MANILA – Lawyer Jose Manuel “Chel” Diokno said he was not threatened by Solicitor General Jose Calida’s threat to slap disbarment charges against him and some lawyers from Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).
The supposed disbarment raps against Diokno and IBP lawyers were for alleged “misrepresentation” of fishermen in a case on the West Philippine Sea before the Supreme Court.
“Bilang abogado na matagal nang tumutulong sa mga mahihirap, sanay na ako sa mga pagbabanta at pananakot mula sa bibig ng mga may kapangyarihan. Hindi na bago ‘yan,” Diokno said.
Diokno, who was the leader of the legal team that represented the fishermen in a petition before the SC, said he was unfazed with by the threat and will continue to fight for the fishermen.
Calida on Monday said Diokno with former and incumbent IBP presidents, may face disbarment raps for misrepresenting the Writ of Kalikasan case to the fishermen.
Calida added the fishermen were not informed that they were actually suing the state in their Writ of Kalikasan and they only knew the true nature of the case through the news.
This eventually led to their withdrawal from the Writ of Kalikasan petition as about half of the 40 fishermen who filed the petition backed out of the case after they were allegedly kept in the dark.
A Writ of Kalikasan is a legal remedy available to any person who feels that their constitutional right to a balanced and healthful ecology has been violated or could be violated by an unlawful act or omission of a public official or employee, or private individual or entity.
In this case, the fishermen asked the SC to compel the government to preserve, restore, and rehabilitate Panatag Shoal, Ayungin Shoal, and Panganiban Reef, which they said were heavily damaged by China’s artificial island-building activities./PN
