One of the most controversial members of the Marcos Cabinet has just been penalized a second time by the Supreme Court (SC).
The high tribunal found disbarred lawyer Larry Gadon — who serves as the Marcos administration’s presidential adviser on Poverty Alleviation — guilty of gross misconduct after he was found to have committed perjury after hurling accusations based on hearsay during the impeachment case against former chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno.
The SC said last week that Gadon violated Canon ll, Section 11 of the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, which prohibits lawyers from issuing false statements.
In a statement to media, the SC said Gadon’s “disregard for the verification requirement in impeachment complaints shows disrespect for the impeachment process, using it to advance his personal agenda rather than air genuine and legitimate grievances.”
Although gross misconduct is punishable by disbarment, the high court could not impose the same penalty against an already disbarred lawyer.
Gadon’s right to practice law was removed after the SC found him guilty of repeatedly cursing and using profanities on social media against journalist Raissa Robles.
The SC, however, still imposed a fine of PHP150,000 on Gadon, while also declaring him ineligible for judicial clemency.
Gadon accused the SC of “politicking” after it found him guilty of gross misconduct. He said this was spurred by a statement he made the day before the high court released its decision.
In that statement, Gadon predicted that Vice-president Sara Duterte-Carpio would not be re-elected or win any position in 2028 because of the way her supporters had been treating President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.
He said it was obvious that the SC was getting involved with politics “because less than 24 hours after I issued a statement that Sara will not win in 2028, they issued a decision immediately. They rushed it.”
The case against Gadon before the SC was filed by the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, which accused the disbarred lawyer of issuing “falsehoods” in the impeachment case he filed against Sereno.
The high court said Gadon had committed perjury by making allegations in his impeachment complaint that were not based on his personal knowledge or on any authentic records. This was contrary to his sworn statement in the verification attached to his complaint.
According to the high tribunal, Gadon was aware that he lacked personal knowledge or any authentic documents to support his accusation that Sereno falsified a temporary restraining order of the court.
Despite this, Gadon included the claim in his verified impeachment complaint, attempting to give credibility to what was a baseless accusation, said the SC.
“This not only deceived the House of Representatives but also revealed an intent to inflict unnecessary harm to the reputation of a lawyer and former member of the Court,” the SC statement said, adding that, “All these confirm that Gadon was motivated by a malicious intent to malign and defame Sereno.”
Meanwhile, Gadon last week said he was considering filing an impeachment case against the court officials who signed the order finding him guilty of perjury.
He told local media: “I am waiting for the official copy of the decision of the SC, so I can study if I might file an impeachment case against those who signed the order.”
He said the SC had no say on the case he filed against Sereno, as it was filed in the House of Representatives.
He also said that the PHP150,000 penalty was “exorbitant.”
