By Pat Jared V. Pangantihon
Correspondent
AS the nation commemorates today the 49th year of the declaration of martial law by then-President Ferdinand E. Marcos, various non-government organizations have expressed their outrage on the recent killing of lawyer Juan Macababbad.
He was shot to death outside his home in Surallah, South Cotabato by still unknown assailants.
Macababbad is the latest casualty of more than 60 lawyers, prosecutors, and judges that have been killed in the five years that President Duterte has been in office.
The Duterte administration has been dogged by accusations of impunity for crimes against lawyers and environmental defenders.
He was a human rights advocate and a member of the National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) and vice-chair of the Union of Peoples’ Lawyers in Mindanao (UPLM). Macababbad was the third member of the group killed under the Duterte administration, the NUPL said.
“It is clear that the murder of Atty. Macababbad is connected to his vocation of lawyering for the people,” the UPLM statement reads in part.
Sanlakas Mindanao also condemned the killing of yet another legal counsel of the Indigenous People in Lake Sebu.
“The killing of lawyers is the effect of a fascist and despotic government which with no other priority except to harass and kill. We challenge our authorities to take action so justice can be served to the perpetrators of Atty. Macababbad,” Roldan Gonzales, Sanlakas Mindanao Coordinator, said.
For her part, Rara Ada, Mindanao Coordinator of the Philippine Movement for Climate Justice which also has community advocacies in Region 12, recalled that Macababbad was a staunch supporter in combating climate crisis and biodiversity loss.
”The killing of Atty. Macababbad is a tragic loss for the environmental campaign of the region, as he was also active in the opposition of harmful corporate farming practices and coal mining applications in the Socksargen area,” Ada said.
