A lawyer may be disbarred for immoral conduct because it adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law which is a privilege given only to those who possess or continue to possess good moral character. This is the rule applied in this case of Romy.
The case stemmed from way back when Romy was still a student of law in one of the top notch law schools in the country. One of his classmates and best friends was Jimmy both of whom were part of a peer group or barkada with several of their classmates. To his peers, Romy was known as very fond of girls, a lover boy. After finishing law and passing the bar, Romy and Jimmy were both registered with the local Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) chapter.
Romy and Jimmy remained best of friends even when they were already practicing law and even after Romy got married to Stella. Despite being married and having three children, Romy continued with his philandering ways. He had a series of adulterous and illicit relations with married and unmarried women. One of them was Bella who is the spouse of one of their colleagues in the College of Law. Then he also dated Linda with whom he had amorous relations for about four years while still being married to Stella. And as he was having an affair with Linda, he also started dating another girl, Delilah. He was able to date Linda and Delilah by representing himself as a bachelor.
Jimmy also learned that aside from practicing law, Romy taught at several schools where he induced his male students to engage in nocturnal preoccupations as well as entertain the romantic gestures of his female students in exchange for passing grades.
Despite all these romantic exploits with several women and apparent abuse of authority as an educator, Jimmy did not break his friendship with Romy. But 14 years after they finished schooling, their bond of friendship started to crack after Jimmy discovered that Romy was sending e-mails to his own wife Lisa indicating adulterous relations between them.
So after more than 17 years of being best friends, Jimmy and Romy parted ways when Jimmy filed a complaint against Romy with the IBP Commission on Bar Discipline (CBD) for his illicit relations, chronic womanizing, abuse of authority as an educator and other unscrupulous activities which cause undue embarrassment to the legal profession as they involve deceit, and grossly immoral conduct in violation of the lawyer’s oath.
At the hearing Jimmy himself and five other witnesses testified and related what they know about his love affairs with other women when he was still married to Stella as well as his abuse of authority as an educator. In his answer Romy simply denied all of Jimmy’s accusation allegedly for lack of knowledge and information sufficient to form a belief as to the truth or falsity thereof. He also claimed that his philandering ways even if true, were far remove from the practice of his possession.
After hearing, the CBD found Romy guilty of gross misconduct affecting his standing and moral character as an officer of the court and member of the bar, and recommended that he be suspended from the practice of law for two years. This was affirmed by the IBP Board of Governors with the modification that instead of merely being suspended Romy should be disbarred. Was the IBP Board correct?
Yes said the Supreme Court (SC). Romy’s grossly immoral conduct has been clearly established by a preponderance of evidence presented by Jimmy which, as a whole is superior and has far greater weight. The SC said that in numerous occasions, it has revoked the licenses of lawyers who were proven to have not only failed to retain good moral character in their professional and personal lives, but have also made a mockery of the institution of marriage by maintaining illicit affairs.
The fact that Romy’s philandering ways are far removed from the exercise of his profession would not save the day for him. For, a lawyer may be suspended or disbarred for any misconduct which, albeit unrelated to the actual practice of his profession, would show him unfit for the office and unworthy of the privileges with which his license and the law invest in him. Possession of good moral character is not only a condition precedent to the practice of law but a continuing qualification for all members of the bar. When Romy engages in illicit relationship despite having a lawful wife, he disregarded the sanctity of marriage and the marital vows protected by the Constitution and affirmed by our laws. As a lawyer he swore to protect them. So he is guilty of gross immorality and of violating Section 2, Article II of the 1987 Constitution, Canon 1 and Rule 1.01, Canon 7 and Rule 7.03 and Rule 10.01 of Canon 10 of the Code of Professional Responsibility and should thus be disbarred from the practice of law (Escraela vs Pangalangan, A.M. 10676, September 8, 2015).
Email: attyjosesison@gmail.com