It may not be illegal, but is it ethical?

For a while there we thought pro bono also meant pro-poor.

The very concept of free legal aid is anchored on the fact that a lawyer’s client cannot afford to pay attorney’s fees.

In short, such service is supposed to be for indigents only, stupid!

And so we agree with and support feisty former senator Rene Saguisag who on Monday accused Supreme Court Chief Justice Renato Corona of unethical conduct for retaining the services of lawyers for free, citing a provision in the Code of Judicial Conduct,.

“Under Rule 504 of the Code of Judicial Conduct, a judge or any member of his family shall not accept any gift or favor. So here, he is not the only one complicit, even his lawyers serving pro bono are,” Saguisag was quoted by a major broadsheet as saying.

Speaking at a hotel breakfast forum, the fortmer senator cited how the Clinton couple, during the American president’s impeachment trial, paid for their legal bills using the proceeds of their respective autobiographies.

“But really, they (Clintons) had high-powered lawyers who were not serving for nothing. Here, they are serving pro bono, so each one of them is embroiled in violation of Rule 504 of the Code of Judicial Conduct,” he said.

The veteran human rights lawyer stressed: “He (Corona) cannot accept discounted penthouses, discounted diplomas and free legal services. These are prohibited under (Rule) 504.”

Of course, the CJ’s defense counsel thought otherwise.

Private lawyer Karen Jimeno said the embattled CJ did not violate Republic Act 6713 or The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees.

“See if it applies to [the prosecutors], what will they get in return?” Jimeno unabashedly asked,  reacting to Saguisag’s accusation.

“We are not receiving any amount in exchange for our work [in the defense panel],” Jimeno insisted, explaining that if their work fell under gifts or bribery it would mean that they were expecting something in exchange for their work.

She said that their team’s lawyers, even if asked one by one, would say that they were defending Corona not because of his position as chief magistrate but in order to protect the integrity of the SC. Yeah, sure.

Meanwhile, Saguisag said he had heard rumors of Corona’s resignation after he is acquitted by the impeachment court.

“Rene (Corona) is very badly damaged goods today. He is merely floating on the waters of the law. There is a scuttlebutt … that once he is acquitted he probably will resign anyway. That rumor is going around because he can be charged again,” he said.

The former senator  explained that another impeachment complaint could be initiated against the CJ next year if the current one fails.

For his part, Akbayan partylist Rep. Walden Bello raised doubts that Corona could serve effectively as CJ assuming he is acquitted.

Bello maintained that even if Corona were cleared, he would not have the moral ascendancy to continue to serve.

Our thoughts, exactly.