By Atty. Julius Gregory B. Delgado
END IMPUNITY AND KILLING OF LAWYERS
The legal profession again suffered another casualty in the person of lawyer Maria Saniata
Liwliwa Gonzales Alzate. Atty. Alzate was killed in front of her house in Santiago St., Bangued, Abra last
Thursday, September 14, 2023, at 4:55 p.m. Atty. Alzate was a former President of the Integrated Bar of
the Philippines (IBP) Abra Chapter and has been a Commissioner of the IBP Commission on Bar
Discipline.
It is alarming that almost every year, lawyers are getting killed for the performance of their
duties as officers of the court. Just last August 22, 2023, Atty. Elmer Mape was gunned down at his farm
in Villaba, Leyte. On September 15, 2021, Atty. Juan Macababbad was killed outside his home in
Surallah, South Cotabato. In Cebu City, Atty. Rex Fernandez was shot dead while on board his car last
August 26, 2021. Lawyer Gilda Mahinay-Sapie was shot by a sniper together with her husband outside
their home in Davao City last July 15, 2021. Atty. Joey Luis Wee was gunned down in broad daylight as
he was about to enter his office last November 23, 2020. Another lawyer, Atty. Baby Maria Concepcion
Landero-Ole, was gunned down while driving her pick-up truck along the highway in Danao City, Cebu
on December 17, 2020.
It is recommended that the IBP National Office, through its Peer Assistance Committee, must
hold an intensive Threat Awareness and Security Seminar for lawyers. While the IBP National Office
assists in prosecuting perpetrators of killings and violence against lawyers, it is best that a proactive
approach be taken. Also, it is worth considering if lawyers, especially those with recorded threats,
should be exempted from the Gun Ban every election. It is unfortunate that lawyers will be defenseless
against these outlaws who carry arms even during the Gun Ban. The call is to end impunity and stop all
these senseless killings of lawyers.