By Jeffrey Damicog
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) has been asked to disbar the lawyer who filed the impeachment complaint against Supreme Court (SC) Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
In his 10-page complaint, lawyer Wilfredo Garrido Jr. sought the immediate disbarment of lawyer Lorenzo Gadon for alleged dishonesty, arrogance and rudeness during the impeachment proceedings against Sereno at the House of Representatives.
Atty. Larry Gadon during the hearing of the House Committee on Justice on the impeachment complaint he filed against Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno in Batasang Pambansa, Wednesday, November 22.
(ALVIN KASIBAN / MANILA BULLETIN)
Garrido charged that Gadon violated the lawyers’ Code of Professional Responsibility, particularly Canons 7, 8, 19 and Rules 7.03, 8.1 and 19.01 (A).
“Apart from lying, Atty. Gadon is also skilled in harassing and haranguing his own colleagues in public," read the complaint.
The lawyer declared that last February 22 Gadon threatened to file criminal cases against SC officials should Sereno refuse to resign.
Because of this, Garrido pointed out Gadon has “left a trail of ruined reputations, derailed careers, and shamed families.”
“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,” the lawyer said.
“Atty. 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,” he stressed.