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Thursday, March 28, 2024

Oust-CJ lawyer faces disbarment

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A COMPLAINT for disbarment has been filed against lawyer Lorenzo Gadon arising from his alleged “disgraceful conduct” in the impeachment case against Chief Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno.

In his complaint filed last March 15, lawyer Wilfredo Garrido Jr. asked the Integrated Bar of the Philippines to immediately disbar Gadon and remove his name from the Roll of Attorneys for alleged dishonesty, arrogance and rudeness in the course of the impeachment proceedings in the House justice committee.

The complainant accused Gadon of violating the lawyers’ Code of Professional Responsibility, particularly Canons 7, 8, 19 and Rules 7.03, 8.1 and 19.01 (A).

He alleged that Gadon committed perjury several times during the impeachment hearings—as records of the House panel would verify—and also knowingly executed a false verification in his complaint stating he had personal knowledge of his allegations against Sereno.

“Apart from lying, attorney Gadon is also skilled in harassing and haranguing his own colleagues in public,” the complainant said, citing the threats made by Gadon against the Chief Justice and the harassment suits he filed against court personnel who testified in favor of Sereno in the hearings.

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The complainant recalled that on Feb. 22, Gadon publicly tried to force Sereno to resign by dangling threats of supposed criminal cases to be filed against Supreme Court officials. Gadon made true his promise when he filed graft charges against them before the Department of Justice on March 12 after Sereno rejected his resignation call.

He lamented how Gadon’s bid to oust Sereno “left a trail of ruined reputations, derailed careers, and shamed families.”

“He [Gadon] has destroyed careers and reputations. He has demeaned his profession. He must be disbarred,” he said.

“What is even more striking is that he did not mind if he had personal knowledge of the facts alleged in his complaints, or that he had adequate legal bases for the same,” he added.

Garrido said Gadon’s impeachment bid has already become a “campaign of harassment against other civil servants.”

“Attorney Gadon’s conduct should be judged regardless of the outcome of the impeachment complaint against CJ Sereno or the cases he has filed or threatened to file against other court employees. By and of itself, his conduct is disgraceful and a black-eye on the profession,” the lawyer said.

Gadon shrugged off the disbarment complaint that he said was filed by a “lawyer who only wants to be popular by riding on the impeachment issue.”

This is not the first disbarment case against Gadon.

Earlier, lawyers Algamar Latiph and Musa Malayang filed a disbarment complaint before the Supreme Court against Gadon over his threats against Muslims in Mindanao during his failed senatorial bid in the 2016 elections.

The complaint was based on Gadon’s television interviews during the campaign where he made hateful remarks against the Muslims in Mindanao when asked how he plans to address rebellion by some groups there.

In the said interviews, he was quoted saying he would pulverize Muslim communities if they will not cooperate in the government’s bid to address the insurgency and rebellion problem in the region.

He also said he would exterminate innocent children, women, men and old folks and burn houses to the ground if they would ignore his plea to work together with the government.

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