No ‘due process’ in my case—Gadon
Was SC reacting to his call for ‘refund’ of BBM protest fee?
KILUSAN ng Bagong Lipunan (KBL) senatorial bet and maverick lawyer, Larry Gadon, bewailed he was not accorded ‘due process’ by the Supreme Court on its decision last January 4, 2022, to slap him with an indefinite suspension after his verbal rants last December 12, 2021, against partisan journalist Raissa Robles of ‘Rappler’ went viral in social media.
“For an institution that prides itself for safeguarding due process of laws, I am confused that the Supreme Court immediately suspended me without due process and my suspension was announced in the media without furnishing me first with a copy of the complaint, if there is any,” Gadon said in a statement issued several hours after the SC announcement.
He also described as “unprecedented in history” the high court’s action in his case.
“Since this appears unprecedented in history, I cannot help but feel that I am being singled out. “Could this be due to my recent statement calling for a refund of the protest fees paid by BBM that remained unresolved,” Gadon asked further.
Earlier on January 4, Gadon released a statement challenging associate justices Alfredo Caguioa and Marivic Leonen to “refund” former senator Ferdinand ‘Bongbong/BBM’ Marcos Jr., of the money the latter paid in support of his poll protest against the result of the vice presidential race in 2016. Gadon had directly blamed the two magistrates who are both appointees of the late Pres. Noynoy Aquino, for the “inordinate delay” that Marcos’ protest encountered before the SC which is also acting as the Presidential Electoral Tribunal, tasked to handle poll protest involving the presidency and the vice presidency.
“Justices Caguioa and Marivic Leonen must be held personally liable for the refund since the long delays can be attributed to the two of them,” Gadon averred.
“The snail paced proceedings during the time that AJ Caguioa was the ponente has dragged the protest for several years on a simple issue of whether the 25 percent shading should be considered as valid vote or not despite what the Comelec (Commission on Elections) has been telling the voting public to fully shade the(ir) vote,” he added.
Gadon further bared that Marcos spent some P200 million as filing fee for his protest.
“AJs Caguioa and Leonen must refund the money deposited by BBM.
“They have committed grave injustice to BBM and the electorate for frustrating the will of the people,” Gadon said.
Hours later, the SC, acting motu propio, released its statement announcing Gadon’s indefinite suspension using his rants against Robles as basis. The SC also tasked Gadon to explain, within 10 days, why he should not be disbarred from law practice.
Likewise, the SC tasked the Office of the Bar Confidant and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) to submit a list of all pending complaints against Gadon, also within 10 days.
Gadon ranted against Robles over her social media posts and Rappler’s repeated articles claiming Marcos has not settled his 1985 tax obligations.
This, despite documentary proof that Marcos already did so and that both the Court of Appeals and the Supreme Court never barred Marcos running for public office.
Rappler is a known partisan online news outlet that is both anti-government, anti-Marcos and pro-Liberal Party.
It is currently battling a closure order from the Securities and Exchange Commission after being found to have accepted millions in donations from foreigners, a practice strictly banned by the Philippine Constitution.
As one of Rappler’s executives, Robles is among the personal beneficiaries of the $1.5 million investment-turned-donation (equivalent to P87 million) by Omidyar Network to Rappler in 2018, in the private company’s failed maneuver to skirt the constitutional ban on foreign investment and interference on Philippine media.
In a pleading before the Court of Appeals last November 22, 2021, the SEC maintained that the conspiracy by Rappler and Omidyar has “no effect” on its earlier decision to revoke the registration of Rappler (see also Pinoy Exposé article on November 24, 2021).
