (Reuters) - The Philippine Supreme Court demanded on Tuesday an end to the killings of lawyers and judges or threats of harm against them in the country after data showed the last five years was the deadliest period ever for the legal profession in the country.
In rare public comments outside legal rulings, the Supreme Court said in a statement threats to lawyers had “very serious repercussions” on the rule of law and pledged to do more to protect members of the judiciary.
“The Court condemns in the strongest sense every instance where a lawyer is threatened or killed and when a judge is threatened and unfairly labeled,” it said in a statement read by spokesman Brian Keith Hosaka.
Source: Amnesty International NZ
The Philippine government must urgently put an end to the surge in often-deadly threats against judges and lawyers, Amnesty International said today, echoing the concerns of the countryâs own Supreme Court and Senate this week.
Â
âWhen the countryâs own Supreme Court and Senate are seized of the death toll facing the legal profession, it should be clear to everyone that the situation is disastrous,â said Emerlynne Gil, Amnesty Internationalâs Deputy Regional Director.
âPresident Duterte continues to incite killings and the climate of impunity across the Philippines is catastrophic, with lawyers and judges increasingly the targets.Â