It is not disorder or damage to property that most endangers society, but the daily violence of hunger, corruption, and repression. It is the poor who are punished swiftly and harshly, while those truly responsible for the country’s decay are shielded from accountability.

To punish children for protest or poverty while sparing the powerful who plunder and abuse is the gravest injustice. The State’s duty is not to break the young with fear but to uphold their dignity and rights.

The National Union of Peoples’ Lawyers (NUPL) condemns the brutal murder of Atty. Joshua Lavega Abrina in Puerto Princesa City, who was gunned down outside his home on September 17, 2025.