457 Phil. 331
PER CURIAM:
In an Order dated April 15, 1999, Investigating Commissioner J. Virgilio A. Bautista of the Commission on Bar Discipline of the IBP, required respondent to submit his answer to the complaint, with a warning that he will be considered in default and the case will be heard ex parte, if he fails to do so.[4] Despite due notice,[5] respondent failed to file his answer. Thus, complainant filed a motion to declare respondent in default,[6] resolution of which was held in abeyance by the Investigating Commissioner who required the parties to appear for hearing before the Commission on August 13, 1999.[7] On said date, respondent again failed to appear despite due receipt of notice.[8] Commissioner Bautista was thus constrained to consider respondent in default and complainant was allowed to present her evidence ex parte. Complainant testified and affirmed under oath the truthfulness and veracity of her Affidavit-Complaint.[9] Complainant also manifested that she will present the check in the amount of P24,000.00[10] at the next date of hearing.
- I am one of the heirs of Rufino Esteban Hilapo, owner of a 244-hectare lot situated at Alabang, Muntinlupa, which property is being claimed by Filinvest Dev. Corp. in a case pending with the Commission on the Settlement of Land Problems (COSLAP), Quezon City. The heirs of REH has appointed Mr. PORFIRIO DAEN as their attorney-in-fact giving him authority to prosecute the case for and in their behalf.
- On January 26, 1999, Mr. Porfirio Daen was arrested by a Muntinlupa police on the strength of an expired warrant of arrest-it was issued on February 1990-and subsequently detained at the Muntinlupa City Jail, Tunasan, Muntinlupa City, until his release on February 18, 1999.
- Since Mr. Daen needed the assistance of a lawyer for his release from incarceration, we tried to look for one. We told our friend Naty Sibuya, about the predicament of Mr. Daen, who recommended Atty. Wenceslao Barcelona to us, his wife being Naty's cousin/relative.
- So on January 26, 1999, at about 10:30 in the evening, Atty. Wenceslao Barcelona arrived at the Muntinlupa City Jail and conferred with Mr. Daen. We learned later that Mr. Daen has engaged the services of Atty. Barcelona for the latter to secure the release of the former from prison. After their conversation, Atty. Barcelona told us that if you could produce the amount of FIFTY THOUSAND (P50,000.00) Pesos he will cause the release of Mr. Daen from prison the following day. I told him that it was already late in the evening and I cannot any more produce the amount. But he insisted that I must produce even just a small amount. So, what I did was ask my relatives who were with me at the time to contribute and we were able to raise FIFTEEN THOUSAND SEVEN-HUNDRED (P15,700.00) Pesos. In the meantime, Atty. Barcelona proceeded to Chowking Restaurant which is just located across the city jail where he waited for us there.
- At the aforesaid restaurant, I handed to Atty. Barcelona the amount who accepted the same. He reiterated his promise to secure the release of Mr. Daen the following day. Before he left, he asked us to meet him at Max' Restaurant at around 12:00 noon at EDSA Crossing. He thereafter left because according to him, he would go and see somebody, (a justice) from the Supreme Court who could help the release of Mr. Daen. It was already about 12:30 in the early morning of January 27, 1999.
- As agreed upon, I, together with Romana Soriano, proceeded to Max' Restaurant. We arrived at around 12:00 noon. Atty. Barcelona came at around 1:00 P.M. He even told us that he just came from the Supreme Court where he "fixed" the case of Mr. Daen. It surprised me though, that he did not have with him any single document at the time. Then, I handed him a "pay-to-cash" check for TWENTY-FOUR THOUSAND (P24,000.00) Pesos, dated January 29, 1999. We told him that the check may be encashed on the said date. Although, he said that the Justices of the Supreme Court do not accept check he nonetheless, accepted it saying that he will have the same rediscounted. We thereafter left.
- The following morning, January 28, 1999, at around 7:00 o'clock Atty. Barcelona called me up by phone to say that since he was unable to have the check rediscounted, I must produce the amount of P5,000.00 and give the amount to him at Max' Restaurant at EDSA Crossing at around 12:00 noon. We were unable to meet him because we arrived at about 1:00 o'clock already. Nonetheless, we waited for him until 3:00 in the afternoon. Thereafter, I called him through his pager saying that we were waiting for him at Max'. I also called up our house and inquire (sic) if a lawyer has called up. I was able to talk to my husband who informed me that a certain Atty. Barcelona called up. That Atty. Barcelona wanted to meet us at McDonald's at Barangka Drive, Mandaluyong. So we rushed to the place but he was not there. I again paged him informing him that we were already at McDonald's and to return my call through my cell phone. After a while, his wife called up to inform us to proceed to their house which was just five houses away from McDonald's. When we reached their house, we were met by his daughter who called her mother. We were ushered inside the house and after introducing ourselves, we gave not only P5,000.00, but TEN THOUSAND (P10,000.00) Pesos in cash to his wife in the presence of his daughter. Then we went to Putatan, Muntinlupa, hoping that he might be there.
- We arrived at Putatan, Muntinlupa at around 4:30 in the afternoon and there we saw Atty. Barcelona. We informed him that we left the P10,000.00 with his wife at their house. Since Atty. Barcelona informed us that he could not secure the release of Mr. Daen because the check had not been encashed, Mr. Gil Daen, a nephew of Porfirio Daen, gave him FIFTEEN THOUSAND (P15,000.00) Pesos in cash. I also gave him an additional P1,000.00 for his gasoline expenses.
- The next time that we saw Atty. Barcelona was on February 3, 1999, Wednesday at around 6:00 in the evening at Putatan, Muntinlupa. He informed us that he just came from the city jail where he had a conversation with Mr. Daen. He told us that he is going to release Mr. Daen from prison tomorrow, February 4, 1999. However, in the morning of February 4, we learned from the wife of Atty. Barcelona when she returned my call that her husband had left for Mindanao early that morning on board a private plane owned by Chiongbian allegedly to attend a peace talk with the Muslims.
- After more than a week, I went to Putatan, Muntinlupa, because I was informed by the son of Mr. Daen that he saw Atty. Barcelona there. When I saw him, I confronted him about his undertaking to release Mr. Daen from prison, but he only advised us not to worry and promised (again) that he will return the entire amount of P64,000.00 more or less, on Thursday, February 18, 1999. But I never saw him again since then. I have repeatedly paged him to return my call but he never returned any of my calls.[3]
. . . Disciplinary proceedings against lawyers are sui generis . Neither purely civil nor purely criminal, they do not involve a trial of an action or a suit, but rather investigations by the Court into the conduct of one of its officers. Not being intended to inflict punishment, [they are] in no sense a criminal prosecution. Accordingly, there is neither a plaintiff nor a prosecutor therein. [They] may be initiated by the Court motu propio. Public interest is [their] primary objective, and the real question for determination is whether or not the attorney is still a fit person to be allowed the privileges as such. Hence, in the exercise of its disciplinary powers, the Court merely calls upon a member of the Bar to account for his actuations as an officer of the Court with the end in view of preserving the purity of the legal profession and the proper and honest administration of justice by purging the profession of members who by their misconduct have prove[n] themselves no longer worthy to be entrusted with the duties and responsibilities pertaining to the office of an attorney. . . .[13]As in the Ricafort case,[14] herein respondent chose to forget that by swearing the lawyer's oath, he became a guardian of truth and the rule of law, and an indispensable instrument in the fair and impartial administration of justice - a vital function of democracy a failure of which is disastrous to society.[15] In disbarment proceedings, the burden of proof rests upon the complainant, and for the court to exercise its disciplinary powers, the case against the respondent must be established by clear, convincing and satisfactory proof.[16] Considering the serious consequence of the disbarment or suspension of a member of the Bar, this Court has consistently held that clear preponderant evidence is necessary to justify the imposition of the administrative penalty.[17]
CANON 1 – A lawyer shall uphold the constitution, obey the laws of the land and promote respect for law and for legal processes.The Code exacts from lawyers not only a firm respect for law, legal processes and the courts but also mandates the utmost degree of fidelity and good faith in dealing with clients and the moneys entrusted to them pursuant to their fiduciary relationship. Instead of promoting respect for law and the legal processes, respondent callously demeaned the legal profession by taking money from a client under the pretext of having connections with a Member of this Court.
CANON 7 – A lawyer shall at all times upholds the integrity and dignity of the legal profession, and support the activities of the integrated bar.
CANON 11 – A lawyer shall observe and maintain the respect due to the courts and to judicial officers and should insist on similar conduct by others.
CANON 16 – A lawyer shall hold in trust all moneys and properties of his client that may come into his possession.
Rule 16.01 – A lawyer shall account for all money or property collected or received for or from the client.
A lawyer is an officer of the courts; he is, "like the court itself, and instrument or agency to advance the ends of justice.' [People ex rel. Karlin vs. Culkin, 60 A.L.R. 851, 855]. His duty is to uphold the dignity and authority of the courts to which he owes fidelity, `not to promote distrust in the administration of justice." [In re Sotto, 82 Phil. 595, 602]. Faith in the courts a lawyer should seek to preserve. For, to undermine the judicial edifice "is a disastrous to the continuity of the government and to the attainment of the liberties of the people." [Malcolm Legal and Judicial Ethics, 1949 ed., p. 160]. Thus has it been said a lawyer that "[a]s an officer of the court, it is his sworn and moral duty to help build and not destroy unnecessarily that high esteem and regard towards the courts so essential to the proper administration of justice."The Judiciary has been besieged enough with accusations of corruption and malpractice. For a member of the legal profession to further stoke the embers of mistrust on the judicial system with such irresponsible representations is reprehensible and cannot be tolerated. Respondent made a mockery of the Judiciary and further eroded public confidence in courts and lawyers when he ignored the proceedings in the Aquino case and in the present case. More so, when he misrepresented to complainant that he has connections with a Member of the Court to accommodate his client and that Justices of the Court accept money. Indubitably, he does not deserve to remain a member of the Bar any minute longer.