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Republic of the Philippines SUPREME COURT Manila EN BANC

A.C. No. 3694 June 17, 1993 ALBERTO FERNANDEZ, ISABELO ON TEN CO, AC!ILLES BARTOLOME, AND ST. LU"ES MEDICAL CENTER, complainants, vs. ATTORNE# BENJAMIN M. RECIA, respondent. Norberto Gonzales for Fernandez. Bu Castro for Ongtengco & Bartolome. Quasha, Asperilla, Ancheta, e!a & Nolasco for "t. #u$e%s &ospital. 'oa(uin . )useco for respondent Ben*amin Grecia.

PER CURIAM$ This disbarment complaint a ainst Attorne! Ben"amin M. #recia $as filed on Au ust %&, 1''1 b! (octors Alberto )ernande*, +sabelo ,n ten co and Achilles Bartolome and the -t. .u/e0s Medical Center 1hereafter 2-t. .u/e0s2 for brevit!3 $here the! are accredited medical practitioners. The respondent is char ed $ith dishonest! and rave misconduct in connection $ith the theft of some pa es from a medical chart $hich $as material evidence in a dama e suit filed b! his clients a ainst the aforenamed doctors and -t. .u/e0s. (isciplinar! proceedin s li/e this one are in a class b! themselves. As $e observed in +n ,e Almacen, 41 -CRA 56%,6&&, the! are neither purel! civil nor purel! criminal. 2Public interests is the primar! ob"ective, and the real 7uestion for determination is $hether or not the attorne! is still a fit person to be allo$ed the privile es as such.2 The purpose is 2to protect the court and the public from the misconduct of officers of the court2 1+n Re Monta ne 8 (omin ue*, 4 Phil. 599, 5::3, or to remove from the profession a person $hose misconduct has proved him unfit to be entrusted $ith the duties and responsibilities belon in to the office of an attorne! 1.edesma vs. Climaco, 59 -CRA ;94< Atien*a vs. Evan elista, :& -CRA 44:3. (isbarment is nothin ne$ to respondent #recia. ,n November 1%, 1':9, he $as disbarred for his immoral complicit! or 2unhol! alliance2 $ith a "ud e in =ue*on Cit! to rip off ban/s and Chinese business firms $hich had the misfortune to be sued in the latter0s court 1Prudential Ban/ vs. >ud e >ose P. Castro and Att!. Ben"amin M. #recia ?Adm. Case No. %956@, 155 -CRA 6&;3. Three !ears later, on (ecember 1:, 1''&, the Court, heedin his pleas for compassions and his promise to mend his $a!s, reinstated him in the profession. ,nl! ei ht 1:3 months later, on Au ust %&, 1''1, he $as bac/ before the court facin another char e of dishonest! and unethical practice. Apparentl!, the earlier disciplinar! action that the Court too/ a ainst him did not effectivel! reform him.

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The complaint of -t. .u/e0s a ainst Attorne! #recia $as referred b! the Court to (eput! Court of Administrator >uanito A. Bernad for investi ation, report and recommendation. The follo$in are >ud e Bernad0s findin sA The late )e .inda Aves $as seven 193 months pre nant $hen she $as admitted as a patient at -t. .u/e0s Bospital on (ecember %&, 1''&. -he complained of di**iness, h!pertension, and abdominal pains $ith va inal bleedin . (r. )ernande*, head of the ,BC#DNE (epartment of -t. .u/e0s, (r. ,n ten co, >r., a cardiolo ist, and (r. Bartolome, a urolo ist, eEamined Mrs. Aves and dia nosed her problem as mild preCeclampsia 1p. 64, ,ollo3. )ive 153 da!s later, on Christmas da!, (ecember %5, 1''&, Mrs. Aves $as dischar ed from the hospital, to celebrate Christmas $ith her famil!. Bo$ever, she $as rushed bac/ to the hospital the neEt da!, (ecember %6, 1''&. ,n (ecember %9, 1''&, she died to ether $ith her unborn child. Blamin the doctors of -t. .u/e0s for his $ife0s demise, Attorne! (amaso B. Aves, alon $ith his three 143 minor children, brou ht an action for dama es a ainst the hospital and the attendin ph!sicians of his $ife. Their counsel, respondent Attorne! Ben"amin #recia, filed a complaint entitledA 2Attorne! (amaso B. Aves, et al. vs. -t. .u/e0s Medical Center, (rs. Alberto )ernande*, +sabelo ,n ten co, >r. and Achilles Bartolome2 in the Re ional Trial Court of Falen*uela, Bulacan, $here it $as doc/eted as Civil Case No. 45;:CF and assi ned to Branch 19%, presided over b! >ud e Teresita (i*onCCapulon . ,n >ul! ;, 1''1, the medical records of )e .inda Aves $ere produced in court b! -t. .u/e0s, as re7uested b! Attorne! #recia. The records $ere entrusted to the Actin Branch Cler/ of Court, Avelina Robles. ,n >ul! 16, 1''1, bet$een :A4&C'A&& o0 cloc/ in the mornin , upon arrivin in court for another hearin of the case, Attorne! #recia borro$ed from Mrs. Robles the folder containin the medical records of Mrs. Aves. Ghile leafin throu h the folder, #recia surreptitiousl! tore off t$o 1%3 pa es of the medical records. The respondent0s act $as notified b! Mrs. Robles and Maria Arnet -andico, a cler/. The! sa$ #recia crumple the papers and place them inside the ri ht poc/et of his coat. Be immediatel! returned the folder to Mrs. Roblesa 1$ho $as momentaril! rendered speechless b! his audacious act3 and left the office. Mrs. Robles eEamined the medical chart and found pa es 29%2 and 2942 missin . -he ordered -andico to follo$ the respondent. -andico sa$ #recia near the canteen at the end of the buildin , callin a man 1presumabl! his driver3 $ho $as leanin a ainst a par/ed car 1presumabl! #recia0s car3. Ghen the man approached, #recia ave him the crumpled papers $hich he too/ from his coatpoc/et. -andico returned to the office and reported $hat she had seen to Mrs. Robles. The latter in turn reported it to >ud e Capulon . The three of them H >ud e Capulon , Mrs. Robles and Ms. -andico H $ent do$nstairs. Ms. -andico pointed to >ud e Capulon the man to $hom #recia had iven the papers $hich he had filched from medical folder of .inda Aves. >ud e Capulon told -andico to brin the man to her chamber. ,n the $a! bac/ to chamber, >ud e Capulon sa$ the plaintiff, Attorne! (amaso Aves, and -t. .u/e0s counsel, Attorne! Melanie .imson. -he re7uested them to come to her office. +n the presence of Attorne!s Aves and .imson, Mrs. Robles, Ms. -andico, and a visitor, >ud e Capulon confronted the man and ordered him to ive her the papers $hich #recia had passed on to him. The man at first denied that he had the papers in his possession. Bo$ever, $hen -andico declared that she sa$ #recia hand over the papers to him, the man sheepishl! too/ them from his pants poc/et and ave them to >ud e Capulon . Ghen the crumpled pa es 29%2 and 2942 of the medical folder $ere sho$n to -andico, she identified them as the same papers that she sa$ #recia hand over to the man. After the confrontation, -andicio and Robles $ent bac/ to their office. Mrs. Robles collapsed in a dead faint and $as rushed to the )atima Bospital $here she later re ained consciousness.

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+n the ensuin eEcitement and confusion of recoverin the stolen eEhibits, no one thou ht of ascertainin the identit! of the man from $hom the! $ere recovered. >ud e Capulon belatedl! reali*ed this, so she directed the Falen*uela Police to find out $ho he $as. -he also ordered -andico to submit a formal report of the theft of the eEhibits to the police. A police investi ator, P,4 Arnold Alabastro, tried to ascertain the name of #recia0s driver $ho $as /no$n onl! as 2-+(.2 Be located #recia0s house in =ue*on Cit!. Althou h he $as not allo$ed to enter the premises, he $as able to tal/ $ith a house maid. Be pretended to be a cousin of 2-+(2 and as/ed for the latter. The housemaid informed him that 2-+(2 $as sent home to his province b! #recia. Be tal/ed $ith #recia himself but the latter denied that he had a driver named 2-+(.2 P,4 Alabastro also tal/ed $it one of #recia0s nei hbors across the street. The nei hbor confirmed that #recia0s driver $as a fello$ named 2-+(2. The incident caused enormous emotional strain to the personnel of >ud e Capulon 0s court, so much so that the Actin Branch Cler/ of Court, Avelina Robles, $as hospitali*ed. Because of the incident, >ud e Capulon inhibited herself from conductin the trial of Civil Case No. 45;:CF. ,n Au ust %&, 1''1, -t. .u/e0s failed this disbarment case a ainst #recia. At the investi ation of the case b! >ud e Bernad, Attorne! (amaso Aves, the survivin spouse of the late )e .inda Aves and plaintiff in Civil case No. 45;:CF, testified that it $as Attorne! Bu Castro, counsel of the defendants in said Civil Case No. 45;:CF, $ho lifted t$o pa es from the medical folder $hich la! amon some papers on top of the table of Actin Branch Cler/ of Court Robles. Ghen he alle edl! $ent outside the courthouse to $ait for Attorne! #recia to arrive, he noticed Attorne! Castro come out of the buildin and $al/ to$ard a man in the par/in lot to $hom he handed a piece of paper. After$ard, Attorne! Castro reentered the courthouse. Respondent #recia denied an! /no$led e of the theft of the eEhibits in the Aves case. Be alle ed that the person $ho $as cau ht in possession of the detached pa es of the medical record $as actuall! 2planted2 b! his adversaries to discredit him and destro! his reputation. Be denied that he had a driver. Be alle ed that his car $as out of order on >ul! 16, 1''1, so he $as fetched b! the driver of Attorne! Aves in the latter0s 2MaEima2 car. Be arrived in the courthouse at eEactl! 'A15 in the mornin and $ent strai ht to the courtroom on the second floor of the buildin . Be did not leave the place until his case $as called at 'A;&. -ince it $as alle edl! a ver! $arm da!, he $ore a dar/ blue baron ta alo , not a business suit. Be branded the testimon! of Ms. -andico as an absolute falsehood. Be alle ed that he $ould not have done the act imputed to him, because the medical chart $as the ver! foundation of the civil case $hich he filed a ainst -t. .u/e0s and its doctors. Be $ondered $h! the man, alle ed to be his driver, to $hom he supposedl! ave the detached pa es of the medical chart, $as neither held nor arrested. Bis identit! $as not even established. Be li/e$ise branded the testimon! of Police +nvesti ator Alabastro as a fabrication for he had never seen him before. Be underscored the fact that none of the la$!ers in the courthouse, nor an! of the court personnel, accosted him about the purloined pa es of the medical record and he alle ed that the unidentified man remained in the courtroom even after the confrontation in the >ud e0s chamber. +n evaluatin the testimonies of the $itnesses, >ud e Bernad found the court emplo!ee, Maria Arnie -andico, and Actin branch Cler/ of Court Avelina Robles entirel! credible and 2$ithout an! noticeable uile nor attempt at fabrication, remainin constant even under pressure of cross eEamination2 1p. 11, >ud e Bernad0s Report3. That the Actin Branch Cler/ of Court, Mrs. Robles, $ho is not even a la$!er, and her lo$l! cler/, Ms. -andico, did not promptl! raise a hue and cr! on seein #recia tear off t$o pa es of the medical

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record, $as understandable for the! hesitated to confront a man of his stature. Nevertheless, the! had the presence of mind to immediatel! report the matter to their >ud e $ho forth$ith too/ appropriate steps to recover the eEhibits. Robles, -andico and P,4 Alabastro had absolutel! no motive to testif! falsel! a ainst the respondent. Ghile >ud e Capulon too/ the blame for failin to ascertain the identit! of Attorne! #recia0s 2driver,2 her s$ift action in summonin and confrontin him led to the recover! of the stolen pa es of the medical chart. Infortunatel!, the in7uir! made b! Police +nvesti ation Arnold Alabastro into identit! of the man $as fruitless for he $as never seen a ain. Attorne! Aves0 alle ation that it $as -t. .u/e0s counsel, Attorne! Castro, not #recia, $ho stole the pa es from the medical folder and slipped them to an unidentified man, is an incredible fabrication. Not onl! is it directl! contradicted b! Mrs. Robles and Ms. -andico, but, si nificantl!, Attorne! Aves failed to mention it durin the confrontation $ith the man inside >ud e Capulon 0s chamber $here he 1Attorne! Aves3 $as present. Bis other alle ation that he sa$ the man inside the courtroom after$ards, is not credible for he $ould have called the attention of >ud e Capulon $ho, he /ne$, had been loo/in for the man to ascertain his identit!. +n vie$ of his obvious bias for his counsel, Aves0 testimon! $as properl! disre arded b! the investi ator, >ud e Bernad. .i/e$ise $antin in truth and candor $as #recia0s testimon!. >ud e Bernad noted that $hile #recia $as punctilious $hen testif!in on the hour of his arrival in court 1'A15 A.M.3 on >ul! 16, 1''1, and he even remembered that on that da! he $ore a dar/ blue baron ta alo 1an apparel that has no poc/ets3, his memor! $as not sharp $hen he $as crossCeEamined re ardin more recent events. )or instance, he insisted that >ud e Bernad $as absent on Au ust ;, 1''%, but the truth is that a hearin $as held on that date as sho$n b! the transcript. Ghen he $as confronted $ith eEhibits 2A2 and 2B,2 #recia tried to ma/e an issue of the absence of a court order to deposit .inda Aves0 medical chart in court. Be for ot that it $as he $ho as/ed that the chart be left $ith the cler/ of court. Bis alle ation that he $ould be the last person to remove pa es 9% and 94 of the medical chart for the entries therein are favorable to his client0s cause is specious. As a matter of fact, the entries sho$ that after Mrs. Aves $as readmitted to the hospital on (ecember %6, 1''&, the doctors $ere able to stabili*e her blood pressure $ith a normal readin of 1%&J:&. ,n the basis of the evidence presented before >ud e Bernad, the Court is convinced that the char e a ainst Attorne! Ben"amin M. #recia is true. B! stealin t$o pa es from .inda Aves0 medical chart and passin them on to his driver, he violated Rule 1.&1, canon 1 of the Rules of Professional Responsibilit! as $ell as canon 9 thereof $hich provide thatA Canon 1. . . . Rule 1.&1 H A la$!er shall not en a e in unla$ful, dishonest, immoral and deceitful conduct. Canon 9. A la$!er shall at all times uphold the inte rit! and di nit! of the le al profession and support the activities of the +nte rated Bar. A la$!er is an officer of the courts< he is 2li/e the court itself, an instrument or a enc! to advance the ends of "ustice2 1People eE rel Karlin vs. Cul/in, 6& A...R. :51, :553. An incorri ible practitioner of 2dirt! tric/s,2 li/e #recia $ould be illCsuited to dischar e the role of 2an instrument to advance the ends of "ustice.2

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The importance of inte rit! and ood moral character as part of a la$!er0s e7uipment in the practice of his profession has been stressed b! this Court repeatedl!. . . . The bar should maintain a hi h standard of le al proficienc! as $ell as of honest! and fair dealin . #enerall! spea/in , a la$!er can do honor to the le al profession b! faithfull! performin his duties to societ!, to the bar, to the courts and to his clients. To this end, nothin should be done b! an! member of the le al fraternit! $hich mi ht tend to lessen in an! de ree the confidence of the public in the fidelit!, honest! and inte rit! of the profession. 1Marcelo vs. >avier, -r., A.C. No. 4%;:, -eptember 1:, 1''%, pp. 14C1;.3 . . . . The nature of the office of an attorne! at la$ re7uires that he shall be a person of ood moral character. This 7ualification is not onl! a condition precedent to admission to the practice of la$< its continued possession is also essential for remainin in the practice of la$, in the eEercise of privile es of members of the Bar. #ross misconduct on the part of a la$!er, althou h not related to the dischar e of professional duties as a member of the bar, $hich puts his moral character in serious doubt, renders him unfit to continue in the practice of la$. 1Melendre* vs. (ecena, 196 -CRA 66%, 696.3 . . . public polic! demands that le al $or/ in representation of parties liti ant should be entrusted onl! to those possessin tested 7ualifications and $ho are s$orn to observe the rules and the ethics of the profession, a s $ell as bein sub"ect for "udicial disciplinar! control for the protection of court, clients and the public. 1Phil. Association of )ree .abor Inions ?PA).I@ vs. Binalba an +sabela -u ar Compan!, ;% -CRA 4&%, 4&5.3 B! descendin to the level of a common thief, respondent #recia has demeaned and dis raced the le al profession. Be has demonstrated his moral unfitness to continue as a member of the honorable fraternit! of la$!ers. Be has forfeited his membership in the BAR. #enerall!, a la$!er ma! be disbarred or suspended for an! misconduct, $hether in his professional or private capacit!, $hich sho$s him to be $antin in moral character, in honest!, probit! and ood demeanor or un$orth! to continue as an officer of the court, or an unfit or unsafe person to en"o! the privile es and to mana e the business of others in the capacit! of an attorne!, or for conduct $hich tends to brin reproach on the le al profession or to in"ure it in the favorable opinion of the public. 1Marcelo vs. >avier, -r., A.C. No. 4%;:, -eptember 1:, 1''%, p. 15.3 GBERE),RE, the Court finds Attorne! Ben"amin #recia uilt! of rave misconduct, dishonest!, and rossl! unethical behavior as a la$!er. Considerin that this is his second offense a ainst the canons of the profession, the Court resolved to impose upon him once more the supreme penalt! of (+-BARMENT. Bis license to practice la$ in the Philippines is hereb! CANCE..E( and the Bar Confidant is ordered to stri/e out his name from the Roll of Attorne!s. -, ,R(ERE(. Cruz, Feliciano, Bidin, Gri!o-A(uino, ,egalado, .a/ide, 'r., ,omero, Nocon, Bellosillo, 0elo and Quiason, ''., concur. Nar/asa, C.'., too$ no part. adilla, '., is on lea/e.