Larry Gadon.
MANILA, Philippines — Anti-poverty czar Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon filed a disbarment complaint against Vice President Sara Duterte before the Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday.
Gadon, who was also disbarred in 2023 for profane remarks, urged the SC to disbar Duterte after throwing expletives against President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and threatening to have Marcos, his wife Liza, and cousin House Speaker Martin Romualdez killed if she would be assassinated.
“Such statements coming from the second highest official of the land, seen and heard by millions of Filipinos, are undoubtedly illegal, immoral, and condemnable,” Gadon’s statement read.
“As a lawyer herself, she should be disbarred,” he added.
Gadon then pointed out that as he himself was motu proprio suspended by the High Court and eventually disbarred, the SC should do the same against Duterte. He argued that he was disbarred due to a video he did not even upload while Duterte’s statements were said at a press conference she herself conducted.
“Despite the injustice, the unfairness, and the extreme discrimination that the undersigned suffered from the Supreme Court, the signatory still believes that the institution will outlive some biased 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 proprio’ principle,” he added.
Gadon further insisted that if the SC applied the principle “wrongfully” against him, then “there is no reason that the [SC] can not apply it to Sara Duterte.”
The High Court on Tuesday said it received an anonymous complaint seeking the disbarment of Duterte after her remarks of exhuming former President and dictator Ferdinand Marcos Sr.
In a press conference on Wednesday, Duterte said she has yet to personally read Gadon’s disbarment complaint, along with the anonymous complaint the SC announced that it received.
She also said she is aware of the disbarment case against her that was filed in 2011, which stemmed from an incident where she assaulted a court sheriff.
“I have not read the two complaints, so I can’t say what’s contained there. I only based it on news reports,” she said in Filipino.
“The first one, I based on the SC’s announcement, the other one from Larry Gadon’s,” she added.
READ: SC says it received anonymous disbarment complaint vs Sara Duterte