Press Statement
05 March 2026
The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) today filed before the Supreme Court a petition for the writs of amparo and habeas data seeking protection for NUPL Negros Chairperson Atty. Rey A. Gorgonio and PDG development workers, amid reported threats, surveillance, harassment, and intimidation attributed to military elements and other state agents.
On the same date, NUPL wrote the Chief Justice to raise continuing threats against Atty. Ma. Catherine Dannug-Salucon of Isabela. Her petition for the writs of amparo and habeas data was granted by the Court of Appeals in a 12 March 2015 Decision, and affirmed by the Supreme Court on 23 January 2018. An Urgent Manifestation with Motion was filed before the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 00053, reporting that threats to her life, liberty, and security persist, notwithstanding court directives to the respondents to exercise extraordinary diligence, conduct further investigation, disclose relevant records, and submit periodic reports.
Threats against counsel impair the right to due process, erode the independence of the legal profession, and undermine public confidence in the administration of justice. The UN Basic Principles on the Role of Lawyers affirm that lawyers must be able to perform their professional functions without intimidation, hindrance, harassment, or improper interference, and must not be identified with their clients or their clients’ causes. In an environment where the rhetoric of red-tagging is amplified, especially in the context of counterterrorism laws, the risk of physical harm to counsel deepens, and the chilling effect on legal representation becomes more acute.
The petition alleges that Atty. Gorgonio, PDG’s legal adviser and a member of its Board of Trustees, has been openly red-tagged in communities, including by elements of the 303rd Infantry Brigade, and has been tailed and monitored by unidentified individuals in civilian clothes. It also recounts threats received by a PDG development worker warning him to stop associating with Atty. Gorgonio and stating he would be “silenced” for being “too brave.” Atty. Gorgonio’s co-petitioners, who are also his clients from PDG, likewise allege coercive pressure to cooperate with the military as intelligence assets and threats extending to their family members.
In CA-G.R. SP No. 00053, the Urgent Manifestation reports that threats persist notwithstanding existing judicial protection granted in favor of Atty. Dannug-Salucon. It states that a person claiming to be a police officer assigned to the Burgos Municipal Police Station was directed to profile her and gather information on her circumstances and activities. The submission also raises concern over the lack of an independent and effective investigation despite the higher courts’ previous directives.
NUPL urged the Supreme Court to consider safeguards that protect lawyers and litigants and keep court processes safe, including convening a dialogue on effective protective mechanisms, issuing guidance when red-tagging and guilt-by-association narratives surface in court proceedings, and adopting clear protocols for responding to credible threats against counsel. ###
Reference:
Atty. Josalee S. Deinla
NUPL Secretary General
+639174316396
