The Supreme Court (SC) was asked on Monday, April 7, to sanction lawyer Christian “Ian” Sia, a congressional candidate in Pasig City, for alleged violation of the lawyers’ code in his “lewd remarks against solo mothers” during his electoral campaign.
In a letter sent to Chief Justice Alexander G. Gesmundo and addressed to all SC justices, GABRIELA – an alliance of Filipino women – said that Sia violated the provisions of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) that governs the lawyers’ practice of their profession.
Through Clarice Palce, GABRIELA’s secretary general, the SC was told that Sia violated Canon II of the CPRA which “mandates that lawyers must at all times act with propriety.”
Palce specifically cited Section 2 of CPRA’s Canon II which prohibits lawyers from engaging “in conduct that adversely reflects on one’s fitness to practice law, nor behave in scandalous manner, whether in public of private life, to the discredit of the legal profession.”
At the same time, Palce said that the CPRA prohibit lawyers “from engaging in any gender-based harassment or discrimination” and from using “language which is abusive, intemperate, offensive or otherwise improper, oral or written, and whether made through traditional or electronic means, including all forms or types of mass or social media.”
GABRIELA’s letter cited Sia’s utterances during a campaign sortie in Pasig City last April 3. It said that based on a video of the campaign, Sia uttered the following:
“Para sa mga solo parent ng Pasig, minsan sa isang taon, ang mga solo parent na babae, na nirregla pa, na malinaw na nireregla pa, at nalulungkot, minsan sa isang taon, pwedeng sumiping sa akin. Yun hong interesado, magpalista na rito sa mesa sa gilid…” (To the solo parents of Pasig, once a year for those solo parents who are women and still having their monthly period, they can sleep with me. Those interested can now list their names.)
GABRIELA said that Sia, in a press conference last April 4, apologized for his utterances. But it said the apology “is wanting of any ounce of sincerity and evidently, was merely an afterthought to troubleshoot the public uproar and backlash that he himself created.”
“Worse, instead of taking accountability and responsibility for his action, he blamed the uploader of the video,” it also said.
The SC justices were also told: “We find Atty. Sia’s action appalling and reprehensible. It seeks of misogyny and sexism. It is an attack against the dignity of every woman and a clear disrespect for the pain and struggle every woman solo parent endure day to day.”
It said that it is aware that complaints against members of the bar require certain rules and procedure.
But it said: “We believe that the Supreme Court may motu proprio (on its own initiative) act on the matter as it has the power to regulate the admission to and the practice of law under Section 5(5), Article VII of the 1987 Constitution.”
Sia could not be contacted for comment as of posting time.
It was not known immediately if GABRIELA’s letter would be taken up on Tuesday, April 8, during the SC’s traditional summer sessions in Baguio City.