MANILA, Philippines – Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno said on Thursday, November 23, that “legitimate” lawyers’ groups should take the lead in checking abuses in the government’s clampdown on drugs and crime, and not what she called “publicity seekers” just riding on the issue for self-promotion.

Sereno was addressing the national chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), led by president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo, and other groups  that have on the forefront of filing cases against policemen allegedly involved in extrajudicial killings (EJKs). 

“You, the IBP, and the legitimate law and paralegal organizations must exert the same pressure on the police and the prosecution to solve and successfully prosecute the assailants and not leave it to just anyone who desires media mileage to own the issue of making the police accountable for unsolved murders, rapes, robbery and widespread thievery,” she said at the human rights summit organized by the IBP, which aims to address legal challenges in the drug war.

“If the issue belongs to anyone, it belongs to you,” Sereno added. (READ: HIGHLIGHTS: What was discussed in SC oral arguments on drug war?)

Sereno did not name any particular publicity-hungry personality or group. 

When asked, Ferdinand Topacio, Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption counsel said the VACC not feel alluded to” by Sereno’s pronouncement. Another VACC counsel, Larry Gadon, had filed an impeachment complaint against Sereno which is being heard by the House committee on justice.

“The Chief Justice must be talking about ‘instant’ supposed non-governmental organizations like FATE, or politicians who ride on the issue of so-called EJKs. The VACC has a track record of being consistent in its advocacy as an anti-crime watchdog for two decades and under several administrations,” Topacio said. 

‘Rethink your positions’

Sereno also told the lawyers to acknowledge and understand the sentiment of those who support a hardline policy on crime.

“When murders and rapes are being committed in such frequency and gore, you must expect people to be angry. They will not understand if you try to protect the right to life by a drug suspect when the community is of the belief that drug addicts are the perpetrators of these crimes,” Sereno said.

Law groups like the Center for International Law (CenterLaw), Free Legal Assistance Group (FLAG) and the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) have been criticized by supporters of the administration for defending individuals allegedly linked to drugs.

Sereno advised the law groups to “rethink their positions relative to these issues.”

“So that we will minimize the spectacle of kibitzers, thrusting themselves in the public eye when they cannot even boast of the kind of track record of public service that you have,” Sereno said.

“It is your accomplishments that must be lauded by the public, not those of publicity seekers,” she added.

The Chief Justice told the lawyers not to be swayed by political ambition when choosing their stance on issues. (READ: ‘Do not be afraid to be minority’: Chief Justice Sereno, 5 years on)

“Never allow yourselves to be stymied, muzzled, or cowed. Let no political ambition stand in the way of doing what is right. You have all been trained in the law, you know what is right from wrong. Make your stand; make your stand in such a way that no one will doubt that your hearts are with the Filipino people,” Sereno said.

In the same speech, Sereno called on all constitutional bodies to maximize their mandates in upholding human rights, her most direct statement yet on President Rodrigo Duterte’s flagship anti-drugs campaign. – Rappler.com