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UP law dean Leonen faces up to his own 'plagiarism' issue


(Updated 2:57 a.m. Dec. 9) "If you commit a wrongdoing, you have to acknowledge it immediately. You don't make excuses for it." Thus said University of the Philippines College of Law dean Marvic M.V.F. Leonen after offering to resign from his post when he was linked by a lawyers' group to an alleged instance of plagiarism. Leonen had led a group of 37 UP law school professors who called on a Supreme Court justice to resign over plagiarism charges. The Supreme Court instead cleared the magistrate. Leonen's prompt offer to resign seemed at least partly intended to present a contrast to the High Court's action. In an interview on Wednesday night, Leonen acknowledged that he failed to supply at least two attributions in his 2004 article titled "Weaving Worldviews: Implications of Constitutional Challenges to the Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997." The materials that Leonen borrowed were from the American law professor Owen Lynch's dissertation and "friend of the court" brief co-written with Romina Picolotti. Lynch currently teaches at the UP College of Law as a visiting professor. Leonen then said that he is ready to face the consequences of inadvertently leaving out the footnotes that contain the source attributions. "I had made that mistake. It's an honest mistake but one I should acknowledge, apologize for, and basically meet the penalty. And I thought that a huge part of it would be to offer to resign the deanship," said Leonen. Leonen submitted his resignation letter, dated December 7, to UP Diliman Chancellor Sergio Cao. In the letter, the law dean owned up to failing "to acknowledge my sources as I should have." "I have always held myself to the highest standards of integrity, and this has been especially true in my conduct as Dean of the College of Law. My illustrious predecessors have set the bar and I intend that it should not be lowered," Leonen said in his letter. “Thus, to protect this standard, and the reputation of the College and University, I offer my resignation as Dean of College of Law," he also said. Philjust calls Leonen's attention Last December 4, lawyers' group Philippine Social Justice Foundation (Philjust) sent Leonen a letter calling his attention to what appeared to be a case of plagiarism. Philjust lawyers Samson Alcantara, Lope Feble, Mariano Santiago, and Pedro Dabu Jr. implied that Leonen cannot ask for the resignation of Supreme Court Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo, who recently figured in a plagiarism scandal, because of the so-called “clean hands" doctrine: "The one who goes to court must do so with clean hands." "And as Jesus said, let him who is without sin cast the first stone," said the Philjust lawyers. Lynch exonerates Leonen But Lynch promptly cleared Leonen of wrongdoing also on Wednesday, saying he and the UP law dean had collaborated for 24 years and have shared the same ideas in the course of their work. "I therefore find it unfortunate that Dean Leonen's ideas, which have found their way to the contents of my amicus [friend of the court] brief, are now being used against him. In my view, the Dean committed no act of intellectual dishonesty in relation to my works," said Lynch in a letter dated Dec. 8 and addressed to UP Diliman Chancellor Cao. Leonen however pointed out that even as Lynch had virtually exonerated him, he still chose to offer his resignation. "If i were a professor looking back at my work, I would have said that's a demerit, or something which falls short of the level of excellence required in the UP College of Law. Scholarly writing means you footnote it. Two footnotes — that's what I missed," said Leonen. Effort to embarrass? Leonen likewise said there is seemingly an "effort to embarrass" him because copies of the Philjust letter addressed to him were also furnished to Chief Justice Renato Corona and the UP's Board of Regents (BOR). "If it were an honest critique, then there would have been no copies furnished [to Corona and the BOR]," he said. He also noted that it must have taken some effort for Philjust to recognize the supposedly plagiarized portions, which were found on pages 154 and 173-175 in Leonen's "Weaving Worldviews" article published in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines journal six years ago. Despite this, Leonen said he would still like to acknowledge he committed a mistake "rather than hide and not acknowledge." GMANews.TV could not contact the Philjust lawyers' group to get their side as of posting time. UP Law 37 and Del Castillo Last August, 37 UP law professors, Leonen included, called for the resignation of SC Associate Justice Mariano del Castillo for supposedly plagiarizing portions of his ruling on World War II comfort women. (See: Resignation of SC justice in plagiarism issue sought) The SC, however, cleared Del Castillo in October, saying there was "no malicious intent" on his part when the attribution marks in his decision were "accidentally deleted." (See: SC clears Justice Mariano del Castillo in plagiarism mess) The high court likewise issued an order to the 37 UP law professors asking them to "show cause" why they should not be sanctioned for coming out with a public statement while the court was still deciding on Del Castillo's ethics case. (See: Supreme Court threatens to sanction law faculty critics) On Wednesday, Leonen said that even if a similar accusation of plagiarism is slapped on him, he will continue to stand by the "UP Law 37" statement condemning intellectual dishonesty in the high court. "Just because you're a sinner doesn't mean you can't criticize your government," he said, in retort to Philjust's having invoked the “clean hands" doctrine. Leonen also said it "puzzles" him why Philjust gave Corona a copy of its letter even if the issue has nothing to do with the Del Castillo ethics case at the Supreme Court.—KBK/MRT/JV/HS, GMANews.TV
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