Justice Puno calls for more law practitioners

BAGUIO CITY (May 4) — Amid the unresolved murder cases piling-up on the judges desks nationwide, Chief Justice Reynato Puno said in a press briefing held in Baguio Country Club that there is a dire need for more law practitioners.

Although Chief Justice Puno believes that every profession has its own disadvantages, it seems that a profession in law has become as risky as the media profession.

According to the Counsels for the Defense of Liberties (CODAL), an alliance of lawyers’ organizations, established in 1999, 15 judges were murdered and 26 lawyers were killed in different regions of the country since 2001.

Puno introduced the joint project of the Supreme Court and the Judiciary on the new mediation mechanics for the proper training of judges. This project is funded by the government of Canada that is scheduled to end this year.

The training Puno elaborated will complement the regular justice system that exists in the country today, and would speed up the resolution of the piled-up murder cases.

Protection for law practitioners

To secure the lives of the judges and other law practitioners, the high court has allowed members of the judiciary to purchase small-powered guns. But Puno said, the possession of firearms is only temporary.

Deeming this temporary, the Philippine Judicial Academy (PHILJA) conducts a three-day Personal Security Training for judges that includes crime prevention and personal security measures.

Puno added that litigation lawyers in the country are decreasing in number not only because of the threats on their safety but because of other opportunities.

“They [litigation lawyers] are a vanishing breed. Globalization attracts lawyers to go to corporate international law,” Puno said. # Niña Camille M. Pacial for NORDIS