SC finds NBI lawyer guilty of 'immoral conduct,' penalty is 3-month suspension | Coconuts Manila

See - SC finds NBI lawyer guilty of 'immoral conduct,' penalty is 3-month suspension | Coconuts Manila

"x x x.

Hell hath no fury like a wife scorned.

The Supreme Court (SC) has just penalized National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) legal officer Atty. Leonardo Advincula because he engaged in an extra-marital affair. As indicated in an ABS-CBN News report, this was announced by SC spokesperson Atty. Theodore Te in a press briefing earlier this week.

The case againts the NBI lawyer started when his wife, Cecilia filed a case against him "for alleged immorality arising from an extra-marital affair which was entered into before he became a lawyer."

You see, the wronged spouses of Philippine government workers have an added weapon thanks to the Civil Service Commission (CSC) — the agency that oversees people in government service.

In case you didn't know it yet, the CSC has a rule penalizing "disgraceful and immoral conduct." The ruling is implemented by virtue of the CSC's Memorandum Circular No. 15, Series of 2010.

Under the said rule, immoral conduct is defined as "an act which violates the basic norm of decency, morality and decorum abhorred and condemned by the society" that is "willful, flagrant, or shameless, and which shows a moral indifference to the opinions of the good and respectable members of the society."

In this case, the SC found Leonardo guilty of immoral conduct. His penalty? A suspension from practicing law for three months.

"The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) initially recommended that the NBI lawyer be suspended for two months but the SC increased the penalty to three months," reports Edu Punay in The Philippine Star.

The SC further warned Leonardo that if he does the same offense again, then he will get a "more severe penalty."

Our questions:

1. Doesn't the wife lose, too if he's suspended for three months? (We presume the suspension is without pay.)

2. Is his wife still planning to take him back or not?

3. Do all the wronged spouses of government workers know about CSC's Memorandum Circular No. 15, Series of 2010? (If they don't, they should.)

x x x ."