Escudero files disbarment case

A SENATOR on Monday filed a disbarment case before the Supreme Court against a lawyer for alleged defamatory statements on social media.

In a verified complaint, Senator Francis Joseph “Chiz” G. Escudero accused Jesus Nicardo M. Falcis III of making “insulting, accusatory and malicious” Facebook posts against him in relation to the 2025 national budget and flood control programs.

The complaint, filed under the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, cited provisions on propriety and fidelity, asserting that the remarks were “unbecoming of a member of the Philippine Bar.”

Mr. Escudero, himself a lawyer, alleged that Mr. Falcis publicly humiliated him through unverified claims of pork barrel insertions in the budget and requested the Court to order Mr. Falcis’ disbarment and removal from the Roll of Attorneys.

In a response, Mr. Falcis, defended his posts and said in a statement shared with reporters that “By disclosing and disseminating the fact of his filing of a disbarment complaint against me, Atty. Chiz Escudero himself has committed an act worthy of disbarment.”

Mr. Falcis, admitted to the Bar in 2015, said Mr. Escudero should explain alleged budget irregularities, including a P160-million kickback and P142-billion 2025 budget insertions, instead of filing disbarment cases against lawyers. — Erika Mae P. Sinaking