SC REPRIMANDS JUDGE FOR TATTOO SOCIAL MEDIA POST

SA ATON mga court judges, halong gid sa inyo mga social media posts. Dapat pormal gid gali. Indi pwede yamuhat.

The Supreme Court had admonished a Regional Trial Court judge for posting photos of himself half-dressed and exposing his tattoo. Tarso!

The SC found the judge guilty of “conduct unbecoming” and reminded him “to be more circumspect in his professional and personal dealings in social media”.

Defending himself, the judge argued that his Facebook account was hacked on Aug. 11, 2019 and his privacy setting was set from private to public. Ahay… He also claimed the photos were only meant for him and his friends and not for public viewing. The Court, however, said setting posts or profile details in private is no assurance that it can no longer be viewed by another user who is not Facebook friends with the source of the content.

In general, the Court reminded judges to mindful of what they communicate in social networking sites – regardless of whether it is a personal matter or a part of judicial functions -- as “such content indubitably creates and contributes to the public’s perception not only of the concerned judges, but, more importantly, of the Judiciary as a whole.

According to the Court, the judge in this case “had breached his duty to avoid impropriety, or even just the appearance of impropriety, when he posted the subject pictures showing his half-dressed body and tattooed torso on his Facebook account that eventually became readily accessible to the general public”. Haslo!

The Court clarified that the impropriety related solely to the judge’s “act of posting the subject picture on social media, and it has absolutely nothing to do with his choice to have tattoos.”

Simply put, by posting the pictures on Facebook, the respondent judge placed himself in a situation where he, and the status he holds as a sitting judge, became the object of the public’s criticism and ridicule, the SC said.

By the way, to those wondering… indi taga- Western Visayas si judge ah.