ON Aug. 11, 2000, the Philippine Justice Association held a fun run at the Cebu City Sports Center that was attended by no less than the then Supreme Court chief justice, the Cebuano Hilario Davide Jr. An incident happened during the activity that eventually led to the dismissal from the service of a judge.
Here’s a narration of the incident in a July 6, 2001 decision by the Supreme Court en banc regarding the complaint of Mrs. Rotilla A. Marcos and her children against then Regional Trial Court (RTC) Branch 20 judge Ferdinand J. Marcos (A.M. No. 97-2-53-RTC. July 6, 2001):
“Among the RTC judges who attended and joined the fun run was Judge Ferdinand J. Marcos. A woman who was reported to be his querida accompanied him. Judge Marcos and the querida joined the judges at the temporary place reserved for the judges and during the latter’s breakfast thereat were seated near each other.
“Chief Justice Davide pulled Judge Marcos aside to validate the facts about the latter’s illicit relationship with the woman. Judge Marcos admitted, among other things, that he had been living with the woman...for three years already, and that he was separated from his wife.”
When the incident happened, the complaint filed by Marcos’s wife Rotilla that demanded financial support from the judge was pending. Mentioned in that complaint was Marcos having a mistress, a claim that he denied. But dwelling much on that incident is not what this column is about. House Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez is.
A few months ago, Alvarez and some members of the House of Representatives went hard after Sen. Leila de Lima for her alleged involvement in the illegal drugs trade inside the New Bilibid Prison. But they didn’t focus solely on that. They also feasted on de Lima’s past relationship with her driver Ronnie Dayan. When Dayan was arrested, he was hauled to the House and lawmakers used him to make fun of de Lima.
In going after de Lima, these lawmakers presented themselves as models of public morality. They were moral because de Lima was immoral.
Recently, Alvarez, again proclaiming himself a model of morality, sued Rep. Antonio Floirendo Jr. with the Office of the Ombudsman for possible irregularity in an agreement between a Floirendo-family owned firm and the Bureau of Corrections. But reports say that the spat was an offshoot to a quarrel between Floirendo’s girlfriend and Alvarez’s mistress during Bacolod’s Masskara Festival in October.
So Alvarez, who went hard after de Lima on the issue of morality, himself has a mistress. Not only that. The mistress was not hidden but even accompanies him in some public engagement. As a result, some lawmakers are reportedly planning to oust him as House Speaker and a disbarment case against him is being mulled. Alvarez, in his usual bravado, told his critics: “Go ahead, no problem with me.” On his having a mistress, here’s Alvarez: “Kayo naman! Diyos ko naman, sino ba ang walang girlfriend.”
When Alvarez lashed harshly at de Lima he should have been reminded of John 8:7. “Let him who is without sin cast the first stone.”