The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), the official organization of all Philippine lawyers, has condemned the assassination attempt on lawyer Angelo Karlo Guillen.

“Inflicting violence on those who seek justice is criminality to the highest degree,” the IBP said in a statement.

Counsels and petitioners against the anti-terror law have also called for a more active response against attacks on legal professionals. 

“Beyond issuing statements of condemnation, we urge members of the legal profession and various law groups to launch a more active and militant response to these attacks,” the group said.

The groups released their respective statements after Guillen, a lawyer in an anti-terror law petition, was stabbed with a screwdriver in the head and back by two unidentified assailants on March 3, at around 9:15 pm. 

NUPL Panay in an online indignation rally on Thursday, March 4, said Guillen is already in stable condition. 

“Stable na ang condition ni AK. Nakuha na ang screwdriver sa ulo niya. May iba pang stab wounds sa body niya pero minor na lang,” the group said. (AK is now in stable condition. The screwdriver was already removed from his head. Only minor stab wounds remain in his body.)

Guillen is the 4th NUPL lawyer to survive an assassination attempt since June 2016, under the Duterte administration. The others who survived are Ron Espinosa of Sorsogon, Cathy Salucon of Isabela, and Criselda Heredia of Capiz, according to NUPL.

The past years under the Duterte administration are considered by some groups as one of the deadliest in recent history. At least 56 judges, prosecutors, and lawyers have been killed between June 2016 to January 2021. 

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In December 2020, law school deans, former lawmakers, and legal experts submitted a letter to Chief Justice Diosdado Peralta asking Malacañang to act on the rising killings of legal experts in the country. – Rappler.com