THE INTEGRATED Bar of the Philippines (IBP) condemns the brazen and bloody assassination attempt on human rights, public interest, and Indigenous Peoples’ lawyer, Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen in the evening of March 3, 2021, in Iloilo City.
We pray for his safety and well-being as he grapples to survive two stab wounds with 12-inch screwdrivers on his head and back by two masked criminals who were picked up with two motorcycles right after the treacherous attack.
Atty. Guillen handles pro bono cases for the poor and the marginalized and is vocal against abuse and oppression. He is a counsel of one of the 37 groups questioning before the Supreme Court the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act.
The IBP Iloilo Chapter helped secure bail for him when he was arrested for publicly protesting and expressing his views and grievances with others in Iloilo City. He has been red-tagged and threatened many times.
Inflicting violence on those who seek justice is criminality in the highest degree. As IBP stands ready to help and cooperate with Atty. Guillen’s family, investigators, and law enforcers to identify, pursue, arrest, and resolutely prosecute the suspects, we highlight the primary role of government to secure its citizens and its international obligation to ensure that lawyers can do their job without fear, harassment, or retribution.
The danger and terror are real but we enjoin Filipino lawyers to courageously do their sworn duty amidst the pandemic of criminality.
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The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) condemns the attempt on the life of its assistant vice president for Visayas, Atty. Angelo Karlo Guillen, on March 3, in Iloilo City. Reports stated that two unidentified men stabbed Atty. Guillen in the head and shoulder.
Atty. Guillen serves as counsel in various public interest and human rights cases such as one of the 37 petitions questioning the constitutionality of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020. He also represents activists and human rights defenders facing trumped up charges in court including the activists arrested during the police raids in Bacolod City, Negros Occidental in October 2019 and the Tumandoks arrested in Panay in December 2020. On Labor Day last year, he was arrested after responding to the illegal arrest of 42 activists who were protesting the extrajudicial killing of Bayan Muna Iloilo coordinator Jory Porquia.
NUPL calls on authorities to promptly and properly investigate the attempt on the life of Atty. Guillen. Since June 2016, NUPL has recorded at least 54 killings of lawyers and judges that are prima facie related their work. In December 2020, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, NUPL, and various legal groups raised concerns over the increasing and alarming incidents of attacks on lawyers before the Supreme Court.
