The appropriate place for foul-mouthed lawyer Lorenzo “Larry” Gadon is in the gutter, not in the Senate. Never.
Well, he has not been faring well in the surveys for preferred candidates for the Senate in the May 2022 balloting. So, it is unlikely that he would make it to the Magic 12.
Through his recent verbal assault, using obscene and hateful language against freelance journalist Raissa Robles, Gadon showed he is not fit to be in the legal profession either.
A 21-second video clip, which became viral on social media in the past few days, showed a furious Gadon saying: “Hoy, Raissa Robles, puk** ng ina ng mong h****t ka, pu**ng ina mo, ano’ng pinagsasabi mong hindi nagbayad si BBM ng taxes? May certification ‘yan galing sa BIR, p***ng ina mo, h****t ka, pu****ina mo, Raissa Robles. Magpak**tot ka sa aso! Puk*** ina mo, hin*** ka, put*** ina mo!”
Because of this display of “atrocious and beastly behavior,” the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) urged the Supreme Court and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines “to discipline this wayward member of the bar for his boorishness and clearly unbecoming conduct.”
Gadon, a self-confessed Marcos loyalist, apparently recorded the short expletive-laden video selfie while he was in a car. It was in response to a tweet by Robles insinuating that presidential aspirant Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr.’s failure to file income tax returns from 1982 to 1985 puts into question whether he paid taxes back then.
Marcos Jr. has been facing petitions for the cancellation of his certificate of candidacy and disqualification from the 2022 presidential race for not declaring that he was convicted in 1997 over his non-filing of income tax returns when he was governor of Ilocos Norte.
In June 2019, the Supreme Court suspended Gadon, a defeated senatorial candidate in the 2019 elections, for three months over his use of “abusive and intemperate language” toward a doctor and a fellow lawyer and words which “lessen the confidence of the public in the Philippine judicial system.”
Gadon made it in the news for cursing at supporters of former Supreme Court chief justice Maria Lourdes Sereno and giving them the finger, calling them “bobo” (stupid).
Earlier this month, two persons living with HIV filed with the Supreme Court a disbarment complaint against Gadon for claiming in June that the late president Benigno “Noynoy” Aquino III died of human immunodeficiency virus or HIV, the virus that causes acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS).
Aquino’s family said the cause of death of the late president was renal disease, secondary to diabetes.
The complainants said Gadon — who “continues to tarnish the noble practice of law through his words and conduct” — should receive the “most severe form of disciplinary action.” They cited his “gross misconduct,” specifically his “blatant” violations of several provisions under the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR) — the code of ethics for those in the legal practice — and the Lawyer’s Oath, for seeking “just and equitable reliefs,” including libel, against the controversial lawyer.
Most of the time, we tend to just ignore Gadon and his theatrics. He obviously enjoys public attention, no matter how absurd or outrageous his statements are and how those make the “anti-bobo” candidate look stupid. But he has gone far beyond the tolerable limits of indecency.
As the FOCAP said in a statement on Saturday: “The profanity, expletives and sexist insults against Robles violates Philippine laws on public decency, gender respect and the core principles of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines. It was utterly despicable and reflective of the belligerent impunity independent and courageous Filipino journalists face for doing their constitutionally protected work in the country.”
Robles, in a tweet, said she was “studying [her] legal options” against Gadon.
FOCAP said that, like all Filipinos, Gadon “has the right to challenge statements from journalists in the interest of public discourse, but never with such venom and malice that openly flout civility, respect and human rights, which are protected by the country’s laws.”
Even if Gadon shuts up, he should still be disciplined for his behavior by revoking his license to practice the legal profession. And in May 2022, voters should send him to the garbage bin where his dirty mouth properly belongs.
The views in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of VERA Files.
This column also appeared in The Manila Times.
