Philippine Lawyer Disbarred for Infidelity
A Philippine lawyer has been disbarred for leaving his wife and 12 children to live with another woman.
Lawyer Ponciano Arnobit was sanctioned under a provision of the country’s lawyer ethics code that authorizes disbarment for lawyers who leave their wives to live with other women who bear them children, reports GMANewsTV.
Arnobit’s wife first sought his disbarment in 1975, but the court didn’t act for 33 years because of Arnobit’s failure to appear for bar hearings, Inquirer.net reported. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines had recommended only a three-month suspension.
“Undoubtedly, respondent’s act of leaving his wife and 12 children to cohabit and have children with another woman constitutes grossly immoral conduct,” the court said in an eight-page opinion quoted by both news outlets. “To add insult to injury, there seems to be little attempt on the part of respondent to be discreet about his liaison with the other woman.”
