Palace condemns stabbing of lawyer in anti-terror law petition

MANILA – Malacañang condemned the stabbing of a human rights lawyer assisting in anti-terrorism law petitions, describing it as “an attack on the rule of law.”

Reports showed that lawyer Angelo Karlo “AK” Guillen, who serves as legal counsel for various public interest and human rights cases, was stabbed by masked men in Iloilo City on Wednesday night.

“We condemn that attack in the same manner that we condemn any attack that seeks to violate the right to life. And we consider na itong pag-atake po sa abogado ay mas karumal-dumal dahil inaatake din nila yung ating tinatawag na rule of law (And we consider that this attack on a lawyer is even more abominable because the rule of law is also under attack),” Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said in a press briefing held in Cebu City.

Roque urged law enforcement authorities, including the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI), to run after the perpetrators of the assault on Guillen.

“Inaatasan natin ang lahat po ng ating kapulisan, ang ating NBI na imbestigahan ang kasong ito at parusahan yung mga tao na nasa likod sa attempt na patayin itong kapwa nating abugado (We instruct all our police, our NBI to investigate this case and punish the people behind the attempt to kill our fellow lawyer),” he said.

Roque also expressed support for the efforts of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to coordinate with government agencies at the national level, which helped identify, arrest, and charge supposed perpetrators of the crimes against lawyers.

“We support, in other words, the resolution of the IBP,” he said.

In a separate statement, the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) condemned the attack against Guillen, who serves as their assistant vice president in the Visayas.

“(The) NUPL calls on authorities to promptly and properly investigate the attempt on the life of Attorney Guillen,” NUPL Vice President for the Visayas Rene Estocapio said in a statement.

Guillen serves as counsel in various public interest and human rights cases, such as one of the 37 petitions questioning the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020.

He also represents activists and human rights defenders facing trumped-up charges in court, including the activists arrested during the police raids in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental in October 2019 and the Tumandoks arrested in Panay in December 2020.

On Labor Day last year, he was arrested after responding to the illegal arrest of 42 activists who were protesting the extrajudicial killing of Bayan Muna – Iloilo coordinator Jory Porquia.

Since June 2016, the NUPL has recorded at least 54 killings of lawyers and judges that are prima facie related their work.

In December 2020, the IBP, NUPL, and various legal groups raised concerns over the increasing and alarming incidents of attacks on lawyers before the Supreme Court.