SC suspends Gadon, tells lawyer to explain why he should not be disbarred
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court preventively suspended lawyer and senatorial aspirant Larry Gadon following his verbal assault on a journalist.
“The call of the public did not fall on deaf ears, and the Court immediately took action,” the high court said in a statement released by the Public Information Office.
The suspension order is contained in a resolution released Tuesday; the high court motu proprio (on its own) treated the controversy as a formal administrative complaint for disbarment against Gadon.
Gadon has 10 non-extendible days to file his comment “in consideration of the numerous prior controversies leading to the disbarment cases filed against Gadon, and the most recent viral video where he displayed the same controversial behavior despite previous warnings.”
In December last year, Gadon posted a video of himself cursing and insulting South China Morning Post’s Manila Correspondent Raissa Robles after she tweeted about the tax case of presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos.
His rants were laden with expletives, which the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (Focap) described as “unbecoming conduct.”
The high court ordered the Office of the Bar Confidant to submit an updated list of the pending administrative cases against Gadon within 10 days from receipt of the resolution. The high court also gave the IBP 10 days upon receipt of the resolution to submit the status of admin cases against Gadon that is pending before them.
Focap called the high court and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines “to discipline this wayward member of the Bar.”
Meanwhile, when asked for his reaction on the latest Supreme Court resolution, Gadon told reporters in a Viber message that he will issue a statement once he receives a copy of the resolution.
“Saka na pag na-receive ko na (I will comment once I receive the resolution),” he said.
As for Robles, she expressed elation on the high court’s decision, adding that after its release, she and her lawyer have now decided to sue Gadon.
“Hearing today’s good news, we both decided – that we will proceed with suing this detestable and loathsome poor excuse of a lawyer who is a disgrace to the legal profession,” the journalist said in a statement Tuesday.
According to Robles, Gadon’s “sewer outburst” was meant to destroy the credibility and integrity she built up as a journalist.
“And for that, he deserves no respect from me. His own mother would be ashamed of him,” she added.
Gadon is already facing a disbarment complaint for claiming that former President Benigno Aquino III died of HIV. He also hogged the headlines after another video went viral where he called “bobo (stupid)” the supporters of former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
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