LEGAL INSIGHTS
By Atty. Katherine Panguban
In our General Assembly at Adamson University College of Law tonight, we had Former ICC Judge and Dean Raul Pangalangan serving as our guest speaker, who spoke about the Truth Commission on the EJKs during the Duterte Administration and how the “Nanays” of the victims speak of their experiences in their quest for accountability. And yes, the Vincentian lawyers and law students join them in this continuing saga for justice, accountability and healing.
The government has a duty to protect commuters and ensure adequate transportation. It should meet that duty through lawful contingency measures, meaningful dialogue, and concrete action on the conditions driving transport workers and operators to protest—not by threatening their livelihoods.
“This is a hard-won victory through a relentless campaign, sound legal tactics, and the support of the mass movement that stood with the Velosos through all the challenges.”
The ICC is a consent- and rules-based tribunal that forwards one of the foundations of the international legal order: there must be accountability for grave crimes. It cannot bow down to the wishes of the few, and more so, to the whims of the small-minded.
Most of them were former law students who worked with me in our legal clinics at Adamson Law, especially during the Feast Day of St. Vincent. From urban poor communities in Manila to relocation sites in Valenzuela, Bulacan, Pampanga, and Laguna, they experienced firsthand how to explain the law in simple terms so that people could use it to protect their basic human rights.