ANTONIO M. LORENZANA vs. JUDGE MA. CECILIA I.

AUSTRIA
A.M. No. RTJ-09-2200, April 2, 2014, 720 SCRA 319

FACTS:

On April 14, 2008, a complaint was filed against Judge Austria

for committing an act of impropriety when she displayed her
photographs in a social networking website called “Friendster”
and posted her personal details as a RTC Judge, allegedly for
the purpose of finding a compatible partner.

She also posed with her upper body barely covered by a shawl
allegedly suggesting that nothing was worn underneath except
probably a brassiere.

ISSUE:

Whether the burden of proof in an administrative case is

required to prove an act of impropriety.

HELD:

YES. Judge Austria is guilty of impropriety, as she is a visible

personification of law and justice.

Judges are held to higher standards of conduct and thus must

accordingly comport themselves.

The very nature of their functions requires under exacting

standards of morality, decency and propriety; both in the
performance of their duties and their daily personal lives, they
should be beyond reproach.