UP law profs given 20 more days to answer SC order

Thirty-seven UP law professors have another 20 days to respond to a Supreme Court order asking them to explain why they should not be punished for airing a statement against a magistrate embroiled in a plagiarism scandal. Chief Justice Renato Corona granted the extension to the so-called UP Law 37, according to court administrator Jose Midas Marquez in a text message on Wednesday. “Considering that time is of the essence, the chief justice, without waiting for the en banc session, has granted all the motions for 20-day extension filed by UP law deans and professors," said Marquez, who is also the court’s spokesman. Last week, UP Law dean Marvic Leonen and other professors asked for an extension of the 10-day period the court had given them last October 20. The deadline lapsed last Saturday, October 30. The Supreme Court is on recess until November 16, but Marquez said the chief justice can issue resolutions on urgent matters. The professors were ordered to “show cause" why they should not be sanctioned for calling for Mariano del Castillo’s resignation while the high court’s Ethics and Ethical Standards Committee was investigating the plagiarism charges against him. Del Castillo was accused of plagiarizing portions of his ruling on World War II comfort women, but the Supreme Court cleared him, saying there was “no malicious intent" in the “accidental decapitation" of the attribution marks that would indicate that the research material was borrowed. The court also threatened to crack its whip on the 37 law professors who aired a statement against Del Castillo, saying the Code of Professional Conduct for lawyers prohibits members of the Bar from airing public statements that tend to influence public opinion while a case is pending. - Sophia M. Dedace/KBK, GMANews.TV