DOJ chief unfazed by reported suspension bid

MANILA, Philippines – Department of Justice (DOJ) Sec. Raul Gonzalez on Tuesday said he is unfazed over the Integrated Bar of the Philippines’ (IBP) reported bid to suspend him as a lawyer. In an interview with reporters, Gonzalez brushed aside the IBP’s resolution recommending his suspension, saying that it is “not executory" and that “the final say belongs to the Supreme Court." Gonzalez even questioned the credibility of the complaint. “It’s alright with me. I’m not worried about these things. In the first place, the complainant here is a nut," Gonzalez said, referring to Elly Velez Pamatong, who in 2004 filed his candidacy for president but was later declared as a nuisance candidate by the Commission on Elections (Comelec). Earlier in the day, the IBP recommended Gonzalez's suspension from the practice of law for one year in connection with his admission that he gave P10,000 to each barangay chairman in Iloilo City as incentive for them to encourage their constituents vote for administration bets in the May 2007 mid-term elections. In a one-page notice, the IBP Commission on Bar Discipline took note of the Board of Governor’s Resolution dated November 20, 2008 that “resolved to reverse… the Report and Recommendation of the Investigating Commissioner and approve the suspension from the practice of law for one year of Gonzalez for obstruction of the electoral process for his reprehensible conduct of openly and publicly offering P10,000 to any barrio captain in his area of political influence who can give a 12-0 vote in favor of President Arroyo’s senatorial candidates and taking into consideration his previous professional misconduct." In a separate interview, SC spokesperson Jose Midas Marquez said they have yet to receive a copy of the resolution. But Marquez said that should a resolution be formally submitted to them, it will be “raffled and calendared in the [court’s] agenda in an en banc session and the [court] en banc, will deliberate." Marquez added that the court will also come out with a decision on whether being a lawyer is one of the qualifications for the top post in the DOJ. “If being a lawyer is a qualification, then it will affect his office," Marquez said. The SC spokesman, however, said the matter may be still up to President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo. To recall, Gonzalez was sanctioned and suspended in 1989 by the SC from the practice of law for an indefinite period as a Tanodbayan for ignorance of the law when he questioned the court’s ruling in Zaldivar vs. Gonzalez. The suspension lasted for four years before he was able to convince the SC to lift his suspension. - Sophia Dedace and Carlo Lorenzo, GMANews.TV