Tangunan, Jashen Haven M.

Leus vs. St. Scholastica College Westgrove

(Reflection Paper)

Cheryll Santos Leus was a non-teaching employee of St. Scholastica

College Westgrove, a Catholic institution. Sometime in 2003, she got
pregnant out of wedlock; this prompted the school directress to ask her to file
her resignation due to misconduct and immorality. Leus responded to this by
stating that such act is not immoral; therefore not an actionable wrong. The
issues that were raised in this case all revolved around the question of
morality, and by what standard do we measure it?

Morality is commonly defined as the principle of right or wrong. Morals

are not societal postulates but rather is the basis of our laws. It serves as a
“measuring stick” for acts that are deemed agreeable or contrary to societal
norms. Article 21 of the Civil Code states that “Any person who wilfully causes
loss or injury to another in manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or
public policy shall compensate the latter for the damage.” Our Civil Code
incorporates morals as a criterion for acts that causes injury or harm against
another person. Morals is a referential principle that justifies what is right or
wrong. But such principle is subjected to a certain standard, hence we can
only identify what is morally right or wrong from a set of universal truths.
Truths that are not relative or a product of personal preference. Therefore, a
truth must be universally accepted for it to be considered a standard.

“Public and secular morality should determine the prevailing norms of

conduct, not religious morality.”1 The Court understood the need for a
prevailing standard of morality. In this case, they held that public and secular
morals should be the prevalent norm in measuring an act in accordance to our
laws and jurisprudence. Public morals is defined as morality not based on
religion but on popular ideas, sources of law, and common aspirations as
expressed in policies, preambles and declaration of policies. 2 On the other
hand, secular morality invokes the principles of which is deemed as
reasonable or rational by man. In this case, the Court clearly made a
distinction between two contrasting views on morality: the secular and the
religious. This stems from the separation of the Church and State. This
institutions are both fundamental in our society, but are confined within their
separate jurisdiction. Therefore, the Church cannot overstep it’s boundaries
on that which is of the State, and such is the same for the State. Hence, within
the standard of secular morality the out of wedlock pregnancy of Cheryll Leus
is not immoral. It is not wrong for two consenting adults, without legal
impediment to marry, to conceive a child.
Footnotes:
1
Leus v. St. Scholastica (G.R. No. 187226; January 28, 2015)
2
Philawsophia : Philosophy and Theory of law (2014)