FOLLOWING the circulation of an anonymous list tagging three lawyers as communists, the Union of People's Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM) hit the worsening vilification of lawyers in different parts of the country.
Lawyer Jose Begil Jr., UPLM chairperson, said "there has been a set pattern that after a person is vilified or red-tagged, the next chapter will be death or gallows".
Begil cited the cases of mass leaders Datu Jomorito Goaynon, who, before his arrest, was the subject of vilification after tarpaulin signages were posted in Talakag, Bukidnon identifying him as a recruiter of the New People's Army (NPA).
"Under the current scheme of things, is it now a crime to serve the under-served, the deprived and the oppressed? It seems so as according to the Free Legal Aid Group headed by Attorney Chel Diokno, 14 lawyers have lost their lives under suspect circumstances coinciding with Duterte´s assumption of office. Putting our colleagues in this perilous position will only be a spark that will kindle people´s lawyering among those in the legal profession," he said.
"These blood and tears shed from injustice will only feed and help grow the young lawyers and one day they will stand beside us or take our place and be led by the people´s thirst for justice," Begil added.
Last week, an unsigned and unverifiable hit-list which includes the lady lawyers of the Musni family was released. Rights groups are accusing the military as the ones behind this list.
The list includes the names of alleged members of the Communist Party of the Philippines. On the list are priests, nuns, organizations, media personality, a Commission on Elections (Comelec) employee and law student, among others.
Brigadier General Franco Nemesio Gacal, 4th Infantry Division commander, denied the accusations and instead offered to provide security to those on the list.
"We are making friends, not enemies. The document shown by Karapatan members does not belong to us as we do not resort to cheap stunts to attain our goals," he said.