The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Bohol chapter has issued a statement regarding the remarks made by first district Board Member Ricky Masamayor about judges and lawyers hearing and handling, respectively, drug cases in the province. The statement was issued on Thursday, May 28, 2020.
In the statement, the IBP said, “We express our grave concern on the statement and move of Board Member Ricky Masamayor to come up with a list of lawyers and judges handling and hearing drug-related cases, respectively. We see this statement and move of Board Member Masamayor as a form of political aggrandizement at the expense of the Bench and the Bar.”
In the said statement, the group of lawyers said, “We condemn in the strictest term Board Member Masamayor’s seeming harassment and intimidation against our judges. This is an attempt to prevent them from performing their constitutional duty of dispensing justice without fear or favor.”
The IBP also said that, “The overzealousness of Board Member Masamayor in performing his role as Chairman of the Committee on Peace and Order of the Sangguniang Panlalawigan does not give him the unbridled license to encroach upon the province of the judiciary and clip judicial power and prerogative.”
The IBP continued by saying that, “The pronouncement of Board Member Masamayor that he wants to know who among the judges always acquit drug-related cases borders to contempt of our courts.”
The group added in the statement: “Unless he can provide a good justification thereof, this statement and move of Board Member Masamayor is nothing but an attempt to intimidate and pressure our judges to always convict or face ostracism at the bar of public opinion. It is a basic and elementary principle that in a criminal case, if the prosecution fails to prove the guilt of an accused beyond reasonable doubt, the judge hearing the case must render an acquittal.”
The statement also reads, “While we respect the opinion and stand of Board Member Masamayor regarding plea bargaining and intention to lobby before Congress for its reform or abolition, we wish to point out that under Section 5 (5) of Article VIII of the 1987 Philippine Constitution, only the Supreme Court has the ‘exclusive authority’ to promulgate rules for the protection and enforcement of constitutional rights, pleading, practice and procedure in all courts. Until the Supreme Court amends or changes the rules, plea bargaining, within the parameters set by the Court, will remain an option for the accused. We wish to remind everyone, including Board Member Masamayor,that putting these judges in the bad light and casting aspersion on their integrity just because they approved plea bargaining agreements is bordering to a criminal act as it incites the public to go against the duly-constituted judicial authorities and defy its promulgated rules. Equally alarming is Board Member Masamayor’s campaign for a purge against lawyers handling drug-related cases. As officers of the court, lawyers play a vital, if not an indispensable role, in ensuring that the wheels of justice continue to grind with the end-goal of attaining a just and fair society.”
It was added in the IBP statement that, “Generally, a lawyer cannot reject the cause of the defenseless and the oppressed. (Section 2.01, Code of Professional Responsibility). Likewise, a lawyer cannot decline to represent a person because of his own opinion regarding the guilt of such person. (Section 14.01, Code of Professional Responsibility). Even the lawyers in public prosecution, their primary duty is not to convict, but to see that justice is done. (Section 6.01, Code of Professional Responsibility).”
In conclusion the lawyers’ group said, “Finally, we take this opportunity to remind everyone, including Board Member Masamayor, that the legal profession is not an antithesis to the Administration’s campaign against criminality, including against the proliferation of illegal drugs. IBP-Bohol has a long-running program with the Provincial Government of Bohol and the Bohol Provincial Police Office known as the Legal Aid for Effective Law Enforcement Program (LAELEP). This program provides continuing legal education to police officers to help them become effective law enforcers. Every year, judges and lawyers deliver lecture to police officers to keep them abreast with the latest legal developments. Most importantly, the IBP Bohol Chapter, through LAELEP, has a pool of lawyers ready to represent police officers and other law enforcers who are facing harassment suits because of the performance of their duties. In times that the legal profession is being attacked, lawyers are always reminded to be firm, resolute and steadfast guided by the erudite words of the late Supreme Court Justice J.B.L. Reyes which has become an enduring slogan, “No master but law, no guide but conscience, no aim but justice.”
The statement was signed by officials of IBP Bohol led by its president Atty. Idonah Lee Grupo-Coritico.