AGAD na ipinag-utos ni Philippine National Police chief, Police General Guillermo Lorenzo T. Eleazar ang imbestigasyon hinggil sa paglikida sa isa na namang abogado noong Miyerkoles sa Surallah, South Cotabato.

Dead on arrival sa pagamutan ang biktimang si Atty. Juan Gammad Macababbad, 68, sanhi ng tama ng punglo sa iba’t ibang bahagi ng katawan,

Si Atty. Macababbad na pang 58 abogado na nilikida sa ilalim ng Duterte administration, ay binaril ng hindi pa kilalang mga suspek, ayon sa National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers.

Ang biktima ay miyembro ng National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers at vice chair ng Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao.

“He is the 58th lawyer and the third NUPL member killed under the administration of President Rodrigo Duterte, ayon sa grupo.

“The murder of Atty. Macababbad is connected to his vocation of lawyering for the people,” ayon sa UPLM, kasunod ng pahayag na nakatatanggap ng death threats ang biktima bago ito pinaslang.

“The legal profession is not spared, and our colleagues have become main targets especially those who resist tyranny and defend human rights,” ayon pa sa UPLM.

Agad na ipinag-utos ni Gen. Eleazar sa Soccsksargen PNP na magsagawa ng malalim na imbestigasyon hinggil sa kaso.

“The Philippine National Police joins the legal community and the Filipino people in condemning the killing of a lawyer in South Cotabato,” ani P/Gen. Eleazar.

Base sa ulat ng PNP, si Atty. Macababbad ay binaril ng tatlong hindi pa kilalang mga suspek habang nakatayo sa harapan ng bahay nito sa Brgy. Libertad, sa bayan ng Surallah saka mabilis na tumakas sakay ng motorsiklo.

“The Philippine National Police joins the legal community and the Filipino people in condemning the killing of a lawyer in South Cotabato. Kasabay ng pagkondena dito ay ang aking kautusan sa RD, PRO12 na tutukan ang kasong ito upang mapanagot ang mga taong nasa likod nito at maibigay ang nararapat na hustisya kay Atty. Macababbad at sa kanyang pamilya,” dagdag pa ni P/Gen. Eleazar.

Kaugnay sa mga abogadong pinapaslang, “I also ordered the Director, DIDM to check on the status of the cases of all the lawyers who were killed at least in the last five years in order to expedite the investigation on those which remain unsolved,” pahayag pa ni P/Gen. Eleazar.

Samantala, nanawagan ang Environmental activist group Kalikasan People’s Network for the Environment (Kalikasan PNE) para sa agarang imbestigasyon hinggil sa pagpatay kay Atty. Macababbad, isang environmental defender at public interest lawyer sa Surallah, South Cotabato.

“We condemn this murder most foul and demand an immediate independent investigation into the attack. We demand justice for Atty. Macababbad. The news of Atty. Macababbad’s death came just days after the Philippines was declared Asia’s deadliest country for environmental defenders like him eight years in a row,” ani Leon Dulce, National Coordinator ng Kalikasan PNE.

Si Macababbad ay binaril, ilang araw makaraang ipahayag ng Global Witness na ang Pilipinas ay ‘Asia’s deadliest country for environmental defenders for the eighth year running’.

Ayon sa report, umabot na 167 ang napapatay na environmental defenders mula 2017 hanggang 2020, sa ilalim ng Duterte administration.

“As a human rights lawyer for indigenous Lumads and small farmers opposing coal mining, plantations, and aerial spraying in South Cotabato, he was always a target of death threats. We demand accountability from the Duterte government for perpetuating this deadly climate of impunity,” dagdag pa ni Dulce. ((JESSE KABEL/JOEL O. AMONGO)