SC starts public consultation on proposed lawyers’ code of conduct

The Supreme Court has started its public consultation on its proposed Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability (CPRA) which embodies the norms on ethical conduct and accountability for practicing lawyers.

Inputs and suggestion for the proposed CPRA would amend the 34 -year-old Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR) that was adopted in 1988.

Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo emphasized the addition of “accountability” in the title of the proposed code “as a significant change reinforcing ethical commitment among lawyers.” Gesmundo, along with the justices of the SC, the Court of Appeals, and the Sandiganbayan led the information drive during the “ethics caravan” for the CPRA in Cebu City last Sept. 14.

“It is time to change not just the Code itself, but the people’s attitude towards it. We must convince everyone that ethics is a way of life,” Gesmundo stressed.

Suggestions and inputs collected during the caravan from judges, lawyers, different chapters of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, related government entities and organizations, members of the academe, and the public will be submitted to the SC, as a full court, for its consideration.

The first leg of the caravan was held at the University of San Carlos in Cebu City for Regions VI, VII, VIII, and Palawan.

Similar caravans will be held in Davao City in October for Regions IX, X, XI, XII, CARAGA, and the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao; in Naga City in November for Regions IV-B and V; in Baguio City in January 2023 for Regions I, II, and CAR; and in the National Capital Region (NCR), also in January 2023, for Regions III, IV-A, and the NCR.

The SC’s Public Information Office said the caravan will culminate in the National Summit on Ethical Standards for Lawyers in February 2023.

SC Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, chair of the SC Sub-Committee on the Revision of the Code of Professional Responsibility, presented the committee’s draft of the CPRA during the Cebu City caravan.

Javier underscored the importance of revising the code’s outdated provisions.

“This is our legacy to ourselves, to aspiring lawyers, and to generations to come,” she said.

SC Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, in a recorded message, also highlighted the proposed changes in the Lawyers’ Oath, including adding the word “justice” for the first time, underscoring the value of the Lawyer’s Oath as “the basic foundation of what a lawyer means.”

SC Associate Justices Samuel Gaerlan and Maria Filomena Singh, as sub-committee vice chairpersons, also took part in presenting the proposed CPRA.

Gaerlan said the shift in the proposed CPRA to a values-based framework, provides solutions that “respond and jive with the current times and seamlessly meld with our distinct Filipino culture.”

He also pointed to the addition of social media guidelines in the proposed CPRA to promote responsible use of the medium among lawyers.

Singh, on the other hand, introduced the proposed Preamble, which contextualizes the role of ethics and ethical lawyers in society.

“Ethics is not something we wear to work one day and leave at home the next day. It should be a conscious effort to contextualize all our actions, not selectively but universally. We cannot be ethical in one thing, and unethical in another thing,” she reminded lawyers.

SC Associate Justices Rodil Zalameda, Jhosep Lopez, Jose Midas Marquez, and Antonio Kho Jr. were also in attendance.