A.M. No. 10-10-4-SC - IN RE: Letter of the UP Law Faculty on Allegations of Plagiarism and Misrepresentation in the Supreme Court

A letter titled “Restoring Integrity: A Statement by the Faculty of the University of the Philippines College of Law on the Allegations of Plagiarism and Misrepresentation in the Supreme Court” was circulated, challenging the handling of a plagiarism charge against Associate Justice Mariano C. del Castillo.
The Supreme Court docketed the matter as A.M. No. 10-10-4-SC (an administrative case) and issued a Show Cause Resolution on October 19, 2010, calling on participating UP Law faculty members to explain their “contumacious language” in the Statement.

The Court rendered a Decision on March 8, 2011, finding that respondents Professors Tristan A. Catindig and Carina C. Laforteza had breached their ethical obligations by issuing the Statement without proper decorum and denied access to evidence from the parallel A.M. No. 10-7-17-SC (the Vinuya plagiarism case).
On April 1, 2011, Professors Catindig and Laforteza filed a Motion for Reconsideration, and Dean Marvic M.V.F. Leonen with Professor Theodore O. Te filed a Manifestation supporting the motion.

Whether the respondents were improperly subjected to an administrative proceeding that in substance constituted indirect contempt without the due‐process safeguards applicable to such contempt proceedings.
Whether respondents should have been granted access to the evidence and records of A.M. No. 10-7-17-SC to defend against the Show Cause Resolution.
Whether the Court erred in finding that the issuance of the Restoring Integrity Statement breached the respondents’ ethical obligations despite their asserted good faith and constructive intent.