Labor lawyer seriously wounded in Batangas shooting
09/25/2009 | 10:36 AM
An unidentified gunman shot and seriously wounded a labor lawyer handling a labor dispute in Santo Tomas town in Batangas province early Friday, the local police said.
Superintendent Raul Tacaca, Santo Tomas police chief, said the gunman used a 45-caliber pistol to shoot lawyer Joseph Pajanustan of the Obrero Pilipino Labor Federation.
Pajanustan was shot in the body at about 7 a.m., while he was standing at the veranda of the labor group’s office at the Magmen Building in Barangay 4.
“Basta pumasok na lang ang suspek at binaril siya sabay alis (The gunman casually entered the office, shot the victim, and casually walked away)," Tacaca told GMANews.TV over the phone.
He is now under observation at a local hospital.
Investigators are looking at the possibility that the assault against Pajanustan, a native of Cavite, was work-related.
Initial investigation showed that the victim was handling a labor case involving some 1,500 employees at the Hoo-Woong garment factory in the province.
Being the lawyer of the workers union, Pajanustan was "active" and was the one "who always negotiates with the management," according to Tacaca.
“Iyan kasing Hoo-Woong, may mga problema diyan sa trabaho (There has been labor disputes at the garments factory)," Tacaca said.
Police gathered information showing that Pajanustan had previously received death threats through text messages.
Tacaca said investigators are still interviewing officials of both the labor group and the garments factory.
The Philippines had been tagged as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for lawyers following a spate killings of members of the bar.
According to the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) and the Counsels for Defense of Liberties (Codal), 22 lawyers and 15 judges have been murdered in the country since 2001.
In 2005 alone, said Codal leader Neri Javier Colmenares, nine lawyers, one judge and one law student were shot and killed in 2005 in 2006.
Among those killed in 2006 was human rights lawyer Gil Gojol and his driver Danilo France in Gubat, Sorsogon (623 km south of Manila) barely two weeks before Christmas. - Mark Merueňas, GMANews.TV
Superintendent Raul Tacaca, Santo Tomas police chief, said the gunman used a 45-caliber pistol to shoot lawyer Joseph Pajanustan of the Obrero Pilipino Labor Federation.
Pajanustan was shot in the body at about 7 a.m., while he was standing at the veranda of the labor group’s office at the Magmen Building in Barangay 4.
“Basta pumasok na lang ang suspek at binaril siya sabay alis (The gunman casually entered the office, shot the victim, and casually walked away)," Tacaca told GMANews.TV over the phone.
He is now under observation at a local hospital.
Investigators are looking at the possibility that the assault against Pajanustan, a native of Cavite, was work-related.
Initial investigation showed that the victim was handling a labor case involving some 1,500 employees at the Hoo-Woong garment factory in the province.
Being the lawyer of the workers union, Pajanustan was "active" and was the one "who always negotiates with the management," according to Tacaca.
“Iyan kasing Hoo-Woong, may mga problema diyan sa trabaho (There has been labor disputes at the garments factory)," Tacaca said.
Police gathered information showing that Pajanustan had previously received death threats through text messages.
Tacaca said investigators are still interviewing officials of both the labor group and the garments factory.
The Philippines had been tagged as one of the most dangerous countries in the world for lawyers following a spate killings of members of the bar.
According to the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL) and the Counsels for Defense of Liberties (Codal), 22 lawyers and 15 judges have been murdered in the country since 2001.
In 2005 alone, said Codal leader Neri Javier Colmenares, nine lawyers, one judge and one law student were shot and killed in 2005 in 2006.
Among those killed in 2006 was human rights lawyer Gil Gojol and his driver Danilo France in Gubat, Sorsogon (623 km south of Manila) barely two weeks before Christmas. - Mark Merueňas, GMANews.TV
