Disbarment raps filed vs. top IBP officials over ‘Bikoy’ presser

A party-list group on Friday sought the disbarment of two officials of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines for their alleged involvement in the surfacing of the man who claimed to have implicated members of the First Family in the illegal drug trade.

The Kabalikat ng Nagkakaisang Manileño party-list-accused outgoing IBP president Abdiel Dan Elijah Fajardo and vice president and incoming president Domingo Cayosa of violating Rule 1.02 of the Code of Professional Responsibility.

The rule states that a lawyer shall not counsel or abet activities that defy the law or lessen confidence in the legal system.

In a complaint filed with the Supreme Court's Office of the Bar Confidant, the party-list said Fajardo and Cayosa erred by "allowing, tolerating, and abetting" Peter Joemel Advincula in committing "slander and/or uttering seditious words or speech and in circulating scurrilous libels against the duly constituted authority and a member of his family."

Claiming to be the "Bikoy" in a series of anti-Duterte videos, Advincula briefly appeared to deliver a statement at the IBP headquarters in Ortigas on Monday afternoon.

The IBP denied it invited the media organizations that covered the event. It later declined the man's request for free legal assistance.

However, the Kabalikat party-list alleged that the IBP's logo being visible in the background while Advincula spoke created the impression that the IBP was supporting Advincula.

It said the press conference "reeked of political agenda."

Solicitor General Jose Calida has also called on Fajardo to resign.

IBP defended

For his part, Philippine Law School Dean Jose Aguila Grapilon, former IBP president, defended the IBP, saying the organization is open to anyone aggrieved by violations of the law.

"The issue facing Mr. Advincula is one concerning his freedoms of speech and of expression," Grapilon said in a Thursday statement.

"While the IBP through the National Center for Legal Aid cannot represent him, his concerns are ones that cannot be belittled -- especially in these dark times for our country and our constitutional rights," he added.

He urged his fellow lawyers to "bear witness to these trying times, and if they can, serve the causes that need their expertise and fighting spirit."

"We as a profession cannot afford to ignore the troubling tides slowly besetting our beloved Republic," he said. —NB, GMA News