Fortun on disbarment case: 'I'm just doing my job'

“I’m not doing anything different from what other lawyers do." This was how lawyer Sigfrid Fortun, legal counsel for Andal Ampatuan Jr., defended himself against a disbarment case filed by the prosecution in the multiple murder case where his client is the principal accused. Maguindanao Gov. Esmael "Toto" Mangudadatu and four other complainants asked the Supreme Court to disbar Fortun for allegedly "obstructing and impeding" justice by filing motions based on "imaginary causes of action" and even "deceiving" the court that his client couldn't speak Filipino. Fortun responded to the allegations on Wednesday, after the hearings on the multiple murder case that stemmed from the Nov. 23, 2009 massacre in Maguindanao. The trial is being held at Camp Bagong Diwa, where the accused are also detained. Initially, Fortun refused to comment on the matter, saying that those who do could actually be held "criminally liable" by the Supreme Court. "You know a broadsheet quoted portions of the complaint... The Supreme Court can hold them liable for that," he said. "Everything about lawyers should be kept confidential. You're not supposed to demean a lawyer," he added, citing Section 139-B of the Rules of Court on Disbarment and Disciplines of Attorneys. According to Section 18 of the said Rules, "Proceedings against attorneys shall be private and confidential. However, the final order of the Supreme Court shall be published like its decisions in other cases." Mangudadatu's legal counsel, Nena Santos, said she saw nothing wrong about talking in the media about the disbarment case. "It's a public document once filed, and the case stems from an ongoing case, which is the Maguindanao massacre case," she told GMANews.TV in a text message. Contesting Fortun's claims on criminal liability, Santos cited the disbarment cases filed against Ampatuan lawyer Philip Pantojan and provincial solicitor general Cynthia Sayadi. According to prosecution witness Lakmudin Saliao, Pantojan and Sayadi allegedly conspired with the Ampatuans to cover up the massacre and agreed to pretend that clan patriarch Andal Sr. was sick at the time of his arrest late last year. Santos advised Fortun to just respond to the disbarment case instead of "threatening" the media and those who filed the case.—Mark D. Merueñas/JV, GMANews.TV