FERDINAND A. CRUZ, complainant, vs. ATTY.
STANLEY CABRERA, respondent.
R E S O L U T I O N
AUSTRIA-MARTINEZ, J.:
In an administrative complaint dated July 7,
2002, Ferdinand A. Cruz charges Atty. Stanley Cabrera with misconduct in
violation of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
Complainant alleges that he is a fourth year law
student; since the latter part of 2001, he instituted several actions against
his neighbors; he appeared for and in his behalf in his own cases; he met
respondent who acted as the counsel of his neighbors; during a hearing on
January 14, 2002, in one case before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 112,
Pasay City, presided by Judge Caridad Cuerdo, the following exchange
transpired:
xxx xxx So, may we know
your honor, if he is a lawyer or not?
The
Court having been inhibited by the respondent from hearing the case, replied:
You
are asking for my inhibition and yet you want me to rule on his appearance xxx
xxx.
Thereafter, the
respondent said:
Because
your honor, he (pertaining to the complainant) is misrepresenting himself to be
a lawyer!
To this the complainant
remarked:
Your Honor, Im not xxx
xxx.
Respondent, this time
engulfed with anger in a raising voice said:
Appear ka ng appear,
pumasa ka muna; x x x.
Respondents imputations were uncalled for and the latters act of
compelling the court to ask complainant whether he is a lawyer or not was
intended to malign him before the public, inasmuch as respondent knew that
complainant is not a lawyer, having appeared for and in his behalf as a party litigant
in prior cases; respondents imputations of complainants misrepresentation as a
lawyer was patently with malice to discredit his honor, with the intention to
threaten him not to appear anymore in cases respondent was handling; the
manner, substance, tone of voice and how the words appear ka ng appear,
pumasa ka muna! were uttered were totally with the intention to annoy,
vex and humiliate, malign, ridicule, incriminate and discredit complainant
before the public.
Complainant claims that respondents display of
improper attitude, arrogance, misbehavior, misconduct in the performance of his
duties both as a lawyer and officer of the court, before the public and the
court, was a patent transgression of the very ethics that lawyers are sworn to
uphold in their dealings with society and corresponding appropriate penalty or
sanctions for the said administrative violations should be imposed on the
respondent.
In his Comment, respondent contends that the
complaint filed against him is a vicious scheme to dissuade him from appearing
as counsel for the Mina family against whom complainant had filed several civil
and criminal cases including him to further complainants illegal practice of
law; complainants complaint occurred during a judicial proceeding wherein complainant
was able to represent himself considering that he was appearing in barong
tagalog thus the presiding judge was misled when she issued an order
stating [i]n todays hearing both lawyers appeared; because of which, respondent
stated: Your honor I would like to manifest that this counsel (referring to
complainant) who represents the plaintiff in this case is not a lawyer, to
which complainant replied: The counsel very well know that I am not yet a
lawyer; the reason he informed the court that complainant is not a lawyer was
because the presiding judge did not know that complainant is not a lawyer and
complainant did not inform the presiding judge that he is not a lawyer when he
stated: for the plaintiff your honor; he stated pumasa ka muna out
of indignation because of complainants temerity in misrepresenting himself as
lawyer; it is surprising that the City Prosecutor of Pasay City filed a
complaint for oral defamation against him considering that in a precedent case
the Supreme Court stated: It is a settled principle in this jurisdiction that
statements made in the course of judicial proceedings are absolutely privileged
(Navarrete vs. Court of Appeals, 325 SCRA 540); in another malicious
prosecution being perpetuated by the complainant against the Mina family
pending before Judge Priscilla Mijares of RTC Branch 108, Pasay City, they were
able to prohibit the appearance of complainant as counsel for himself as
authenticated by an Order of Judge Priscilla Mijares which allegedly stated
among other; to wit:
In connection with
Ferdinand A. Cruzs motion to appear as counsel, the motion is likewise denied,
movant not having satisfied the requirements and conditions under Rule 138-A,
Sections 1 and 2.
Respondent alleges that
when complainant filed an administrative case against Judge Priscilla Mijares
when said Judge stated in Tagalog in open court Hay
naku masama yung marunong pa sa Huwes! OK? the same was dismissed by the
Honorable Courts Third Division which stated among others: That the questioned
remarks of respondent were uttered more out of frustration and in reaction to
complainants actuations and taking into account that complainant is not yet a
lawyer but was already lecturing the court on a matter which is not even a
point of discussion was sheer arrogance on the part of the complainant.
Respondent prays that the complaint against him be dismissed for lack of merit.
The administrative case was referred to the
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for investigation, report and
recommendation.
In a report, dated March 4, 2004, IBP
Commissioner Lydia A. Navarro recommended respondents suspension from the
practice of law for a period of three months for violating Rule 8.01 of the
Code of Professional Responsibility which provides:
A lawyer shall not, in
his professional dealings, use language which is abusive, offensive or
otherwise improper.
In her report, Commissioner Navarro stated:
After going over the
evidence submitted by the parties, the undersigned noted that respondents
averment that the utterances he made in open court is (sic) privileged
communication does not hold water for the same was (sic) not relevant to the
issue of the case in question under trial before the said court.
Respondent did not
refute the fact that the same utterances he made in open court against the
complainant had been the basis for his indictment of Oral Defamation and later
Unjust Vexation under Criminal Cases Nos. 02-1031 and No. 02-2136 respectively,
pending trial before MTC Branch 45, Pasay City.
Likewise respondent did
not refute complainants allegation that in 1979 he was held in contempt and was
not allowed to practice law for seven years by the Supreme Court in the
administrative case filed against him by Emilia E. Andres on December 14, 1979
docketed as A.M. L-585 for his fondness in using contumacious language in his
dealing with others.
From the facts
obtaining, it is apparent that the utterance hurled by the respondent in the
manner, substance and tone of his voice which was not refuted by him that
appear ka ng appear, pumasa ka muna in whatever manner it was uttered
are in itself not only abusive but insulting specially on the part of law
students who have not yet taken nor passed the bar examination required of
them.
Respondent should have
been more discreet and cautious in informing the court if it was his purpose
relative to complainants appearance in court; although the latter appeared only
in his behalf but not for others if he had complied with the requirements of
Rule 138 (Sections 1 and 3) of the Rules of Court.
Respondent should have
been more temperate in making utterances in his professional dealings so as not
to offend the sensitivities of the other party as in this case.
On April 16, 2004, the IBP Board of Governors
passed a Resolution to annul and set aside the recommendation of the
investigating commissioner and to approve the dismissal of the case for lack of
merit.
Prefatorily, we note that the IBP Board of
Governors failed to observe the procedural requirements of Sec. 12 of Rule
139-B of the Rules of Court on review and decision by the Board of Governors
which states:
SEC. 12. Review
and decision by the Board of Governors. (a) Every case heard by an
investigator shall be reviewed by the IBP Board of Governors upon the record
and evidence transmitted to it by the Investigator with his report. The
decision of the Board upon such review shall be in writing and shall clearly and
distinctly state the facts and the reasons on which it is based. It
shall be promulgated within a period not exceeding thirty (30) days from the
next meeting of the Board following the submittal of the Investigators report.
(Emphasis supplied)
In Teodosio vs. Nava,[1] the
Court stressed the important function of the requirement that the decision of
the Board of Governors state the facts and the reasons on which it is based,
which is akin to what is required of the decisions of courts of record, thus:
For aside from informing
the parties the reason for the decision to enable them to point out to the
appellate court the findings with which they are not in agreement, in case any
of them decides to appeal the decision, it is also an assurance that the judge,
or the Board of Governors in this case, reached his judgment through the
process of legal reasoning.[2]
In this case, the Board of Governors resolution
absolving respondent of any misconduct does not contain any findings of facts
or law upon which it based its ruling. Ordinarily, non-compliance with the rule
would result in the remand of the case. Nonetheless, where the controversy has
been pending resolution for quite sometime and the issues involved could be
resolved on the basis of the records on appeal, the Court has opted to resolve
the case in the interest of justice and speedy disposition of cases.[3] This
case falls within the exception.
We hold that respondents outburst of appear
ka ng appear, pumasa ka muna does not amount to a violation of Rule
8.01 of the Code of Professional Responsibility.
Based on the facts of this case, such outburst
came about when respondent pointed out to the trial court that complainant is
not a lawyer to correct the judges impression of complainants appearance,
inasmuch as the judge, in her Order of January 14, 2002, noted that complainant
is a lawyer.[4] Such
single outburst, though uncalled for, is not of such magnitude as to warrant
respondents suspension or reproof. It is but a product of impulsiveness or the
heat of the moment in the course of an argument between them. It has been said
that lawyers should not be held to too strict an account for words said in the
heat of the moment, because of chagrin at losing cases, and that the big way is
for the court to condone even contemptuous language.[5]
Nonetheless, we remind respondent that
complainant is not precluded from litigating personally his cases. A partys
right to conduct litigation personally is recognized by Section 34 of Rule 138
of the Rules of Court:
SEC. 34. By whom litigation conducted. -- In the court of a
justice of the peace a party may conduct his litigation in person, with the aid
of an agent or friend appointed by him for that purpose, or with the aid of an
attorney. In any other court, a party may conduct his litigation personally or
by aid of an attorney, and his appearance must be either personal or by a duly
authorized member of the bar.
In Maderada vs. Mediodea,[6] this
Court expounded on the foregoing provision, thus:
This provision means
that in a litigation, parties may personally do everything during its progress
-- from its commencement to its termination. When they, however, act as their
own attorneys, they are restricted to the same rules of evidence and procedure
as those qualified to practice law; otherwise, ignorance would be unjustifiably
rewarded. Individuals have long been permitted to manage, prosecute and defend
their own actions; and when they do so, they are not considered to be in the
practice of law. One does not practice law by acting for himself any more than
he practices medicine by rendering first aid to himself.
The practice of law,
though impossible to define exactly, involves the exercise of a profession or
vocation usually for gain, mainly as attorney by acting in a
representative capacity and as counsel by rendering legal advise to others.
Private practice has been defined by this Court as follows:
x x x. Practice is more
than an isolated appearance, for it consists in frequent or customary action, a
succession of acts of the same kind. In other words, it is frequent habitual
exercise. Practice of law to fall within the prohibition of statute [referring
to the prohibition for judges and other officials or employees of the superior
courts or of the Office of the Solicitor General from engaging in private
practice] has been interpreted as customarily or habitually holding one's self
out to the public, as a lawyer and demanding payment for such services. x x x.
Clearly, in appearing
for herself, complainant was not customarily or habitually holding herself out
to the public as a lawyer. Neither was she demanding payment for such services.
Hence, she cannot be said to be in the practice of law.[7]
On the other hand, all lawyers should take heed
that lawyers are licensed officers of the courts who are empowered to appear,
prosecute and defend; and upon whom peculiar duties, responsibilities and
liabilities are devolved by law as a consequence. Membership in the bar imposes
upon them certain obligations. Mandated to maintain the dignity of the legal
profession, they must conduct themselves honorably and fairly.[8] Though
a lawyers language may be forceful and emphatic, it should always be dignified
and respectful, befitting the dignity of the legal profession. The use of
intemperate language and unkind ascriptions has no place in the dignity of
judicial forum.[9]
WHEREFORE, the complaint against respondent Atty. Stanley Cabrera for
misconduct in violation of the Code of Professional Responsibility is DISMISSED
for lack of merit. He is, however, admonished to be more circumspect in the
performance of his duties as an officer of the court.
SO
ORDERED.
CASE
DIGEST
Facts:
Complainant alleges that he is a fourth year law
student; since the latter part of 2001, he instituted several actions against
his neighbors; he appeared for and in his behalf in his own cases; he met
respondent who acted as the counsel of his neighbors; during a hearing on
January 14, 2002, in one case before the Regional Trial Court, Branch 112,
Pasay City, presided by Judge Caridad Cuerdo.
Respondent’s imputations were uncalled for and the
latter’s act of compelling the court to ask complainant whether he is a lawyer
or not was intended to malign him before the public, inasmuch as respondent
knew that complainant is not a lawyer, having appeared for and in his behalf as
a party litigant in prior cases; respondent’s imputations of complainant’s
misrepresentation as a lawyer was patently with malice to discredit his honor,
with the intention to threaten him not to appear anymore in cases respondent
was handling; the manner, substance, tone of voice and how the words “appear ka
ng appear, pumasa ka muna!” were uttered were totally with the intention to
annoy, vex and humiliate, malign, ridicule, incriminate and discredit
complainant before the public.
Issue:
Whether or not respondent violated Rule 8.01 of
the Code of Professional Responsibility
Whether or not complainant is not precluded from
litigating personally his cases
Whether or not complainant is engaged in the
practice of law
Ruling:
1. We hold that respondent’s outburst of “appear ka ng
appear, pumasa ka muna” does not amount to a violation of Rule 8.01 of the Code
of Professional Responsibility. Such single outburst, though uncalled for, is
not of such magnitude as to warrant respondent’s suspension or reproof. It is
but a product of impulsiveness or the heat of the moment in the course of an
argument between them. It has been said that lawyers should not be held to too
strict an account for words said in the heat of the moment, because of chagrin
at losing cases, and that the big way is for the court to condone even
contemptuous language.
2. Nonetheless, we remind respondent that complainant
is not precluded from litigating personally his cases. A party’s right to
conduct litigation personally is recognized by Section 34 of Rule 138 of the
Rules of Court: SEC. 34. By whom litigation conducted. — In the court of a
justice of the peace a party may conduct his litigation in person, with the aid
of an agent or friend appointed by him for that purpose, or with the aid of an
attorney. In any other court, a party may conduct his litigation personally or by
aid of an attorney, and his appearance must be either personal or by a duly
authorized member of the bar.
3. The
practice of law, though impossible to define exactly, involves the exercise of
a profession or vocation usually for gain, mainly as attorney by acting in a
representative capacity and as counsel by rendering legal advise to others.
Private practice has been defined by this Court as follows:
x x x. Practice is more than an isolated appearance, for it consists in frequent or customary action, a succession of acts of the same kind. In other words, it is frequent habitual exercise. Practice of law to fall within the prohibition of statute [referring to the prohibition for judges and other officials or employees of the superior courts or of the Office of the Solicitor General from engaging in private practice] has been interpreted as customarily or habitually holding one’s self out to the public, as a lawyer and demanding payment for such services. x x x.
x x x. Practice is more than an isolated appearance, for it consists in frequent or customary action, a succession of acts of the same kind. In other words, it is frequent habitual exercise. Practice of law to fall within the prohibition of statute [referring to the prohibition for judges and other officials or employees of the superior courts or of the Office of the Solicitor General from engaging in private practice] has been interpreted as customarily or habitually holding one’s self out to the public, as a lawyer and demanding payment for such services. x x x.
Clearly, in appearing for herself, complainant was not
customarily or habitually holding herself out to the public as a lawyer.
Neither was she demanding payment for such services. Hence, she cannot be said
to be in the practice of law.
On the
other hand, all lawyers should take heed that lawyers are licensed officers of
the courts who are empowered to appear, prosecute and defend; and upon whom
peculiar duties, responsibilities and liabilities are devolved by law as a
consequence. Membership in the bar imposes upon them certain obligations.
Mandated to maintain the dignity of the legal profession, they must conduct
themselves honorably and fairly. Though a lawyer’s language may be forceful and
emphatic, it should always be dignified and respectful, befitting the dignity
of the legal profession. The use of intemperate language and unkind ascriptions
has no place in the dignity of judicial forum.
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