New Philippine Bar Association officials take oath, vow to uphold rule of law

Newly appointed Philippine Bar Association (PBA) officials vowed to uphold the rule of law as they took their oath to officially perform their duties in the lawyers' group.

According to Victoria Tulad's Unang Balita report, PBA President Attorney Rico Domingo, who physically attended the event, said they will continue to perform the organization's watchdog function to "condemn acts of extra judicial killings of drug suspects and innocent persons."

In addition, Domingo said they will intensify efforts to implement the 2016 arbitral award that invalidated China's nine-dash claims in the South China Sea. President Rodrigo Duterte has previously branded the tribunal victory as "meaningless" and a piece of paper meant to be thrown in the trash. 

"We will formulate a blueprint for the enforcement of arbitral award to the UN and other international tribunal of course for the next administration to consider," said Domingo during the oath taking, which was attended by the PBA's new board of trustees.

During his opening remarks at the PBA event, Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo said they are "in the process of amending rules of criminal procedure in serving arrest and search warrants."

He further pointed out that they will "integrate the use of body cameras by police" in the criminal procedure.

It can be recalled that the Philippine National Police (PNP) received more than 2,600 units of body-worn cameras to ensure transparency in its police operations. 

Only a few officials personally went to the inauguration and oath-taking on June 18, 2021 at Event Session Hall in the SC. Majority of PBA officials and members watched the event online to comply with COVID-19 safety protocols.  —Consuelo Marquez/KBK, GMA News