December 2016 by bohol tribune
NBI claims some lawyers[/font][/size]here are 'pushers, users'[/size]TAGBILARAN CITY, Bohol - The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) has dropped a bombshell at a peace council meeting, alleging that some Boholano lawyers have been involved in the illegal drug trade.At a recent Provincial Peace and Order Council (PPOC) meeting presided by Gov. Edgar M. Chatto and attended by police and military officials, NBI-Bohol chief lawyer Arcelito Albao had revealed that based on their intelligence report, there are lawyers in Bohol who are either drug pushers or drug users.The NBI official said his office has a copy of the list of Boholano lawyers who have flirted with illegal drugs.Albao said the NBI has notified the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP-Bohol) on this alarming trend, saying the agency would soon conduct raids on the offices or homes of suspected drug personalities if they won't abandon the illegal drug trade.The disclosure of the NBI has shocked members of the PPOC, who hold high respects to lawyers from Bohol.[/size]As this develops, the IBP-Bohol Chapter has not issued an official statement on the allegations hurled by the NBI.The Bohol Tribune had sought reaction from Atty. Ted Lagang, IBP-Bohol Chaper president, but the latter has not responded to the query of the paper, as of press time.The Bohol Tribune has also sought reaction from several Bohol lawyers, but text messages remain unanswered as of press time.But one lawyer, Tubigon-born Julius Gregory B. Delgado, who maintains a law firm in Manila, has reacted to the NBI report, saying, "to be cowed by this malicious and hasty generalization is a disavowal of our sacred oath as officers of the court, defenders of civil liberties and vanguards of democracy."[/size]Delgado said that "assuming there are some lawyers who may be involved in the drug syndicate either users and/or pushers, it is irresponsible to generalize and publicize the same the way they handled the information.""It sends a chilling effect to lawyers who may not have the luxury of choosing their clients and cases. Lawyers cannot and should not shirk from their duties in protecting the interests and constitutional rights of their clients who are presumed innocent until proven otherwise," he stressed.
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