ISSUES WITH RULING

Whether or not the original invocation of Section 2, Rule 10 of JBC-009 involve a question on
Jardeleza’s integrity?

 While Chief Justice Sereno claims that the invocation of Section 2, Rule 10 of JBC-009
was not borne out of a mere variance of legal opinion but by an "act of disloyalty"
committed by Jardeleza in the handling of a case, the fact remains that the basis for her
invocation of the rule was the "disagreement" in legal strategy as expressed by a group
of international lawyers.
 Verily, disagreement in legal opinion is but a normal, if not an essential form of,
interaction among members of the legal community. A lawyer has complete discretion on
what legal strategy to employ in a case entrusted to him provided that he lives up to his
duty to serve his client with competence and diligence, and that he exert his best efforts
to protect the interests of his client within the bounds of the law. Consonantly, a lawyer is
not an insurer of victory for clients he represents. An infallible grasp of legal principles
and technique by a lawyer is a utopian ideal. Stripped of a clear showing of gross
neglect, iniquity, or immoral purpose, a strategy of a legal mind remains a legal tactic
acceptable to some and deplorable to others. It has no direct bearing on his moral
choices.
 Nonetheless, the Court cannot consider her invocation of Section 2, Rule 10 of JBC-009
as conformably within the contemplation of the rule. To fall under Section 2, Rule 10 of
JBC-009, there must be a showing that the act complained of is, at the least, linked to
the moral character of the person and not to his judgment as a professional. What this
disposition perceives, therefore, is the inapplicability of Section 2, Rule 10 of JBC-009 to
the original ground of its invocation.
 Chief Justice Sereno also raised the issues of Jardeleza’s alleged extra-marital affair
and acts of insider-trading for the first time only during the June 30, 2014 meeting of the
JBC.
 Unlike the first ground which centered on Jardeleza’s stance on the tactical approach in
pursuing the case for the government, the claims of an illicit relationship and acts of
insider trading bear a candid relation to his moral character. Jurisprudence is replete
with cases where a lawyer’s deliberate participation in extra-marital affairs was
considered as a disgraceful stain on one’s ethical and moral principles. The bottom line
is that a lawyer who engages in extra-marital affairs is deemed to have failed to adhere
to the exacting standards of morality and decency which every member of the Judiciary
is expected to observe.
 Immorality has not been confined to sexual matters, but includes conduct inconsistent
with rectitude, or indicative of corruption, indecency, depravity and dissoluteness; or is
willful, flagrant, or shameless conduct showing moral indifference to opinions of
respectable members of the community and an inconsiderate attitude toward good order
and public welfare. To have a good moral character, a person must have the personal
characteristic of being good. It is not enough that he or she has a good reputation, that
is, the opinion generally entertained about a person or the estimate in which he or she is
held by the public in the place where she is known. Hence, lawyers are at all times
subject to the watchful public eye and community approbation.
 On the other hand, insider trading is an offense that assaults the integrity of our vital
securities market. Manipulative devices and deceptive practices, including insider
trading, throw a monkey wrench right into the heart of the securities industry. When
someone trades in the market with unfair advantage in the form of highly valuable secret
inside information, all other participants are defrauded. All of the mechanisms become
worthless. In its barest essence, insider trading involves the trading of securities based
on knowledge of material information not disclosed to the public at the time. Clearly, an
allegation of insider trading involves the propensity of a person to engage in fraudulent
activities that may speak of his moral character.