SC suspends septuagenarian lawyer for duping client

The Supreme Court has suspended for two years a 78-year-old lawyer for duping a client of P50,000 in connection with a marriage nullification case nine years ago. In an eight-page resolution dated Jan. 8 and written by Justice Marvic Leonen, the court en banc ordered lawyer Wilfredo Lina-ac to return to complainant Everdina Angeles the P50,000 with an interest of 6 percent per year until fully paid. Lina-ac was found administratively guilty of negligence in performing his duties as legal counsel of Angeles and for committing a fraudulent act to cover up his negligence. Angeles engaged Lina-ac’s services sometime in February 2010 to secure a declaration nullifying her marriage to her husband. Instead of filing an actual petition for the nullity of marriage, Linaac tried to hoodwink her by furnishing her a copy of a complaint with a fraudulent received stamp purportedly from the regional trial court in Manolo Fortich, Bukidnon.—