The Public Attorney’s Office (PAO) in the Philippines has called on the top leadership of the Philippine National Police (PNP) to stop profiling and red-tagging public lawyers who are fulfilling their duties. PAO chief Persida Rueda-Acosta, along with several other officials, signed a manifesto stating that PAO lawyers are public defenders who take clients as ordered by the court and must be protected by law enforcement, not considered as adversaries. PAO lawyers, they argued, should not be red-tagged just because they defend communist rebels. PAO officials have requested that the PNP ensure a safe, decent, dignified, and productive environment for PAO lawyers and all members of the Bar in the country. The PAO is the principal law office of the government in extending free legal assistance to indigent persons in criminal, civil, labor, administrative, and other quasi-judicial cases.
