THE Supreme Court has decided to disbar a lawyer for repeated violations of the lawyers ‘Code of Professional Responsibility’ (CPR) with the maximum penalty coming right after his serving a one-year suspension to practice law also imposed by the Supreme Court two years ago.
In an en banc decision, dated October 4, 2022 but released to the media only last January 30, 2023, banned perpetually from the practice of law is lawyer Berteni Cataluña Causing.
It can be recalled that after the murder of radio block timer Percival ‘Pery Lapid’ Mabasa last October 3, 2022, Causing went out of his way to introduce himself as the “spokesman” of the Mabasa family, claiming in his social media posts that Mabasa was both his close friend and “client.”
At the time, Causing had just finished serving his one-year suspension to practice law slapped by the Supreme Court last March 2, 2021, over a complaint filed by Enrico Velasco in 2016 before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP), in relation to the latter’s case for nullity of his marriage to his wife who is being represented by Causing (Case Number AC-12883).
At the time of the SC decision, both the IBP and the SC faulted Causing for resorting to social media (Facebook) in making public the nullity case involving his client that violated the confidentiality of family court proceedings.
In his defense, Causing claimed he did so in his capacity as “spokesman-lawyer” of his client and in exercise of his freedom of the press and of expression as he claims to be a “journalist-blogger.”
In this earlier case, the IBP had actually recommended for Causing to be suspended for 2 years from the practice of law, but this was subsequently modified by the SC to one year suspension.
In the present instance filed by Jackiya Lao last February 11, 2019, the Supreme Court upgraded the penalty of Causing from the 6 months suspension proposed by the IBP to disbarment, noting that as in previous complaints handled by the court that resulted to disbarment, Causing is already a ‘repeat offender.’
Similar to the Velasco case, Causing again resorted to the use of social media to besmirch the reputation and name of Lao.
The narration of the case disclosed that Lao is an official of the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) in Region 12 and that at the time Causing made his social media posts attacking her, Causing’s sister, Lyndale, is running for Congress, in the midterm election held in 2019 for the second congressional district of South Cotabato. The province is part of Region 12 (Soccsksargen).
“Atty. Causing allegedly resorted to the use of social media to make his sister, Lyndale Causing, one of the candidates for representative of the second district of South Cotabato, known to the public,” the case record noted.
The record added: “Atty. Causing’s publication in his Facebook account of such defamatory accusation of plunder subjected Lao to public hate, contempt and ridicule.”
The record further noted that at the time, Causing has not even filed his complaint of plunder versus Lao, whose details was apparently based on a news report by the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ).
Causing is also the subject of a separate complaint before the SC filed by the National Press Club (NPC) last October 7, 2022, over his posts linking the Club’s officers as suspects in the killing of Mabasa. In his posts, Causing, without offering any evidence, claimed that NPC officers have been considered by the police as ‘POIs’ (persons of interest) or “suspects” in the killing of Mabasa.
In the main, the SC ruling in the Lao case also rejected Causing’s usual defense of his constitutional right to freedom of the press and of expression to malign other people in social media.
In approving the disbarment of Causing, the Supreme Court reminded the public that “time and again, it has been held that the freedom of speech and of expression, like all constitutional freedoms, is not absolute.”