MANILA, Philippines – Since a House panel ordered the detention of Vice President Sara Duterte’s chief of staff, lawyer Zuleika Lopez, on November 20, there have been calls for the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to make an official position on the matter.
The IBP national office broke its silence a week later: It is not obliged to take any position on the decision of the House committee on good government to cite Lopez in contempt and order her detention.
“The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) is prohibited from engaging in partisan politics. It is prohibited from making any public statements, taking any action, or engaging in any activity that tends to favor a particular political party or political group,” IBP said in a statement released on Thursday, November 28.
The IBP cited Section IV of the revised IBP By-Laws which states: “The Integrated Bar is strictly nonpolitical, and every activity tending to impair this basic feature is strictly prohibited and shall be penalized accordingly.”
The IBP said that Lopez was invited by the House panel in her capacity as chief of staff “of a national political figure who is currently engaged in a partisan political feud with another national political figure,” and that during the hearing, she was cited in contempt and ordered detained due to her “evasive” answers.
“Under these given state of facts, is the Integrated Bar of the Philippines obliged to take a stand, either for or against, the contempt and detention order issued by the Committee of Congress against the said individual? The answer is NO,” the IBP said.
It cited the four reasons, among them, that “there is no doubt” that Lopez was invited by the House panel as a “resource person” because of her role as chief of staff of the Vice President. The IBP reiterated that Duterte is a political figure who is at odds with another political figure, referring to President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
“Thus, if the IBP takes a stand regarding the order of contempt and detention issued by the Committee of Congress against the said individual, it will surely be interpreted as an activity that tends to impair the basic feature of the IBP as a non-political organization,” the IBP said.
The IBP also said that the legal profession of Lopez was not the reason why she was invited as a resource person, but because of her job as Duterte’s chief of staff.
“Moreover, the rights of individuals who are invited as resource persons to legislative inquiries in aid of legislation has already been clearly defined in Supreme Court decisions, including the remedies available to the said individuals in the event that their rights are violated. All lawyers are presumed to know these Supreme Court decisions because these form part of the law of the land. Ignorantia Legis Neminem Excusat (Ignorance of the law excuses not),” it said.
“Thus, any lawyer who wishes to assist an individual who is held in contempt and ordered detained by the Committee of Congress is presumed to know the legal remedies available to that individual, and is encouraged to immediately take legal action to protect the rights of the said individual,” the IBP added.
On Monday, November 25, the Quezon City Trial Court Lawyers League said the House committee on good government, which is probing the alleged fund misuse of the Vice President, violated Lopez’s right to due process and presumption of innocence when it cited her for contempt and ordered her detention at the women’s prison in Mandaluyong City.
The group said that panel’s actions “are patently tantamount to grave abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.”
Duterte earlier said that Lopez planned to take “legal steps” after the House panel, which detained her beginning November 20, extended her detention by five more days. She has been confined at the Veterans Medical Memorial Center since Saturday, November 23, following her anxiety attack triggered by the order to move her to the Women’s Correctional Facility in Mandaluyong City.
The order also infuriated Duterte who, in an online press conference on Saturday, said she had arranged the assassination of Marcos, First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez, in the event that she is killed. While she had backtracked on the statement, the initial pronouncement was enough to launch a full-blown government investigation. – Rappler.com
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