VS SUPREME COURT: NOY SIDES W/ U.P. PROFESSORS ON PLAGIARISM ISSUE
MANILA, NOVEMBER 21, 2010 (STAR) By Aurea Calica - President Aquino sided with the University of the Philippines (UP) in its bout with the Supreme Court over the plagiarism issue.
Aquino stressed the "straight path" of properly attributing to authors or makers of any written opinion over any subject matter.
"It's not always easy to walk the straight path. We both have the same stand on this: there should be no lying, there should be no copying, there should be no stealing or the use of analyses without the authority or proper attribution of the authors," Aquino told the alumni homecoming of the UP College of Law on Friday.
"Those who are in a higher position should also not threaten or frighten the people who only want to freely express their opinion and lay down the truth," Aquino said.
Aquino noted the uproar over the recent Supreme Court (SC) ruling over the definition of plagiarism in what the legal sector claimed was supposed to favor a ranking magistrate.
The SC earlier cleared Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo of accusations of copying certain legal opinions of foreign authors in his decision on the case of comfort women.
The high court said Del Castillo did not try to pass off the works of the legal experts as his own, saying it was only "a case of bad footnoting."
Different law schools and private institutions led by the UP slammed the SC decision that substantially changed the legal definition of plagiarism.
The faculty of the UP College of Law also joined calls urging Del Castillo to resign.
The SC then warned the UP College of Law faculty that they could be cited for contempt for demanding the resignation of Del Castillo.
The faculty members responded by saying that their actions were protected by the Constitution while insisting that Del Castillo committed plagiarism and misrepresentation.
Sen. Miriam Defensor-Santiago also expressed her support for the UP College of Law.
"They should be commended for being so vigilant that they can catch certain plagiarized quotations in Supreme Court decisions," Santiago said.
"That is an extraordinary skill. I don't think they should be faulted for doing what they did. So I support the case of the UP faculty," she added.
Santiago, a former judge, said plagiarism is a serious matter which is equivalent to forgery or passing off a fake as an original.
"That is a crime in our Penal Code. In the same way, in the intellectual world, plagiarism should be considered, in effect, an unforgivable crime," she said.
Even without categorically stating that Del Castillo was guilty of plagiarism, Santiago said the SC magistrate is responsible for the contents of his ruling.
"You can make all kinds of excuses of why there is no attribution but if you are the signed author of a document…you are the last person to read the document so you will be able to catch all imperfections in that document.
Besides, once you affix your signature you should be ready to defend your work," she pointed out.
Senate President Juan Ponce Enrile and Senators Francis Pangilinan and Francis Escudero also appealed for judicial restraint on the part of the SC.
Enrile said the warning of contempt by the SC against the UP law faculty members is "just a step away from punishing those who wish to voice out and protest what they honestly believed to be a serious wrongdoing on the part of an associate justice and a mistake on the part of the Court."
Pangilinan argued the claim of the UP College of Law faculty has basis and was even supported by the dissenting opinion issued by Associate Justice Ma. Lourdes Sereno on the dismissal of the charges against Del Castillo.
Escudero, for his part, said the SC magistrates should just take the criticisms coming from various fronts as constructive criticism.
Meanwhile, Aquino also called on the country's lawyers to be an active part of a genuine democracy.
Aquino said the country is looking to UP as a source of lawyers who would dispense justice that would not favor any class or individual.
Aquino pointed out the UP College of Law has produced four presidents, 12 chief justices, several senators and congressmen apart from distinguished personalities in the government and private sectors.
Aquino told the gathering that he just attended the reunion of San Beda College of Law, where he was named an honorary alumnus, adding his name to what he called a roster of "too many lawyers."
But despite the large number of lawyers, Aquino said he was bothered by the reality of more people suffering from injustices and abuses but are not given their day in court.
"I am even more bothered about the volumes of paper that pile up in courts and the cases that have been pending for several decades," he said.
Aquino remarked that a lot of lawyers are busy dressing, looking and acting like lawyers rather than handling cases of their less fortunate countrymen.
"I suppose many of you are mumbling that what I am saying is very idealistic," he said.
Aquino expressed hope the reunion of the UP College of Law would pave the way for all lawyers to revisit, not just their student days, but more importantly the ideals entrusted to them during their stay at Malcolm Hall about giving real and speedy justice to all people.
"Do not fail your country, your profession and yourselves," Aquino said.
Aquino also told the gathering the reason why he is calling on the SC to open up the Maguindanao massacre trial to the media.
He said a live broadcast of the trial would reduce the cost of the victims' survivors to witness the hearings.
A live television coverage of the trial would also convince the entire nation that the courts and the government have nothing to hide, Aquino stressed. – With Marvin Sy
U.P. PROFESSORS STAND FIRM ON PLAGIARISM ISSUE DESPITE SC RULING By Edu Punay PHILIPPINE STAR NOVEMBER 20, 2010
Professors of the University of the Philippines' College of Law have stood firm on their statement against the alleged plagiarism committed by a Supreme Court(SC) justice in writing a ruling last April on a case involving the demand for reparation of Filipino "comfort women" who were used as sex slaves by Japanese soldiers during World War II.
Responding to the show cause order of the court, the 37 law professors led by UP College of Law Dean Marvic Leonen said they did not violate canons of the Code of Professional Responsibilities of Lawyers when they signed the statement "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."
In an eight-page compliance filed by professor Rosa Maria Juan-Bautista on behalf of the UP professors, they insisted that Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo committed plagiarism and misrepresentation despite a ruling of the Court clearing him from such allegations.
They invoked their academic freedom and freedom of expression under the Constitution.
"The exercise of academic freedom grants the University the exclusive discretion to determine if, in its opinion, plagiarism exists based on established standards and the courts may not interfere with the exercise of discretion unless there is a clear showing that the university has arbitrarily and capriciously exercised its judgment," they argued.
They also stressed that they could not be penalized for issuing the "accusing statement" since it was only an opinion "protected by the Constitution – right or wrong and whether the Supreme Court agrees with the law professors or not."
The professors believe their action does not warrant any sanction since it posed "no danger of character both grave and imminent, of a serious evil to public safety, public morale, public health, or any other legitimate public interest as would justify the Honorable Supreme Court to curtail the freedom of expression of the opinion of the faculty members of the UP College of Law."
Bautista also denied the allegation that their statement was issued to tarnish the integrity of the Court.
"What we professors wanted to do was to shield the Supreme Court from the mistake or negligence or recklessness of one member. We signed the letter in good faith and with the best intentions to protect the Supreme Court by asking one member to resign," she explained.
She and her colleagues asked the Court to uphold their academic freedom and freedom of expression by allowing them to continue to speak their opinions on the plagiarism issue.
Leonen said they still stand by their call for the Court to institute ways and means to prevent similar occurrences of alleged plagiarism.
"We are more than willing to sit down with the Court's representatives and contribute our academic resources to find ways to lessen its docket as well as to continue to improve court staff''s ability to do research," said Leonen, citing that UP treats plagiarism as a mortal sin that could cost a student's diploma.
He stressed that criticism of the Court is not tantamount to disrespect and lawyers are always expected to be independent and candid in their assessments to be able to assist the public in understanding decisions of the court.
"Critique will always come with some degree of irreverence. Otherwise those who wish to speak their truths may not be able to address those in power. We teach our students that injustice suffered by those who are powerless deserve their most effective voice. We teach them that that is what ennobles our calling as lawyers," he said in a statement.
Leonen warned the justices that "timidity within the legal academia may result in a failure of democracy."
The UP law professors and lawyers, all under administrative supervision of the SC, were ordered to explain why a "dummy" statement was submitted even if it was supposedly "not a true and faithful reproduction" of the UP faculty of law.
Court administrator Midas Marquez earlier explained that the SC is looking into possible violation of code of ethics of lawyers committed by the UP law professors.
He explained that the Code bars lawyers from making public statements that tend to influence public opinion while a case is pending.
Chief Justice Renato Corona signed the order. Nine others justices concurred – Associate Justices Presbitero Velasco Jr., Antonio Eduardo Nachura, Teresita Leonardo-de Castro, Arturo Brion, Diosdado Peralta, Lucas Bersamin, Martin Villarama Jr., Jose Perez and Jose Mendoza.
Three justices dissented, namely Senior Justice Antonio Carpio and Associate Justices Conchita Carpio-Morales and Ma. Lourdes Sereno, while Associate Justice Roberto Abad was on leave.
Associate Justice Del Castillo, subject of the plagiarism charge, took no part in the voting.
An earlier probe of the SC showed that only 37 out of 81 members of the faculty signed the statement condemning the alleged plagiarism and calling for the resignation of the magistrate.
"And retired Justice Vicente Mendoza did not sign the statement, contrary to what the dummy represented. The Committee wondered why Dean (Leonen) submitted a dummy of the signed document when UP has an abundance of copying machines," the Court stressed in its ruling last week clearing Del Castillo.
With this, the Court directed the committee on ethics to turn over to the full court the signed copy of the manifesto "for consideration in relation to the separate pending matter concerning that supposed faculty statement."
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