2 weeks Ago By Rappler.com
MANILA, Philippines – Presidential Adviser on Poverty Alleviation Larry Gadon on Wednesday, November 27, urged the Supreme Court (SC) to conduct a motu propio proceeding of disbarment against Vice President Sara Duterte, citing her recent online rampage aimed at President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., First Lady Liza Araneta-Marcos, and Speaker Martin Romualdez. In a letter to the SC, Gadon said that Duterte’s actions had been witnessed by “millions of Filipinos, reported on television, radio, and newspapers, and now has become general public knowledge that the Court may take judicial notice.
” “Such statements coming from the second highest official of the land, seen and heard by millions of Filipinos, are undoubtedly illegal, immoral, and condemnable. As a lawyer herself, she should be disbarred,” Gadon wrote. He also noted that Duterte was not subject to disbarment, or at least suspension, when the then-Davao City mayor punched a sheriff who was enforcing a court order to dismantle an informal settlers’ community.
Gadon then contrasted this to his disbarment last year over his profanities against journalist Raissa Robles. (READ: Motormouth: Larry Gadon’s hateful statements ) “Despite the injustice, the unfairness, and the extreme discrimination that the undersigned suffered from the Supreme Court, the signatory believes that the institution will outlive some bias minds and personalities in the High Court and that the Supreme Court will stand as an institution that truly serves its role of upholding the principles of justice and apply the law against anyone,” he said. “With due respect, DISBAR Vice President Sara now under the same ‘motu propio’ principle.
If the Supreme Court has applied it wrongfully in the circumstances of Atty. Larry Gadon, there is no reason that the Supreme Court cannot apply it rightfully to Sara Z. Duterte-Carpio,” he added.
Must Read EXPLAINER: What’s disbarment and how can a lawyer get disbarred? In a virtual press conference on Saturday, November 23, a visibly enraged Duterte said she had arranged the assassination of the Marcos couple and Romualdez, in the event she was killed, and stated twice that she was not joking. She backtracked on this days later, claiming that this was “ maliciously taken out of logical context ,” but the government said it is bent on pursuing what it deemed as an “active threat.” Duterte’s rant was triggered by the order of the House committee on good government to transfer her House-detained chief of staff, Zuleika Lopez , to the women’s correctional in Mandaluyong City.
The House panel later allowed Lopez to be confined at the state-run Veterans Medical Memorial Center, following her anxiety attack, but also extended her detention by five days. The NBI served a subpoena to Duterte on Tuesday, November 25, and directed her to appear before NBI Director Jaime Santiago on Friday, November 29, “to shed light on the investigation for alleged grave threats and possible violation” of the Anti-Terrorism Act. The agency has also launched a manhunt for Duterte’s alleged hired gun.
Gadon and the Supreme Court Prior to the SC’s motu propio disbarment proceeding against Gadon, there were numerous efforts to disbar him. The complaints ranged from mocking Helen Mendoza, his colleague at the Ambulatory Health Care Institute in 2009, to derogatory remarks against Muslims during the 2016 campaign season, and his vulgar behavior toward the supporters of then-chief justice-on-leave Maria Lourdes Sereno in 2018. The SC suspended him twice – for three months in 2009 in relation to the Mendoza complaint, and then indefinitely in January 2022 for hurling expletives at Robles.
In the case of Mendoza, the Court had said that Gadon’s actions “tramp the integrity and dignity of the legal profession and the judicial system, and adversely reflect on his fitness to practice law.” In May, the High Court found Gadon guilty of gross misconduct for committing perjury and making accusations based on hearsay in relation to his i mpeachment complaint against Sereno . Since he was already disbarred, the court fined him P150,000 and adjudged him ineligible for judicial clemency, which means he lost his chance to regain his lawyer title.
– Rappler.com ALSO ON RAPPLER How OVP, DepEd disbursing officers violated rule on confidential funds [Pastilan] Sara Duterte unleashes the Ampatuan within [Rear View] Why is VP Sara Duterte madly protective of her chief of staff? And why should we care? How Sara Duterte’s midnight briefing unfolded amid House order to transfer detained aide ‘She can’t be a leader’: Filipinos online slam Sara Duterte over latest public rant Beyond the Sara-House rift: Valid budget questions hounding the OVP [The Slingshot] When will our patience with Sara snap? WATCH: Summary of House probe into Sara Duterte’s alleged misuse of funds.
