Lawyers disbarred for infidelity complaint

The Supreme Court has always been consistent in disbarment cases, when the complainant is the wife and the charge is alleged immorality due to infidelity. If a lawyer cannot be faithful to his own spouse, how can he be faithful to his clients, the law, and to his oath as a member of the Bar and officer of the court?

Such acts usually committed by husbands, and sometimes by wives who are lawyers, are tantamount to gross immorality. In a case decided by the Supreme Court en banc (12 of 15 justices, the other 3 were on leave or didn’t take part) on January 31, 2023, a lawyer was disbarred due to the complaint of his wife, also a lawyer. This was titled NS (the aggrieved wife) vs. RS (the guilty husband). The Integrated Bar of the Philippines recommended that the case be considered closed and settled because the parties executed a settlement. But the Supreme Court disagreed. The husband was disbarred. There are many other cases involving this same issue.

The Supreme Court said: "Time and again this Court has reminded the members of the legal profession that "one of the qualifications required of a candidate for admission to the bar is the possession of good moral character, and, when one who has already been admitted to the bar clearly shows, by a series of acts, that he(/she) does not follow such moral principles as should govern the conduct of an upright person, xxx it is the duty of the court, as guardian of the interests of society, as well as of the preservation of the ideal standard of professional conduct, to make use of its powers to deprive him(/her) of his professional attributes which he(/she) so unworthily abused.” To be unfaithful to one's spouse is a very grave offense in the eyes of the Supreme Court.

The decision started with an admonition to all attorneys: "It is expected that every lawyer, being an officer of the Court, must not only be in fact of good moral character, but must also be seen to be of good moral character and leading lives in accordance with the highest moral standards of the community." In striking off the name of the erring Lothario from the Roll of Attorneys, the Supreme Court declared: "We disagree with the recommendation of the IBP Board of Governors to dismiss the charge of immorality against respondent. There is substantial evidence showing that respondent did have an illicit relationship with his former high school classmate." Of all professions, the lawyers' is the most uncompromising when it comes to immorality.

A regional trial judge in Cebu, (carrying the first and last name of a former Philippine president) was dismissed by the Supreme Court because of the complaint filed by his own wife and two children. As a Law professor handling Legal Ethics, I have lectured about hundreds of cases where lawyers lost their licenses because of being romantically and immorally entangled with another woman. A Labor arbiter from Leyte assigned in Cebu was dismissed from service due to the complaint of his wife. A former NLRC chairman was dismissed after a stenographer complained of sexual harassment. The Supreme Court never forgives this kind of immorality, it would even entertain an anonymous letter, subject to thorough investigation, of course.

Even if other civil or criminal cases were settled, the Supreme Court can proceed independently on disbarment. "Administrative easel against members of the legal profession are sui generis, and are not affected by the result of any civil or criminal case. It does not even depend on the existence of a complainant to allow the continuation of the proceedings. The primary objective in disciplinary proceedings against lawyers is public interest. The fundamental inquiry revolves around the finding as to whether the lawyer is still a fit person to be allowed to practice law." These cases cannot just be settled because the court, on behalf of the state and the government, has a stake in the behavior of lawyers. Our manners are subject to constant scrutiny.

Therefore, you can say that we, lawyers, normally live a moral and ethical life constantly subject to the hazards of cases filed against us. I don’t know for the others but for me, I struggled for eight years to study Law, and one year to prepare for the Bar. I went through a lot of sacrifices to become a lawyer. I wouldn’t waste all my long and painful efforts by committing some indiscretion and moral irregularity.