Case Digest (A.M. No. MTJ-99-1197)
Facts:
Benalfre J. Galang v. Judge Abelardo H. Santos, A.M. No. MTJ-99-1197, May 26, 1999, the Supreme Court En Banc, Per Curiam, is an administrative disciplinary case initiated by a letter-complaint filed with the Court. The complainant was Benalfre J. Galang, Pampanga Provincial Attorney; the respondent was Judge Abelardo H. Santos, presiding judge of the Municipal Trial Court in Cities (MTCC), Angeles City, Pampanga.On December 10, 1996, Galang filed a letter-complaint charging Judge Santos with acts unbecoming of a judge arising from his active participation in local print media. The complaint alleged that respondent acted as publisher, editor, legal adviser and columnist of a gossip tabloid, The Mirror, and wrote a gossip column and other articles in the local paper Sun Star Clark that ventilated personal biases, used intemperate language, belittled public officers and promoted partisan interests, thereby compromising his impartiality and degrading the judiciary.
The Court required an answer; respondent moved for a bill of particulars and for verification, a motion the Court granted by resolution dated June 16, 1997. Galang filed a Verified Complaint with Bill of Particulars on September 29, 1997. Respondent filed his answer on October 8, 1997, asserting, inter alia, that his articles were protected by the constitutional right to freedom of speech and the press, that the bill filed was a bill of generalities, and that he was not a political promoter. He also admitted certain challenged writings and asserted a long history in journalism.
The Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), by memorandum dated April 13, 1998, recommended dismissal of respondent for conduct unbecoming a member of the bench and violation of the Code of Judicial Conduct. The Court reviewed...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did Judge Abelardo H. Santos’s publications and activities in local newspapers and a tabloid constitute acts unbecoming of a judge warranting disciplinary dismissal?
- If so, could respondent's invocation of the constitutional right to freedom of speech and of the press shield ...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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