Short answer. Yes. Section 21 requires the inventory and photograph to be done in the presence of the accused or the person seized from, or that person's representative or counsel. Your lawyer or an authorised representative may stand in your place, and this is separate from the independent witnesses the law also requires.
What the law says
in the presence of the accused or the person/s from whom such items were confiscated and/or seized, or his/her representative or counsel
RA 9165, Section 21 — Chain Of Custody. Read the full provision →
The statute names counsel as an alternative
The requirement is that the inventory and photograph be taken in the presence of the accused or the person/s from whom such items were confiscated and/or seized, or his/her representative or counsel. The word or matters. The law does not insist the accused personally watch; it accepts the person seized from, or that person's representative, or that person's counsel as satisfying this part of the rule. So a lawyer present at the inventory stands in the accused's place for this purpose, and so does an authorised representative where the accused cannot be there.
This is a different role from the independent witnesses
It helps to keep two roles apart. The accused, representative or counsel is on the side of the person whose property is being taken — present so the count is not done behind closed doors. Separately, the section requires an elected public official and a representative of the National Prosecution Service or the media, who are the independent witnesses. Your lawyer being there does not substitute for those officials, and their presence does not substitute for yours. Both sides of the sentence have to be met; a lawyer cannot fill the elected-official slot, and an elected official cannot fill the counsel slot.
Why having counsel present is worth it
The inventory is the first written record of exactly what was seized, and it is signed on the spot. A lawyer or representative watching can note what is actually laid out and photographed, whether the items match what the accused says was taken, and whether the required witnesses were genuinely present and signed. Those observations are far easier to make in the moment than to reconstruct later. If a person is seized from while alone and cannot reach counsel, that fact — and any request to have someone present — is itself worth recording as soon as possible.
If no one on your side was present
The absence of the accused, a representative or counsel at the inventory is a lapse in the section's requirements, but it is not automatically fatal. The saving clause allows noncompliance under justifiable grounds, provided the integrity and evidentiary value of the seized items were preserved, and the prosecution carries the burden of showing both. For anyone worried about how an inventory was conducted, the useful documents are the inventory sheet and photographs and who signed them, and these are best reviewed with a lawyer while the details are fresh.