Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence


Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence > Year 1983 > March 1983 Decisions > B.M. No. 139 March 28, 1983 - PROCOPIO S. BELTRAN, JR. v. ELMO S. ABAD

206 Phil. 172:




PHILIPPINE SUPREME COURT DECISIONS

EN BANC

[B.M. No. 139. March 28, 1983.]

RE: ELMO S. ABAD, 1978 Successful Bar Examinee. ATTY. PROCOPIO S. BELTRAN, JR., President of the Philippine Trial Lawyers Association, Inc., Complainant, v. ELMO S. ABAD Respondent.


SYLLABUS


1. LEGAL ETHICS; ADMISSION TO THE — BAR; ESSENTIAL REQUISITES TO BE COMPLIED WITH BEFORE BECOMING A MEMBER THEREOF. — Respondent Abad should know that the circumstances which he has narrated do not constitute his admission to the Philippine Bar and the right to practice law thereafter. He should know that two essential requisites for becoming a lawyer still had to be performed, namely: his lawyer’s oath to be administered by this Court and his signature in the Roll of Attorneys (Rule 138, Secs. 17 and 19, Rules of Court).

2. REMEDIAL LAW; ASSUMING TO BE AN ATTORNEY AND ACTING AS SUCH WITHOUT AUTHORITY CONSTITUTES CONTEMPT OF COURT. — Charged by Atty. Procopio S. Beltran, Jr., president of the Philippine Trial Lawyers Association, Inc., of practicing law without having been previously admitted to the Philippine Bar, Mr. Elmo S. Abad could not deny and had to admit the practice. The proven charge against Abad constitutes contempt of court [Rule 71, Sec. 3(e), Rules of Court].


D E C I S I O N


ABAD SANTOS, J.:


Charged by Atty. Procopio S. Beltran, Jr., president of the Philippine Trial Lawyers Association, Inc., of practicing law without having been previously admitted to the Philippine Bar, Mr. Elmo S. Abad could not deny and had to admit the practice. In exculpation he gives the following lame explanation:chanrobles virtualawlibrary chanrobles.com:chanrobles.com.ph

"1. On July 23, 1979, respondent conformably with the Resolution of the Honorable Supreme Court En Banc dated July 10, 1979, . . . prior to his taking the Oath of Office as a member of the bar, paid his Bar Admission Fee in the amount of P175.00 as shown by Official Receipt No. 8128792, . . . paid his Certification Fee in the amount of P5.00 as shown by Official Receipt No. 8128793, . . . and also paid his Membership Dues for the year 1979-80 to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines as shown by Official Receipt No. 83740, . . ."cralaw virtua1aw library

"2. On July 26, 1979, Atty. Romeo Mendoza, the then Clerk of Court of the Honorable Supreme Court, included the respondent as among those taking the Oath of Office as Member of the Bar as shown by a Letter of Request dated July 23, 1979, . . .

"3. At around Eleven O’clock in the morning of July 26, 1979, while waiting for my turn to take my Oath as a member of the Bar, I was made to sign my Lawyer’s Oath by one of the Clerk in the Office of the Bar Confidant and while waiting there, Atty. Romeo Mendoza told me that Chief Justice, the Honorable Enrique M. Fernando wants to talk to me about the Reply of Mr. Jorge Uy (Deceased) to my Answer to his Complaint. The Honorable Chief Justice told me that I have to answer the Reply and for which reason the taking of my Lawyer’s Oath was further suspended. . .

"4. On July 31, 1979, I filed my Reply to Mr. Jorge Uy’s Answer with a Prayer that the Honorable Supreme Court determines my fitness to be a member of the Bar;

"5. While waiting for the appropriate action which the Honorable Supreme Court may take upon my Prayer to determine my fitness to be a member of the Bar, I received a letter from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Quezon City Chapter dated May 10, 1980 informing the respondent of an Annual General Meeting together with my Statement of Account for the year 1980-1981, . . .

"6. Believing that with my signing of the Lawyer’s Oath on July 26, 1979 and my Reply to Mr. Jorge Uy’s (Deceased) Answer, the Honorable Supreme Court did not ordered for the striking of my name in the Roll of Attorneys with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and therefore a Member in Good Standing, I paid my membership due and other assessments to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Quezon City Chapter, as shown by Official Receipt No. 110326 and Official Receipt No. 0948, . . . Likewise respondent paid his Professional Tax Receipt as shown by Official Receipt No. 058033 and Official Receipt No. 4601685, . . .

"7. On February 28, 1981, the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, Quezon City Chapter also included the name of the respondent as a Qualified Voter for the election of officers and directors for the year 1981-1982, . . .

"8. Respondent’s belief and good faith was further enhanced by the fact that on January 8, 1981, Complainant Jorge Uy in SBC-607 died and herein respondent submitted a verified Notice and Motion with the Honorable Supreme Court on April 27, 1981; notifying the Court of this fact with a prayer that herein respondent be allowed to take his Oath as Member of the Bar;

"9. Thereafter, respondent was again assessed by the Integrated Bar for his 1981-1982 membership due and other assessment for which the undersigned paid as shown by Official Receipt No. 132734 and Official Receipt No. 3363, . . .

"10. Respondent likewise paid his Professional Tax Receipt for 1981 as shown by Official Receipt No. 3195776, . . .

"11. Respondent likewise has a Certificate of Membership in the Integrated Bar of the Philippines as well as a Certificate of Membership in Good Standing with the Quezon City Chapter of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, . . ."cralaw virtua1aw library

Respondent Abad should know that the circumstances which he has narrated do not constitute his admission to the Philippine Bar and the right to practice law thereafter. He should know that two essential requisites for becoming a lawyer still had to be performed, namely: his lawyer’s oath to be administered by this Court and his signature in the Roll of Attorneys. (Rule 138, Secs. 17 and 19, Rules of Court.)chanrobles.com : virtual law library

The proven charge against respondent Abad constitutes contempt of court (Rule 71, Sec. 3(e), Rules of Court.)

WHEREFORE, Mr. Elmo S. Abad is hereby fined Five Hundred (P500.00) pesos payable to this Court within ten (10) days from notice failing which he shall serve twenty-five (25) days imprisonment.

SO ORDERED.

Fernando, C.J., Teehankee, Makasiar, Concepcion Jr., Guerrero, De Castro, Melencio-Herrera, Plana, Escolin Vasquez, Relova and Gutierrez, Jr., JJ., concur.

Aquino, J., is on leave.

Endnotes:



** The case was SBC No. 607-Jorge Q. Uy v. Elmo S. Abad which was dismissed on November 25, 1982 because of the death of the complainant. However, there is still pending BM No. 136 - Esperanza T. Sistoso, Et. Al. v. Elmo S. Abad for qualified theft. The respondent was required to file an answer on October 26, 1982.




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