‘Threat’ Against Lawyers Denounced

House Deputy Minority Leader and Bayan Muna Rep. Satur C. Ocampo today denounced the Arroyo government’s renewed overt surveillance with apparent intent to harass and intimidate the human rights lawyers defending him and fellow party-list representatives in Congress in three murder charges filed against them on April 18 in Nueva Ecija Regional Trial Courts.

“We condemn the Arroyo government and its security forces for this new wave of harassment and intimidation of Atty. Romeo Capulong and his associates in the Public Interest Law Center,” Ocampo said.

“This is obvious retaliation to the lawyers’ timely legal step that frustrated the Department of Justice and CIDG-PNP (Criminal Investigation and Detection Group – Philippine National Police) attempt to obtain a warrant of arrest against us soon after the filing of the charges,” he added.

Ocampo warned the Arroyo government that it “would be held accountable should any harm were inflicted on Atty. Capulong and other human rights lawyers involved in our defense.”

The PILC last Monday filed a motion for judicial determination of probable cause initially heard by RTC Branch 40 Judge Evelyn Atienza-Turla in Palayan City. The Court reset the hearing on May 12, after the prosecution manifested opposition. No warrant of arrest can be issued in the meantime.

Besides Ocampo, the other accused in the three cases are fellow Bayan Muna Rep. Teodoro Casiño, Gabriela Rep. Liza Maza, and former Anakpawis Rep. Rafael Mariano. The PILC also handled the rebellion case against the Batasan 6, which was ordered dismissed by the Supreme Court in July 2007.

Ocampo cited two instances of overt surveillance on Capulong and the PILC. The first was on April 20 in Cabanatuan City, after Atty. Capulong held a press conference on the motion the PILC had filed with the Palayan Regional Trial Court.

“After the press conference, as he was leaving the venue, he noticed two motorcycle riding men in tandem and several men in a Toyota Revo tailing him. Atty. Capulong had to seek protection from his relative, a retired PNP general from his hometown, Nueva Ecija, to shake off the tailgaters and leave safely for Metro Manila,” reports reaching Ocampo’s office stated.

The second was on April 23. At 10:30 am, three burly men early 30’s all wearing caps went to the massage parlor on the ground floor of the building PILC holds office. While two of the men had a massage, the third approached a male staff watering plants. Saying he wished to avail of PILC’s legal services that he allegedly read in an advertisement, he asked the staff these questions: “Pare-pareho ba disenyo ng mga kuwarto sa loob ng gusali ng KAIJA? Anong oras ba umuuwi ang mga abogado? Sino ang head nila? Alin ba mga sasakyan nila? Puede mo ba kaming tulungan makapasok sa loob?”

Getting suspicious of the man’s intent, the parlor staff referred him to the building security.

“Di ko po alam yan, kung gusto nyo sa guard na lang kayo magtanong.” At that point the man remarked, “Ay di bale na lang.”

“The two incidents are clearly related, both intended to harass and intimidate Atty. Capulong and his human rights lawyer associates handling our Nueva Ecija cases. They can also be connected to the stakeout on me at my residence in Quezon City on April 20,” Ocampo observed.

Ocampo reminded the Department of Justice and the CIDG-PNP of the Supreme Court’s strong admonition that prosecutors, who are under DoJ supervision and control, should not allow and avoid “giving the impression that their noble office is being used or prostituted… for political ends.”

Since 2001, more than 17 lawyers and 10 judges have been killed for reasons related to their profession, among them Felidito Dacut and Norman Bocar, both human rights and labor lawyers from Eastern Visayas. #

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