FILE PHOTO: Then-President Rodrigo Duterte and then-Presidential Chief Legal Counsel Salvador Panelo. The photo was taken in June 2018. – The former chief executive was slapped Friday, January 17, 2025, with a disbarment case, which his former legal counsel dismissed as baseless. Atty. Salvador Panelo likewise insisted that Duterte’s statements on killings related to his administration’s bloody drug war “were all hyperbole” and won’t stand in court. File photo by TOTO LOZANO / Presidential Photographers Division)
MANILA, Philippines — Ex-President Rodrigo Duterte was slapped with a disbarment case, which his former legal counsel dismissed as baseless.
Atty. Salvador Panelo likewise insisted that Duterte’s statements on killings related to his administration’s bloody drug war “were all hyperbole” and won’t stand in court.
Article continues after this advertisementHuman rights group Karapatan and other advocates, religious leaders, and relatives of victims of extrajudicial killings filed on Friday a disbarment case against Duterte. They cited the ex-president’s testimony before a Senate panel probing into the drug war.
FEATURED STORIES NEWSINFO Marcos: Enrile right on INC rally, but Duterte impeachment timing is off NEWSINFO PNP summons mall guard over viral video mistreating young vendor NEWSINFO Marcos: Nat’l food emergency seen to lower rice pricesDuring the hearing at the Senate, Duterte admitted to giving kill orders in his brutal anti-drug campaign.
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Article continues after this advertisementThe petitioners asserted that Duterte violated the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) and had shown conduct unbecoming of a lawyer.
Article continues after this advertisement“He has not violated any unethical conduct or law as a member of the Bar,” Panelo said late Friday.
“No admission was made on extra-judicial killings. They should read the transcript of the proceedings. All his statements on killings were all hyperbole. They will not stand in court,” he added.
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It was a reference to the notorious “behest loans” granted to individuals or corporations favored by powerful government officials.
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