SC disbars 2 lawyers over claims of influence over prosecution, appeals court
MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court has disbarred two lawyers who claimed they have influence over the Court of Appeals and prosecutor’s office, respectively.
In two separate statements, the SC Public Information Office said it disbarred William Delos Santos and Carlo Marco Bautista, after the tribunal found that they both have violated the Code of Professional Responsibility for lawyers.
The SC PIO in a statement said Delos Santos claimed to his client, complainant Norma Flores, that he can bribe the justices of the Court of Appeals’ 15th Division, where the case of Norma’s son was pending.
The SC PIO said that in 2015, Delos Santos asked Flores for an additional payment of P160,000, on top of acceptance fee and payment for request of documents amounting to P25,000.
“Upon receiving the amount, Delos Santos reassured Norma that the money would be delivered to his insider or ‘facilitator’ within the Fifteenth Division of the CA,” it added.
But the appeals’ court still upheld the conviction of Norma’s son while Delos Santos claimed that “he did not know what happened.” The lawyer also promised he would return the money but he failed to do so.
The SC directed Delos Santos to answer the complaint, but the latter did not comply, prompting the SC to refer the case to the IBP. However, the lawyer still failed to submit the pleadings.
The high court then echoed the findings and recommendation of the IBP Board to order the disbarment of Delos Santos and direct him to return the amount of P160,000 to Norma, with legal interest.
His “obstinate snobbery to comply with [the Court’s and the IBP’s] orders not only betrays a recalcitrant flaw in his character, [but] also underscores his disrespect of lawful orders which is only too deserving of reproof,” the SC had also said.
Purging the legal profession of erring members
In a separate release, the SC PIO said that Bautista was disbarred for “his gross violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility when he received money from a client purportedly in exchange of a favorable resolution of a criminal case pending before the Makati City Prosecutor’s Office.”
The SC PIO said Bautista’s client, Anthony Lim, filed an administrative complaint against him before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines-Commission on Bar Discipline (IBP-CBD).
Lim sought Bautista’s services to handle the complaint filed by the former’s father, but he said the lawyer “acted as fixer, solicited money from him to influence the decision of the prosecutors, and failed to provide an accounting thereof, among others, in gross violation of the CPR.”
Despite checks issued to Bautista, Lim’s father lost the case, the SC PIO added.
The IBP-CBD recommended the disbarment of Bautista, findings which the SC concurred with. The SC PIO said: “[T]he [SC] held that there was substantial evidence presented to convince the Court that the money was exchanged in consideration of the legal services of Bautista and for the mobilization of the latter’s contacts at the national prosecution service."
The Court also pointed out that the parties did not dispute the exchange of money between them, with records showing that P13.3-million worth of checks have been issued.
“The Court reiterated that the lawyer’s act of influence-peddling for implying that he is able to influence any public official, tribunal or legislative body erodes the public’s trust and confidence in the legal system and puts the administration of the justice in a bad light,” it added.
The PIO also said: "The latest action of the Court is a clear indication that the Judiciary is committed to purging the legal profession of erring members."
The SC has recently concluded its nationwide Ethics Caravan for the Proposed Code of Professional Responsibility and Accountability, held from September 2022 to January 2023.
This was part of the SC’s efforts to update the Code of Professional Responsibility “and craft a modern, relevant and responsive guide for lawyers’ conduct.”
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