The Supreme Court has suspended from law practice a professor at the Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro City for making sexual advances to his students.
In an en banc decision penned by Associate Justice Jose Reyes Jr., the SC has ordered the suspension of lawyer Cresencio Co Untian Jr. from law practice for five years and from teaching law in any school for 10 years after being found administratively liable for committing sexual advances on his students.
The SC held that Untian violated Rule 1.01 of the Code of Professional Responsibility for Lawyers, which provides that “a lawyer shall not engage in an unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct.”
“Clearly, the respondent abused the power and authority he possessed over the complainants. His sexually laced conduct had created a hostile and offensive environment which deeply prejudiced his students. In what was supposed to be a safe place for them to learn and develop, they were instead subjected to unwarranted sexual advances,” the SC ruled.
The IBP had recommended the penalty of suspension from legal practice for two years against Untian, but the SC imposed a graver penalty.
However, the high court disagreed with the IBP that sexual harassment needed to result to being forced to have sex.
“The Court (has) explained that the essence of sexual harassment is not the violation of the victim’s sexuality but the abuse of power by the offender. In other words, what the law aims to punish is the undue exercise of power and authority manifested through sexually charged conduct or one filled with sexual undertones,” the tribunal said.
The administrative case stemmed from the complaint filed by three female students in Xavier University against Untian.
One complained that Untian sent her romantic messages, love notes, and even invited her to go to Camiguin, which she declined.
The other complained that the professor showed her a naked photo of a woman who looked like her, and teased her about it within hearing distance of other students.
The third student said that she asked the professor to repeat the question during recitation by saying, “Sir, come again?”
Untian supposedly responded: “You want me to come again? I have not come the first time and don’t you know that it took me five minutes to come, and you want me to come again?”