Tony La Viña, legal counsel and spokesperson of Sen. Loren Legarda, thanked one of his colleagues for defending him over his new role and said this showed him who his genuine friends are.
Lloyd Bautista, in his newspaper column, said La Viña has a right to represent his chosen client.
Bautista also called out the “bandwagon style of ganging up on the defendant’s lawyer,” saying it is not healthy for the rule of law. Everyone has the right to a proper defense, he added.
In a Facebook post, La Viña said his own defense of Legarda let him realize who his real friends are and who are just fair weather acquaintances.
He also said he has blocked people on Facebook not for disagreeing with him, but for being “disrespectful, judgmental, and mocking” him.
“If we only stress each other, we are better off not seeing each other virtually or in person,” he said.
La Viña, an environmentalist and the former dean of the Ateneo School of Government, said the complaint against Legarda and her son, Batangas Rep. Leandro Leviste, was “lawfare,” or the weaponization of the law for political purposes.
The complaint is tied to Leviste’s solar franchise and “ghost electricity” allegations. Legarda is included in the probe amid claims that she used her position to help her son secure a franchise.
Legarda and Leviste have denied the allegations.