DISBARRABLE

By Bayawanon

In a televised interview, Secretary Delfin Lorenzana of the Department of National Defense had recognized the arrival of Solicitor General Jose Calida in his office. Secretary Delfin Lorenzana would further recognize the fact that Solicitor General Jose Calida would ask his office to produce the amnesty records of the then Philippine Navy Lt. Sr. Grade and now Philippine Senator Antonio F. Trillanes IV.

After Sol Gen Calida's appearance at the National Defense Headquarters, the amnesty records of Trillanes are nowhere to be found, and a Presidential Proclamation revoking Trillanes's amnesty was issued by President Rodrigo R. Duterte on the ground that Senator Trillanes has not filed an application for amnesty, thereby making the amnesty of Trillanes void ab initio.

Because of the facts being alluded above, Senator Antonio Trillanes IV alleged that Sol. Gen. Jose Calida had stolen his amnesty records, purposely lost it. made it appear that Trillanes never applied for amnesty and made steps that Trillanes's amnesty is revoked.

Such a conduct of the Solicitor General was a conduct unbecoming of a gentleman, government official, member of the bar and officer of the Court if the accusation of Trillanes that the good Solicitor General had stolen his amnesty records is true. Assuming arguendo, that Solicitor General Jose Calida had stolen the amnesty records of Senator Trillanes, such act of Sol. Gen. Calida must be frowned upon for it gives dishonor to the Philippine Bar, in connection to this he must be checked and must be disciplined, since as a member of the bar he is an officer of the court and of the community, but he gives dishonor to the community where he belongs and the Philippine Bar also.

In a litany of disbarment cases, the Philippine Supreme Court had enumerated the grounds for disbarment, and two of the grounds for disbarment had been committed by Sol. Gen Calida which are inter alia: 1) Deceit; and 2) Violation of the Lawyer's oath.

It is very clear that Sol. Gen. Jose Calida had employed deceit by barging on the Defense Chief's Office and have the amnesty records of Trillanes perused, lost the same and used its loss in the revocation of Trillanes's amnesty, the same act is also a violation of the Lawyer's Oath which provides that a lawyer shall not employ falsehood in filing cases in court and shall not file cases in court coupled with malice. By virtue of the foregoing premises, I believe and I can safely say, that Sol. Gen. Jose Calida is DISBARRABLE.