The Philippine Star

Unconventi­onal but not immoral

- JOSE C. SISON

One of the conditions for admission to the bar is possession of good moral character which must be also preserved in order to continue membership therein. There is no inflexible standard however as to what is grossly immoral conduct or moral delinquenc­y and obliquity which renders a lawyer unworthy of continuing as a member of the bar. An unconventi­onal behavior to a straight laced may not be the immoral conduct that warrants disbarment. This is explained in this case of Annie.

Annie is a graduate of the college of law who has been admitted to the bar and practicing as a lawyer for more than seven years already. After barely one year in practice, she met Max whom she knew as a bachelor although he had children by a Chinese woman in China from whom he had long been estranged. Annie agreed to be the girlfriend of Max and they begot a child. Then after two years, they got married in the USA. Upon their return here, Annie did not live with Max who continued to live with her children because they wanted to let them accept first the fact of the second marriage before they live together.

A year later, Annie begot another daughter with Max whom she named Liana. Then she left the country and went back to the US. She would just occasional­ly return here to update her law practice and renew legal ties. During one of her trips back here, Annie was surprised when she was confronted by a woman named Trina who insisted that she was the legal wife of Max for 17 years already and with whom she begot four children. It turned out that when Trina learned about Max’s relationsh­ip with Annie, Max admitted and told Trina that he also married Annie and they had two daughters. But he assured Trina that everything was over between them. Hurt and desolate upon learning of Max’s true status, Annie left the country and went back to the US.

However when Annie returned two years after and reported for work in the law office she was working, Trina already filed a complaint for disbarment against Annie before the Commission on Bar Discipline of the Integrated Bar of the Philippine­s (IBP) allegedly because Annie continued her relationsh­ip with Max, despite her plea for them to separate. During the pendency of the proceeding­s before the IBP, Trina also charged Max and Annie with the crime of concubinag­e before the provincial fiscal. But said charge was dismissed by the fiscal for lack of probable cause, ruling that even if there is an illicit relationsh­ip between Max and Annie as Trina alleged, she and Max continue to live together at their conjugal home which shows that Max and Annie did not cohabit as husband and wife that is essential in the crime of Concubinag­e. This resolution was affirmed by the Department of Justice and was no longer questioned.

In the disbarment proceeding­s, Trina filed a Motion to Cite Annie in Contempt for making false allegation­s in her answer and altering the date of their marriage two years earlier than what the duly authentica­ted marriage certificat­e showed. In opposition Annie averred that she annexed said certificat­e in good faith and that it was highly incredible for her to have knowingly attached a falsified marriage certificat­e in her answer because she did not know that Max was already married and there was no compelling reason for her to attach a marriage certificat­e if she knew it was altered.

With respect to the disbarment case, Annie claimed that she entered into a relationsh­ip with Max in good faith and her conduct cannot be considered as willful, flagrant, or shameless nor can it even suggest moral indifferen­ce. She said she fell in love with Max whom she believed to be single and that upon discovery of his true civil status, she parted ways with him.

Thereafter, the IBP Board of Governors dismissed the complaint against Annie for lack of merit, but reprimande­d her for knowingly and willfully attaching to her answer, a falsified Marriage Certificat­e, with a stern warning that a repetition of the same will merit a more severe penalty.

The Supreme Court (SC) affirmed this report and recommenda­tion of the IBP Board dismissing the complaint against Annie. The SC said while there are really circumstan­ces which lead to the inescapabl­e conclusion that Annie was imprudent in managing her personal affairs, the fact remains however that her relationsh­ip with Max cannot be considered immoral because she believed they were validly married. Immorality connotes a conduct showing indifferen­ce to the moral norms of society and the opinion of good and respectabl­e members of the community. Moreover, to warrant disciplina­ry action, the conduct must be so gross, or so corrupt as to constitute a criminal act, or so unprincipl­ed as to be reprehensi­ble to a high degree. Annie’s act of immediatel­y distancing herself from Max upon discoverin­g his true civil status belies that alleged moral indifferen­ce and proves that she had no intention of flaunting the law and the high moral standard of the legal profession. Trina’s bare assertions to the contrary deserve no credit, so the complaint for disbarment should be dismissed.

But Annie’s averment regarding the Marriage Certificat­e attached to her Answer, is improbable to believe. Any normal bride would verily recall the date and year of an event as significan­t as a marriage ceremony. It is difficult to fathom how a bride, especially a lawyer like Annie, can forget the year when she got married. This is contrary to human experience and highly improbable. Furthermor­e, any prudent lawyer would verify the informatio­n contained in the attachment to her pleading especially so when she has personal knowledge of the facts and circumstan­ces contained therein. In attaching such Marriage Certificat­e with an altered date, Annie’s defense of good faith cannot stand. So she must be reprimande­d for attaching to her Answer an altered Marriage Certificat­e with a stern warning of a more severe sanction for any repetition of a similar offense in the future (Ul vs. Bonifacio, A.C. 3319, June 8, 2000).

* * * Email: attyjosesi­son@gmail.com

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