PINABUBUSISI na ng pamunuan ng Philippine National Police (PNP) ang nabunyag na paniniktik sa mga abogadong kumakatawan sa mga pinaghihinalaang kasapi ng communist terrorist group upang matukoy kung sino ang nag-utos nito.

Kasabay nito, itinanggi ng PNP na may polisiya sila hinggil sa naturang paniniktik lalo na ang bantang pananakit sa hanay ng lawywers.

Inamin ni PNP acting chief P/Lt. Gen. Guilermo Eleazar na “unprofessional and irresponsible,” ang naging hakbang ni Calbayog intelligence chief Police Lt. Fernando Calabria Jr., kasabay ng paglilinaw na hindi ito kautusan ng PNP top brass.

“What is certain at this point is that the PNP top brass did not issue any order pertaining to that, and will never tolerate such unprofessional method of information-gathering, ani Lt. Gen. Eleazar matapos ipag-utos ang pagsibak kay Calabria.

“We fully understand the sentiments of the members of the legal community and for this, I, on behalf of the men and women of the Philippine National Police, sincerely apologize for this reckless behavior,” ayon pa kay Eleazar.

Ang nasabing pahayag ay kasunod ng pag-alma ng mga kasapi ng Integrated Bar of the Philippines at National Union of Peoples Lawyers matapos mabatid ang kahilingan ni Calabria sa local court na makuha ang talaan ng mga legal counsel na kumakatawan sa mga inaakusahang kasapi ng terrorist group, militanteng organisasyon at mga pinaghihinalaang supporter ng ma ito.

Nabatid na maging ang Supreme Court ay naalarma sa kahilingan ni Calabria sa Calbayog Regional Trial Court.

Ang aksyon umano ni Calabria ay upang makatugon sa kautusan mula sa “higher PNP offices”.

Sinasabing ang controversial request ay may attached table na may column label na “mode of neutralization.”

Lumutang ang nasabing letter request sa kainitan ng mga balita hinggil sa pamamaslang sa mga abogado at aktibista na may kaugnayan sa communist movement.

Bilang aksyon, sinibak ni Eleazar si Calabria kasabay ng panawagan na magkaroon ng pagsisiyasat hinggil dito.

Ayon sa  National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) ang kahilingan ni Calabria ay lubhang nakaaalarma sa hanay ng mga abogado.

“And based on the initial result of the investigation, what PLt. Calabria did was part of his effort to come up with a comprehensive report on the communist insurgency situation in his area of responsibility, which is Calbayog City. The pressure of crafting a detailed report apparently took a toll on him and eventually prompted him to commit a serious breach of policy, ani Eleazar.

“We are currently checking if there were similar actions in other areas. At the same time, we are investigating to determine up to what level of police hierarchy is involved in this incident. What is certain at this point is that the PNP top brass did not issue any order pertaining to that, and will never tolerate such unprofessional method of information-gathering,” diin pa ng hepe ng PNP.

Samantala, binatikos din ng Federation of Free Workers (FFW) ang PNP sa naturang “profiling” ng mga abogado.

Ayon sa pangulo ng FFW na si Atty. Jose Sonny Matula, ang kanyang samahan ay “seriously alarmed  with the profiling of lawyers”.

Idiniin ni Matula na “highly questionable, if not reprehensible” ang ginawa ni Calabra.

“[I]n his zealous attempt to gather information, the police might be poaching or interfering on the jurisdiction of the courts, too, blurring the lines of the separation of powers of the judicial branch and the executive branch represented by the police,” birada ni Matula.

“[FFW] denounces that action which may lead to red-tagging that will lead to harrassment or even killing of lawyers.

It seems that that PNP intel officer does not know the concept of the rule of law in law enforcement. He does not know that a lawyer is not a servant of his client nor of the court but an officer of the court,” patuloy ni Matula na pinuno rin ng NAGKAISA Labor Coalition.

Matatandaang naglabas ng balita ang SAKSI Ngayon kamakailan na isiniwalat ng Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) na 61 abogado na ang pinatay simula noong 2016 hanggang kasalukuyan.
Ayon sa Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), malaki ang problema ng “criminal justice system” ng Pilipinas kung hindi malulutas ang pagpatay sa mga abogado. (JESSE KABEL/NELSON S. BADILLA)