MANILA, Philippines - High profile lawyer Raymond Fortun has "lost faith" in his ability to help businessman Cedric Lee and model Deniece Cornejo just over a week after he was hired as their spokesman on the controversial assault on television host Vhong Navarro.
"[I have] not [lost faith] in them, I lost faith in my ability to help them," Fortun said on ABS-CBN's Aquino and Abunda Tonight late Monday.
"Hindi ko na kayang gampanan yung trabaho ko e. The job that was given to me was a spokesman, to educate the public on the rights of the accused, on the right to counsel ... The job na binigay sa'kin was just too much," he admitted.
He explained that among the reasons why he resigned from his task was Cornejo's decision to react to the media about the newly released security footages.
Fortun, who has weighed in on the case of Lee's mauling of television host Vhong Navarro, said that Cornejo should not have given her opinion without the consent of her lawyers.
"The bottomline is, 'pag meron ka nang spokesman, you allow the spokesman to do all the talking for you. Because as any counsel would tell you, less talk, less mistake," Fortun said.
"You want really just one source of information that is very weighted," he added.
In a statement announcing his exit from the highly public case last Sunday, the lawyer said that there was a breach in the previous agreement with Lee, Cornejo and the other respondents that they should not give any public statement without prior consultation with the counsels.
Read: Fortun on Vhong case: Philippines not ready to be fair
He has also decried how his clients are being judged unfairly prior to the verdict and how netizens would condemn him and his family through social media.
"This country is not ready to be fair," he said.