SC fines UST law dean for sponsoring 'exorbitant' trips

MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has found the dean of the University of Sto. Tomas' Faculty of Civil Law guilty of misconduct for sponsoring trips of officers of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines–Central Luzon in 2023 and 2023

In a decision penned by Associate Justice Samuel Gaerlan, the high court en banc imposed a fine of P100,000 on lawyer Nilo Divina, who is a member of the IBP–Tarlac chapter.

For committing impropriety, Divina was found "guilty of simple misconduct" under the Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, which serves as the code of conduct for all lawyers in the Philippines, according to the Supreme Court's statement on Monday.

Divina is also the head of DivinaLaw, one of the top legal firms based in Manila.

What went before. This decision follows the submission of an anonymous complaint alleging Divina engaged in illegal campaigning for the IBP-Central Luzon governor position

According to the complaint, Divina funded trips to Balesin Island Club in 2022 and Bali, Indonesia in 2023 for IBP-Central Luzon officers, and provided them with substantial cash and gift checks.

The Supreme Court en banc found that Divina’s actions violated Canon II, Sections 1 and 2 of the lawyers' code of conduct. The trips, intended solely for the benefit of the officers rather than the IBP's constituents, created a sense of obligation and indebtedness to Divina.

"Further, the Court stated that Atty. Divina’s behavior was inappropriate as it raised questions about the integrity, fairness, and independence of the IBP," the Supreme Court statement read. 

No election by-laws violated. While the high court frowned upon Divina’s behavior, it found no evidence of illegal election activities under the Revised IBP By-Laws, as alleged in the anonymous letter.

According to the Supreme Court's 25-page decision, there was "no concrete evidence" that Divina had any intention of running for governor of IBP-Central Luzon.

Also found guilty of simple misconduct and fined P100,000 each for receiving the gifts were the following lawyers:

The extravagant gifts compromised the lawyers' capacity to act impartially and retain their professional propriety, the