Lawyers, just like journalists, are often misunderstood professionally. Don’t kill them.
This was, in essence, the message of Cebu City Councilor Gerardo Carillo in a privilege speech he delivered yesterday to condemn the killing of lawyer Noel Archival, brother of fellow Councilor Nestor Archival.
“Certainly, lawyers are just professionals performing and aiding our courts to serve the ends of justice,” said Carillo whom he considers a “friend, colleague and mentor in the legal profession.”
Mayor Michael Rama said “killing a lawyer is a condemnable act. It is treacherous in a way. A sign of utmost cowardice,” he said.
After Carillo’s speech, the Council passed on mass motion a resolution condemning the lawyer’s murder and calling the police to hasten their probe. The council also extends its condolences to his family.
“I did not go up to this podium because Noel is a friend, because he is (Councilor) Nestor’s brother, but because he is a lawyer just earning his keep. He (Noel) is a professional trying to represent his clients in the courts of law so that they shall be given their day in court,” Carillo said.
It was the late Archival who invited Carillo to join the Cebu Law Students for Humanity (Clash) and the Free Legal Assistance Group (Flag), cause-oriented groups assisting victims of human rights abuses.
“From then on I have known him as a jolly person who often cracks jokes even at the height of a very serious legal proceeding in court,” he said.
Carillo also recalled an instance wherein Archival was acting as counsel for a drug suspect in a hearing held a few years ago at the Regional Trial Court.
Archival, he said, presented in court the suspected drugs and drug paraphernalia confiscated from his client to question its authenticity. His arguments made the judge test the suspected shabu to determine for himself if it was the illegal drug.
While the judge was testing the substance, Archival commented that the judge was also becoming an addict himself, prompting the gallery to erupt into laughter.
“He (Archival) was actually trying to emphasize that the accused must be presumed innocent until proven otherwise,” said Carillo.
Carillo said that like everybody else, Noel was also a human being “as tame as a lamb” while attending to the needs of his family.
“But lawyers like Noel are often misunderstood. Our passion to represent our clients often earns the ire of the adverse party.”
Carillo said that several other lawyers were victims of killing by those who disapproved of their method of practicing their profession.
One of them was Atty. Jubain Acuas who was killed by Canadian John Pope inside the Palace of Justice on Jan. 22, 2013. The shooting spree also wounded prosecutor Maria Theresa Arsiño. Other slain lawyers include Atty. Richard Sison, Atty. Arbet Sta. Ana Yongco and Prosecutor Patrick Osorio, among others.
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