Default Thumbnail

CHR to probe lawyer’s killing in Cebu City

August 27, 2021 Hector Lawas 498 views

The Commission on Human Rights (CHR) will conduct a parallel investigation into the killing of a lawyer who was shot by still unidentified assailants in Cebu City Thursday afternoon.

Lawyer Rex Fernandez died on the spot due to multiple gunshot wounds, initial police investigation showed.

Fernandez’s vehicle, a Toyota Camry, was ambushed by the motorcycle-riding suspects in Bgy. Guadalupe.

Reports have it that Fernandez was travelling along with his driver, who was wounded, when they were treacherously attacked.

He was the same lawyer who recently went on a hunger strike outside a condominium in Mandaue City when the management reportedly cut off his water supply.

In a statement, CHR spokesperson Jacqueline de Guia said a quick reaction team was assigned to conduct an investigation.

“CHR decries the brazen assault against a person’s right to life. No reason can ever justify any act that will arbitrarily deprive a person of their life,” de Guia said.

“We have also seen numerous assaults against lawyers. It is tragic that those too in the legal profession have fallen victims to injustices and human rights violations that they have sworn to fight,” she added.

Meanwhile, the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) condemned the incident. In a statement, the group said: “No words, indeed. Another colleague has fallen with his boots on. We had lost count. It has not stopped and every lawyer is a sitting duck. Rex was a founding member of NUPL in 2007. He was also Karapatan counsel for years.”

AUTHOR PROFILE