Atty. Virgil Ligutan brushes off 'baseless' red-tagging allegations

CEBU CITY, Philippines — Lawyer Amando Virgil Ligutan has broken his silence on allegations linking him to the National Union of People’s Lawyers (NUPL), dismissing the claims as baseless and saying the accusations came “out of the blue.”

Ligutan, one of the private lawyers representing the House of Representatives’ prosecution panel in the impeachment trial of Vice President Sara Duterte, made the remarks days after former government official Lorraine Badoy claimed on Facebook that he was affiliated with the NUPL and linked him to an organization designated as a terrorist group.

The allegations were previously denied by the NUPL, which clarified that Ligutan is not a member of the organization.

READ: Who is Amando Virgil Ligutan, Cebu’s top litigator in VP Duterte trial?

‘Out of the blue’

In an interview on Saturday, July 11, Ligutan said he was surprised by the allegations, stressing that he has never been a member of the NUPL despite respecting the organization’s work.

“Kanang red-tagging, mura na og out of the blue. Mora’g coming from left field. I don’t know. Di ko membro sa NUPL. Girespetar nako ang NUPL ug ang ilang mga gibuhat para sa katawhan, pero ma-surprise lang ta ngano’ng i-apil ta sa usa ka organisasyon aron magamit nila sa pangatake sa akoa,” Ligutan said.

(This red-tagging seems like it’s out of the blue. Like coming out of left field. I don’t know. I am not a member of the NUPL. I respect the NUPL and what they do for the people, but it just surprises me why they would include me in an organization just so they can use it to attack me.)

He suggested the accusations may have stemmed from his participation in the impeachment proceedings, particularly following the prosecution panel’s performance during the first week of the trial.

“Expected man siguro na […] Siguro sa atoang naging performance sa last week sa impeachment trial,” he said. (Perhaps that was to be expected. Maybe because of the performance in last week’s impeachment trial.)

Ligutan also criticized those making the allegations, saying he could not understand why they would accuse him of something he described as untrue.

READ: NUPL: Amando Virgil Ligutan is not our member

Ligutan: ‘Won’t serve as distraction’

Despite the online attacks, Ligutan said the accusations would not affect his work as one of the prosecutors in the impeachment proceedings.

He said he believes the allegations may have been intended to divert the prosecution panel’s attention but insisted they remain focused on their responsibilities.

“Siguro strategy na aron ma-distract ang atuang attention. But sorry, dili ta ma-distract sa atong panuyoan nga motrabaho, mobuhat sa angay natong buhaton as a prosecutor sa kini nga impeachment trial,” he said.

(Perhaps that is a strategy to distract us and divert our attention. But sorry, we won’t be distracted from our work. We will do what needs to be done as prosecutors in the impeachment trial.)

READ: Ligutan says defense failed to debunk testimony on VP ‘kill threat’ video

When asked about the prosecution’s preparations for the succeeding hearings, Ligutan declined to discuss details of upcoming witnesses.

He instead expressed pride in representing the Visayas on the national stage.

“Nalipay ta as usa ka Bisaya, usa ka Bisdak lawyer nga naa ta sa Manila. Kinahanglan mo-deliver ta. I’m a proud Bisdak lawyer. Natawo ko sa Leyte, didto ko nag-eskwela, nagpadayon ko diri sa Cebu,” he said.

(We are happy as a Bisaya, as a ‘Bisdak’ lawyer who is now in Manila. We need to deliver. I’m a proud Bisdak lawyer. I was born in Leyte, I studied there, and then I continued my practice here in Cebu.)

Memes, online posts

Ligutan also brushed off the memes and social media posts circulating about him following his appearance during the impeachment trial.

He admitted it felt unusual to wake up and see his face widely shared online but said he has not allowed the attention to affect his focus.

“Makakita ta. Medyo weird lang kay pagmata nato sa buntag, atoang nawng atoang makita sa social media. Kind of unusual. Pero wala na siya ningsulod sa akoang huna-huna. I am 110 percent focused sa unsay mahitabo sa atoang impeachment trial,” he said.

(I see them. It’s kind of weird because when we wake up in the morning, we see our own face on social media. Kind of unusual. But I haven’t let it get to my head. I am 110 percent focused on what will happen in our impeachment trial.)

Earlier, human rights lawyer Kristina Conti, secretary general of the NUPL, denied Badoy’s claim, saying Ligutan is not a member of the organization and describing the allegations as false and malicious.

The controversy arose after Badoy alleged on Facebook that Ligutan was affiliated with the NUPL and linked him to Lumaban, an organization designated as a terrorist group by the Anti-Terrorism Council. /with a report from Ian Peter Guanzon

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