SC finds Gadon guilty of gross misconduct

The Supreme Court En Banc has found disbarred lawyer Larry Gadon guilty of gross misconduct “for committing perjury and making accusations based on hearsay.”

According to the SC public information office Thursday, a complaint was filed with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) seeking Gadon’s disbarment for “falsehoods” regarding an impeachment complaint he previously filed against former Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno before the House of Representatives. 

Gadon, who currently serves as Presidential Adviser for Poverty Alleviation, was also accused of filing baseless criminal cases against several Supreme Court officials, the High Court said.

“After investigation, the IBP – Committee on Bar Discipline recommended that Gadon be suspended for two years after it found that Gadon lied under oath when he claimed that then de facto Chief Justice Sereno falsified a Supreme Court temporary restraining order,” the SC said. 

“It, however, dismissed for lack of evidence the allegation of baseless cases against Court officials.”

The SC said that IBP’s Board of Governors (IBP-BOG) changed the recommended period of Gadon’s suspension to three years. It also adopted the findings of the IBP-BOG, but modified the penalty. 

“The Court ruled that Gadon was guilty of gross misconduct punishable by disbarment. However, since he had already been previously disbarred, the penalty of disbarment will no longer be imposed but nevertheless recorded in his personal file,” the SC said. 

Gadon was also fined P150,000 and adjudged ineligible for judicial clemency.

Furthermore, the SC found that he committed perjury for making allegations in his impeachment complaint “not based on his personal knowledge or on any authentic records, contrary to his sworn guarantee in the Verification attached to his complaint.”

“Gadon knew that he never had any personal knowledge nor any authentic document to support the accusation that Sereno falsified a TRO of the Court. Yet, he still included this in his verified impeachment complaint, attempting to lend a semblance of credibility to his unfounded accusation,” the SC said. 

“This not only deceived the HOR, but also revealed an intent to inflict unnecessary harm to the reputation of a lawyer and former member of the Court. All these confirm that Gadon was motivated by a malicious intent to malign and defame Sereno,” it added.

The High Court also noted that the subsequent 2018 case of Republic v. Sereno, which nullified Sereno’s appointment as Chief Justice, as well as the preliminary findings of the House Committee on Justice “do not absolve” Gadon.

“His disregard for the verification requirement in impeachment complaints shows disrespect for the impeachment process, using it to advance his personal agenda rather than air genuine and legitimate grievances,” it said. 

The SC ruled that Gadon violated Canon II, Section 11 of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, which prohibits lawyers from making false statements and makes him liable for gross misconduct, a serious offense.

Sought for comment, Gadon said he has yet to receive a copy of the SC En Banc resolution.

But in a statement, he said the P150,000 penalty is exorbitant and has not basis in jurisprudence.

He also said ''the allegations (in the impeachment complaint) were not fully ventilated and heard because the hearings ended abruptly as it was overtaken by supervening events particularly the removal of Sereno as Chief Justice.''

He further said the IBP resolution and recommendation was ''tainted with vendetta'' as a wife of a former IBP president at the time the complaint was filed submitted an application to be a Court of Tax Appeals Justice which he opposed.

''The timing of the release of the SC resolution is also suspicious at this time that I publicly criticized ABS-CBN and at this time that I have announced plans to urge the HOR (House of Representatives) to open the case of ABS-CBN anew,'' Gadon said.

He also pointed out that the the ''most successful, popular, very wealthy, and rich people are not lawyers, so the disbarment is not the whole world and life for me.''—Giselle Ombay and Anna Felicia Bajo/AOL, GMA Integrated News