Professional Documents
Culture Documents
4-2 Villatuya V Atty Tabalingcos
4-2 Villatuya V Atty Tabalingcos
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* EN BANC.
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ship may be operative in one and not in the other. In this case, it
is confusing for the client if it is not clear whether respondent is
offering consultancy or legal services.
Evidence; Documentary Evidence; Marriage Contracts;
Presumption of Regularity; Having been issued by a government
agency, the National Statistics Office (NSO) certification is
accorded much evidentiary weight and carries with it a
presumption of regularity.—We cannot give credence to the
defense proffered by respondent. He has not disputed the
authenticity or impugned the genuineness of the NSO-certified
copies of the Marriage Contracts presented by complainant to
prove the former’s marriages to two other women aside from his
wife. For purposes of this disbarment proceeding, these Marriage
Contracts bearing the name of respondent are competent and
convincing evidence proving that he committed bigamy, which
renders him unfit to continue as a member of the bar. The
documents were certified by the NSO, which is the official
repository of civil registry records pertaining to the birth,
marriage and death of a person. Having been issued by a
government agency, the NSO certification is accorded much
evidentiary weight and carries with it a presumption of
regularity. In this case, respondent has not presented any
competent evidence to rebut those documents.
Attorneys; Gross Ignorance of the Law; Respondent’s regard
for marriage contracts as ordinary agreements indicates either his
wanton disregard of the sanctity of marriage or his gross
ignorance of the law on what course of action to take to annul a
marriage under the old Civil Code provisions.—According to the
respondent, after the discovery of the second and the third
marriages, he filed civil actions to annul the Marriage Contracts.
We perused the attached Petitions for Annulment and found that
his allegations therein treated the second and the third marriage
contracts as ordinary agreements, rather than as special contracts
contemplated under the then Civil Code provisions on marriage.
He did not invoke any grounds in the Civil Code provisions on
marriage, prior to its amendment by the Family Code.
Respondent’s regard for marriage contracts as ordinary
agreements indicates either his wanton disregard of the sanctity
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PER CURIAM:
In this Complaint for disbarment filed on 06 December
2004 with the Office of the Bar Confidant, complainant
Manuel G. Villatuya (complainant) charges Atty. Bede S.
Tabalingcos (respondent) with unlawful solicitation of
cases, violation of the Code or Professional Responsibility
for nonpayment of fees to complainant, and gross
immorality for marrying two other women while
respondent’s first marriage was subsisting.1
In a Resolution2 dated 26 January 2005, the Second
Division of this Court required respondent to file a
Comment, which he did on 21 March 2005.3 The Complaint
was referred to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)
for investigation, report and recommendation within sixty
(60) days from receipt of the record.4
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1 Rollo, p. 1.
2 Id., at p. 22.
3 Id., at pp. 22-35.
4 Id., at p. 36.
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Complainant’s Accusations
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5 Commission on Bar Discipline Records, Vol. II, p. 1.
6 Id., at p. 3.
7 Id., at p. 60.
8 Id., at p. 186.
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9 Id., at p. 1.
10 Id., at pp. 10-20.
11 Id., at pp. 5 & 6.
12 Commission on Bar Discipline Records, Vol. II, pp. 202-212.
13 Id., at pp. 195, 201.
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Respondent’s Defense
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14 Id., at p. 61.
15 Id., at p. 66.
16 Id., at p. 67.
17 Id., at pp. 78-82.
18 Id., at p. 74.
19 Id., at p. 75.
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20 Id., at p. 10.
21 Id., at p. 215.
22 Id., at pp. 217-219.
23 Id., at p. 217.
24 Id., at p. 218.
25 Id., at p. 220.
26 Id., at p. 221.
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27 Id., at p. 226.
28 Id., at p. 231.
29 Id., at p. 237.
30 Id., at p. 238.
31 Id., at p. 244.
32 Id., at p. 239.
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33 Id., at p. 240.
34 Id., at p. 256.
35 Id., at pp. 241 & 243.
36 Id., at p. 256.
37 Commission on Bar Discipline Records Vol. III, pp. 2-13. The
Commission’s Report and Recommendation dated 27 February 2008 was
penned by Commissioner Wilfredo E.J.E. Reyes.
38 Id., at p. 8.
46
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39 Id.
40 Id., at pp. 9-10.
41 Id., at p. 13.
42 Id., at p. 1.
43 Id., at pp. 14-27.
47
First Charge:
Dishonesty for nonpayment of share in the fees
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44 On the 36th page succeeding Commission on Bar Discipline Records,
Vol. III (no pagination on the Rollo).
45 Code of Professional Responsibility, Rule 9.02—A lawyer shall not
divide or stipulate to divide a fee for legal services with persons not
licensed to practice law, except:
(a) Where there is a pre-existing agreement with a partner or
associate that, upon the latter’s death, money shall be paid over a
reasonable period of time to his estate or to persons specified in the
agreement; or
(b) Where a lawyer undertakes to complete unfinished legal business
of a deceased lawyer; or
(c) Where a lawyer or law firm includes non-lawyer employees in a
retirement plan even if the plan is based in whole or in part, on a profit
sharing agreement.
48
Second Charge:
Unlawful solicitation of clients
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46 211 Phil. 547; 126 SCRA 389 (1983).
47 CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY, Rule 2.03.—A lawyer shall not
do or permit to be done any act designed primarily to solicit legal
business.
49
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48 RUBEN A. AGPALO, LEGAL AND JUDICIAL ETHICs, 124 (2009), citing
A.B.A. Op. 57 (19 March 1932); Re, 97 A2d 627, 39 ALR2d 1032 (1953).
49 Rollo, p. 6.
50 CODE OF PROFESSIONAL RESPONSIBILITY, Rule 15.08.—A lawyer who is
engaged in another profession or occupation concurrently with the
practice of law shall make clear to his client whether he is acting as a
lawyer or in another capacity.
50
Third Charge:
Bigamy
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51 AGPALO, supra note 48.
52 Commission on Bar Discipline Records, Vol. II, p. 221.
53 A.C. No. 6593, 04 February 2010, 611 SCRA 508.
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54 Aba v. De Guzman, A.C. No. 7649, 14 December 2011, 662 SCRA
361.
55 Commission on Bar Discipline Records Volume II, pp. 226-234.
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56 A.C. No. 4256, February 13, 2004, 422 SCRA 527; 467 Phil. 139 (2004).
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57 Cojuangco, Jr. v. Palma, A.C. No. 2474, June 30, 2005, 462 SCRA
310; 501 Phil. 1 (2005).
58 Rule 138, Section 27. Disbarment or suspension of attorneys by
Supreme Court; grounds therefor.—A member of the bar may be disbarred
or suspended from his office as attorney by the Supreme Court for any
deceit, malpractice, or other gross misconduct in such office, grossly
immoral conduct, or by reason of his conviction of a crime involving moral
turpitude, or for any violation of the oath which he is required to take
before the admission to practice, or for a wilfull disobedience of any lawful
order of a superior court, or for corruptly or willfully appearing as an
attorney for a party to a case without authority so to do. The practice of
soliciting cases at law for the purpose of gain, either personally or through
paid agents or brokers, constitutes malpractice.
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