BAR FINE National Capital Region Police commander Guillermo Eleazar and police commissioner southern police Tomas Apolinario Jr. inspect drugs in the buildings of Time Bar in Makati City. -Grig C. MONTEGRANDE
It was wrong for the Makati police to bring charges against three lawyers who were looking only for the interests of their client, a makati-bar suspected of having drug users, Senators said Saturday.
Minority leader Franklin Drilon, a former justice minister, said the arrest of lawyers Romulo Alarkon, Jan Vincent Soliven and Lenie Rocha was "a manifestation of a deteriorating culture of impunity in the Philippine National Police."
The arrest was "obviously unlawful and arbitrary," he said.
Attorneys were arrested while Police sought the Time in Manila Bar on Makati Avenue for evidence of drug use.
Attorneys were accused of various cases, including constructive possession of illicit drugs & # 39 ;, while lawyers were in a place where drugs were found.
Sen. Aquilino Pimentel III said that the arrest was an "obvious mistake, since there was no evidence that the three conspirators committed a crime."
"How can lawyers be indirectly liable for actions that their clients might have committed?" Said Pimentel. "That is one of the strangest legal theories I have ever encountered in my life."
Sen. Francis Pangilinan said it was the job of the lawyers to protect the interests of their clients.
The Human Rights Commission also regretted the arrest of the lawyers, who, according to spokesman Jacqueline De Guia, demonstrated the police's lack of respect for officials of the court. -Leila B. Salaverria with a report from Melvin Gascon
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