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By Karl Wilson
A SMALL hole in the wall of
lawyer Jose Bernas’s chambers marks the spot where an assassin’s
bullet has lodged in a botched attempt to kill him.
The hole, just to the right of
the main door, has a black circle drawn around it. It now serves as
a constant reminder that in the Philippines, the law often comes at
a very high price.
Bernas believes the attempt on
his life in May was connected with work he has done on one of the
many high profile cases involving Manila airport’s $600-million
mothballed international passenger terminal, known as terminal
three.
The ultramodern terminal has been
at the center of controversy and allegations of widespread
corruption since it was first conceived in 1992.
So far, one judge and the
country’s deputy solicitor general have been murdered and many
lawyers have allegedly been intimidated by various interest groups
connected with the terminal.
The saga of terminal three has
spanned the administrations of Presidents Fidel Ramos, the disgraced
Joseph Estrada and incumbent Gloria Arroyo.
Completed five years ago, it sits
abandoned on the other side of Manila airport away from the
existing, dilapidated 26-year-old international terminal. It has
never seen a single passenger or aircraft.
In 2004, the government
expropriated the project from Philippine International Airport
Terminals Co. (Piatco) and its private contractor, German company
Fraport, claiming major contract irregularities.
Since then, the fate of terminal
three has been bogged down in domestic legal battles and hearings in
the international arbitration courts in Washington and Singapore.
Bernas is just one of dozens of
lawyers involved in the lengthy litigation. He has no doubt the
attempt on his life was tied to the airport.
“You don’t have to be smart
to start drawing connections. Not in this country,” he told AFP in
an interview.
“First, you had a high-powered
judge murdered and then you had the assistant solicitor general
murdered—both were involved in the litigation over terminal
three.”
Judge Henrick Gingoyon was killed
100 meters from his home in Cavite, just outside Manila, on December
31, 2005. He was presiding over one of the cases against Piatco.
A year later, the assistant
solicitor general Nestor Ballocillo and his son Benedict were gunned
down in much the same way outside their Manila home. Ballacillo had
been working on another case involving Piatco.
Police say the cases are not
connected and that there is no evidence suggesting links to the
airport. Manila’s legal community is not convinced, though.
“Although there is no evidence
linking the killings, there is plenty of circumstantial evidence to
suggest otherwise,” said Neri Colmenares of the Asian Law Centre.
“In Gingoyon’s case, this was
the main case he was handling, while Ballocillo had two
controversial cases, one being the airport. Neither case was
investigated properly. While robbery was said to have been the
motive, nothing was taken from the victims.”
Bernas said he was not satisfied
with the investigation that followed the attempt on his life.
“There was no dusting for
fingerprints and we still don’t know why the security guards
disappeared when the gunmen entered the building,” he said,
adding: “The whole episode does not speak well of the system of
justice and law enforcement in this country.”
Bernas was in his Makati office
in Manila’s financial district when his receptionist rang, saying
two journalists were waiting to see him.
“I didn’t recognize the
names, but went out to see them just the same,” he said.
“As I opened the door, two men
stood up, drew guns and began to point them at me. I rushed back
inside. I tried to close the door, but they were pushing from the
other side.
“As we struggled for control of
the door, I lost my footing and began to slide down the door. As I
did, a hand came round the door clutching a gun and fired.
Fortunately, he missed.”
It was all over in a few seconds,
but it changed his life and that of his family.
“Before that attempt on my
life, I didn’t bother with security. Now, it’s part of my life.
It’s not the way I want to live, but that is the reality,” he
said.
In all three cases, alleged
gunmen have been arrested and are standing trial, but there has been
no attempt to find out who ordered the hits.
As one lawyer, who did not want
to be named, said: “That’s the hard part. Whether it’s
lawyers, judges or journalists murdered in this country, you never
find out who ordered the hit.”
According to a recent report by
online news magazine Newsbreak, some lawyers involved in the airport
case have also been intimidated.
Former justice Florentino
Feliciano, who headed the government’s legal panel in a recent
international arbitration case over terminal three, quit shortly
after Ballocillo was murdered.
Executive Secretary Eduardo
Ermita said the reason for Feliciano’s resignation was “due to
old age ... not because of any threat to his life.”
--AFP
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