Friday, March 18, 2011

SC admonishes UP law dean, professors on plagiarism case

By Tetch Torres INQUIRER.net
First Posted 17:48:00 03/08/2011
Filed Under: Legal issues, Judiciary (system of justice)

MANILA, Philippines—The Supreme Court on Tuesday admonished University of the Philippines (UP) College of Law Dean Marvic Leonen for leading its faculty to join the call for Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano Del Castillo to resign over the issue of plagiarism.

“UP Law Dean Marvic Leonen is admonished for setting a bad example to our law students,” high court Spokesman Jose Midas Marquez said at a press conference Tuesday at the Supreme Court’s en banc session hall.

Voting 9-5, Marquez said the high court exonerated UP law professor Raul Vasquez after he apologized before the court.

Thirty-five other professors were reminded of their duty as officers of the court. They are Froilan Bacungan, Pacifico Agabin, Merlin Magallona, Salvador Carlota, Carmelo Sison, Patricia Salvador Daway, Dante Gatmaytan, Theodore Te, Florin Hilbay, Jay Batongbacal, Evelyn (Leo) Battad, Gwen de Vera, Solomon Lumba, Rommel Casis, Jose Gerardo Alampay, Miguel Armovit, Arthur Autea, Rosa Maria Bautista;

Mark Bocobo, Dan Calica, Tristan Catindig, Sandra Marie Coronel, Rosario Gallo, Concepcion Jardeleza, Antonio La ViƱa, Carina Laforteza, Jose Laureta, Owen Lynch, Rodolfo Noel Quimbo, Antonio Santos, Gmeleen Faye Tomboc, Nicholas Felix Ty, Evalyn Ursua, Susan Villanueva and Dina Lucenario.

“The Justices found the compliance of the UP faculty unsatisfactory,” Marquez said.

The UP faculty issued a statement on Aug. 6, 2010, accusing Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo of plagiarism in a decision he wrote on a case filed by so-called comfort women.

The statement said that “the plagiarism committed in the case of Vinuya v Executive Secretary is unacceptable, unethical and in breach of the high standards of moral conduct and judicial and professional competence expected of the Supreme Court.”

The high court, however, cleared Del Castillo of plagiarism. In October last year, it ordered the UP signatories to explain why administrative sanctions should not be imposed on them.

Marquez said the Supreme Court “found the compliance of the UP Faculty unsatisfactory.”

The Justices who dissented from the majority decision were Senior Associate Justice Antonio Carpio, Associate Justices Conchita Carpio-Morales, Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Martin Villarama and Maria Lourdes Sereno.

Source Inquirer.net


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