ILOILO CITY—The Supreme Court (SC) has disbarred a lawyer and former Iloilo City councilor for gross immorality and conflict of interest.
In an eight-page en banc and per curiam (opinion of the whole court) decision promulgated on Jan. 7 but posted on the court website just on Aug. 17, the high court ruled to strike Plaridel Nava off the Roll of Attorneys.
The order takes effect “immediately” upon Nava’s receipt of the decision.
The tribunal said Nava violated the rule on conflict of interest when he represented the wife of a client in a petition for temporary protective order (TPO) against her husband.
The high court said the petition for the issuance of a TPO contained references to criminal cases against the husband that were being handled by Nava.
Nava, who ran for vice mayor but lost in the 2019 elections, was also found guilty of gross immorality for engaging in an “illicit relationship” with the wife of his former client.
The SC cited among others the admission of the woman of having an affair with Nava.
In a separate concurring opinion, Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said Nava “represented his paramour in filing a petition against her husband, who was also his client and in which he cited his client’s cases as proof to support his paramour’s petition.”
Leonen said Nava is “unworthy of continuing as a member of the Bar. He must be disbarred.”
In a statement posted on his Facebook page, Nava denied engaging in an extra-marital affair with his former client’s wife. He said both he and the woman were estranged from their respective spouses.
“I am sure we only had a one-night stand. Nothing more, nothing less,” Nava said.
Francis Allan Angelo, executive editor of the Daily Guardian, said Nava sent him a private message on Monday, saying his disbarment was an old issue.
Nava criticized Angelo, claiming that the news article about his disbarment could embarrass a 10-year-old child whom his client’s wife said was fathered by Nava.
“I will beat you up when I see you. You are out of line,” Nava said in a private message, a screenshot of which was posted by the Daily Guardian on its Facebook page.
He also alluded to a 2011 attack on Lemuel Fernandez, the newspaper’s publisher, who was injured after an unidentified person hit him in the head with a hard object outside newspaper office.
“Lemuel has not learned from the blow to his head,” Nava’s message read.
Reached by the INQUIRER, Nava did not deny sending the message but said what he meant was that he will beat up Angelo “with kisses.”
He said the newspaper was unfair to him and biased because it did not get his side of the issue before publishing the news report.
Angelo said his paper merely reported a breaking online story on the Supreme Court decision. He said he took Nava’s message “seriously” and will report it to the police.
TSB