SAMAR, Philippines – Alma Uy, the lawyer seeking justice for the March 2021 killing of Calbayog mayor Ronaldo Aquino and two of his aides, has been facing mounting threats every day.

Uy told Rappler in an interview on Wednesday, February 15, that the intimidation and threats against her life are becoming more serious. Just last week, on her way home after attending a court hearing in Gandara, Samar, a white Toyota Innova chased her vehicle.

“Same incident also happened, while I am about to attend a court hearing in Calbiga, Samar. Sa labas ng bahay namin nakita ng driver ko ang isang tao na bubunot na ng baril (Just outside our house, my driver saw a man who was about to pull out a gun),” Uy said. 

In our house, my office, and even at the Hall of Justice, there is surveillance and the intimidation is systematic. And the effort to attack is really there. I always see to it that all these incidents are documented. It was all caught on photos and videos at reported to the police,” she added in a mix of English and Filipino.

She stressed the importance of documenting these threats “so that if ever something happens to me, the police can check them in the investigation that would be conducted.”

These threats have not deterred her from giving justice to the families left behind by those who were killed in the March 2021 ambush.

Because of her apparent fearless nature, Uy is sometimes called the “Iron Lady” of Samar. She said this was just part of her duty as a lawyer.

“I’m doing this because this is the right thing to do, and the only way where we can achieve justice against this people who played gods in Samar,” she said.

Following the threats to her life, particularly an incident in December 2022, Uy sought the help of the National Bureau of Investigation in Eastern Visayas. She said that in December, a complainant accidentally opened the door of a vehicle, thinking that it was her car.

“Ngunit sa laki ng gulat at takot nito, ang sasakyan na ito ay puno ng armadong kalalakihan na may mahahabang armas. And same vehicle ay nakita at nakuha sa CCTV footage sa may residence namin na  umiikot at umaaligid sa bahay namin days after that court hearing noong December. Ang nakikita ko lang naman na possible na meron threat sa akin ay ang kaso na hawak ko ngayon ang Aquino murder case,” she said.

(She was taken aback and was gripped by fear when she saw that the vehicle was packed with armed men with long arms. CCTV footage caught this same vehicle passing by and lingering by our house several times days after a court hearing last December. The only reason I can think of as the reason for these threats is the Aquino murder case.)

“This is clearly meant to harass and silence me. But it is a threat I do not take lightly due to the fact that there are lawyers have been murdered in the past,” she added.

In July 2014, Uy survived a car ambush in Jiabong, Samar. She believed that it was a politically motivated.

Uy is fully aware of the significance of the Aquino murder case. “This case will define my life as a lawyer.”

Uy is a part-time professor at Saint Mary’s College, and served as a provincial board member of the second district of Samar from 2016 to 2019.  She was a member of the Catbalogan City council from 2019 to 2022.

When she was a Samar provincial board member in 2016, Uy, was the only one who opposed the province’s P800-million loan. She also opposed the commercialization of the Samar Provincial Athletic Field and the transfer of an elementary school to a lot beside the Samar Provincial Hospital.

Before entering politics, Uy was presiding judge of the Municipal Circuit Trial Court of the towns of Daram, Zumarraga, and Motiong in Samar; and assisting judge of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities of Calbayog.

In November 2022, Uy was conferred as the most outstanding law practitioner of the year at the Eastern Visayas Media Awards.

Uy, is a native of Catbalogan, Samar, and married to Cicero Lampasa, the presiding judge of Regional Trial Court Branch 27 in Catbalogan. – Rappler.com