Legal Ethics 2019 Assignment #1

LEGAL ETHICS 2019 ASSIGNMENT #1
Genesis 18:16-32 New Living Translation (NLT) righteous and the wicked exactly the same! Surely you wouldn’t
do that! Should not the Judge of all the earth do what is right?”
Abraham Intercedes for Sodom
26
And the LORD replied, “If I find fifty righteous people in Sodom,
16
Then the men got up from their meal and looked out toward
I will spare the entire city for their sake.”
Sodom. As they left, Abraham went with them to send them on
27
their way. Then Abraham spoke again. “Since I have begun, let me speak
further to my Lord, even though I am but dust and
17
“Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” 28
ashes. Suppose there are only forty-five righteous people rather
18
the LORD asked. “For Abraham will certainly become a great
than fifty? Will you destroy the whole city for lack of five?”
and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed
through him. 19
I have singled him out so that he will direct his And the LORD said, “I will not destroy it if I find forty-five
sons and their families to keep the way of the LORD by doing what righteous people there.”
is right and just. Then I will do for Abraham all that I have 29
Then Abraham pressed his request further. “Suppose there are
promised.” only forty?”
20
So the LORD told Abraham, “I have heard a great outcry from And the LORD replied, “I will not destroy it for the sake of the
21
Sodom and Gomorrah, because their sin is so flagrant. I am forty.”
going down to see if their actions are as wicked as I have heard. If
30
“Please don’t be angry, my Lord,” Abraham pleaded. “Let me
not, I want to know.”
speak—suppose only thirty righteous people are found?”
22
The other men turned and headed toward Sodom, but
23 And the LORD replied, “I will not destroy it if I find thirty.”
the LORD remained with Abraham. Abraham approached him
and said, “Will you sweep away both the righteous and the 31
Then Abraham said, “Since I have dared to speak to the Lord,
24
wicked? Suppose you find fifty righteous people living there in let me continue—suppose there are only twenty?”
the city—will you still sweep it away and not spare it for their
And the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of
25
sakes? Surely you wouldn’t do such a thing, destroying the
the twenty.”
righteous along with the wicked. Why, you would be treating the
32
Finally, Abraham said, “Lord, please don’t be angry with me if I Almost as soon as More became a lawyer, he found himself
speak one more time. Suppose only ten are found there?” contemplating another path in life. For two years, between 1503
and 1504, More lived next to a Carthusian monastery and he
And the LORD replied, “Then I will not destroy it for the sake of found himself called to follow their lifestyle of simple piety. He
the ten.” often joined their spiritual exercises.
Thomas More was born in London on February 7, 1478. His By 1504, More had decided to remain in the secular world, and
father, Sir John More, was a lawyer and judge who rose to stood for election to Parliament. But he did not forget the pious
prominence during the reign of Edward IV. His connections and monks who inspired his practice of the faith.
wealth would help his son, Thomas, rise in station as a young man.
Thomas' mother was Agnes Graunger, the first wife of John More.
Thomas More married his first wife, Jane Colt in 1505. They
John would have four wives during his life, but they each died,
would have four children together before her death in 1511. Their
leaving John as a widower. Thomas had two brothers and three
marriage was reportedly happy and Thomas often tutored her in
sisters, but three of his siblings died within a year of their birth.
music and literature.
Such tragedies were common in England during this time.It is
likely that Thomas was positively influenced from a young age by
his mother and siblings. He also attended St. Anthony's School, After Jane's death in 1511, Thomas quickly remarried to Alice
which was said to be one of the best schools in London at that Harpur Middleton, who was a wealthy widow. Alice was not
time. In 1490, he became a household page to John Morton, the particularly attractive, and her temperament was less docile than
Archbishop of Canterbury and Lord Chancellor of England. Jane's. The wedding took place less than a month after Jane's
Archbishop Morton was a Renaissance man and inspired Thomas passing and was poorly received by his friends.
to pursue his own education.
It was rumored that Thomas married her because he wanted a
Thomas More entered Oxford in 1492, where he would learn stepmother for his four children, and she was a woman of wealth
Latin, Greek and prepare for his future studies. In 1494, he left and means. It is believed the pair knew each other for some time
Oxford to become a lawyer and he trained in London until 1502 prior to their marriage. They would have no children together.
when he was finally approved to begin practice. Thomas accepted Alice's daughter from her previous marriage as
his own.
Thomas was considered a doting father, and he often wrote More was immediately effective, working with speed and precision
letters to his children when he was away on work. He also insisted that is admired today. He was likely one of Henry VIII's most
that his daughters receive the same education as his son. His effective servants, and was fiercely loyal to the king.
daughters were well known for their academic accomplishments.
During his tenure as Lord Chancellor, More prosecuted those

In 1504, More was elected to Parliament to represent the region accused of heresy and worked tirelessly to defend the Catholic
of Great Yarmouth, and in 1510 rose to represent London. faith in England. This was an arduous, but achievable task as long
During his service to the people of London, he earned a reputation as he enjoyed Henry's favor. However, in 1530, as Henry worked
as being honest and effective. He became a Privy Counselor in to obtain an annulment from his wife, Catherine, Moore refused
1514. to sign a letter to the Pope, requesting an annulment. This was
More's first time crossing Henry.
More also honed his skills as a theologian and a writer. Among his
most famous works is "Utopia," about a fictional, idealistic island The relationship between More and Henry became strained again
society. The work is widely regarded as part satire, part social when seeking to isolate More, Henry purged many of the clergy
commentary, part suggestion. Utopia is considered one of the who supported the Pope. It became clear to all that Henry was
greatest works of the late Renaissance and was widely read during prepared to break away from the Church in Rome, something
the Enlightenment period. It remains well by scholars read today. More knew he could not condone.
From 1517 on, Henry VIII took a liking to Thomas More, and In 1532, More found himself unable to work for Henry VIII,
gave him posts of ever increasing responsibility. In 1521, he was whom he felt had lost his way as a Catholic. Faced with the
knighted and made Under-Treasurer of the Exchequer. prospect of being compelled to actively support Henry's schism
with the Church, More offered his resignation, citing failing health.
Henry accepted it, although he was unhappy with what he viewed
The King's trust in More grew with time and More was soon made
as flagging loyalty.
Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, which gave him authority
over the northern portion of England on behalf of Henry.
In 1533, More refused to attend the coronation of Anne Boylen,
who was now the Queen of England. More instead wrote a letter
More became Lord Chancellor in 1529.
of congratulations. The letter, as opposed to his direct presence dubious witnesses were able to contrive a story that he had spoken
offended Henry greatly. The king viewed More's absence as an words that had the same effect as treason.
insult to his new queen and an undermining of his authority as
head of the church and state.
Despite a brilliant defense of himself and persuasive testimony,
grounded in truth and fact, More was convicted in fifteen minutes.
Henry then had charges trumped up against More, but More's The court sentenced him to be hanged, drawn, and quartered,
own integrity protected him. In the first instance, he was accused which was the traditional punishment for treason.
of accepting bribes, but there was simply no evidence that could
be obtained or manufactured. He was then accused of conspiracy
Henry was pleased with the outcome, although likely upset that
against the king, because he allegedly consulted with a nun who
one of his favorite advisers refused, even upon pain of death, to
prophesied against Henry and his wife, Anne. However, More was
sanction his annulment and break from Rome. Henry was a
able to produce a letter in which he specifically instructed the nun,
Machiavellian king and while he may have regretted the loss of
Elizabeth Barton, not to interfere with politics.
More, he was more intent upon retaining his authority.
On April 13, 1534, More was ordered to take an oath,

As a final act of mercy, Henry commuted More's punishment to
acknowledging the legitimicies of Anne's position as queen, of
mere decapitation.
Henry's self-granted annulment from Catherine, and the superior
position of the King as head of the church. More accepted Henry's
marriage to Anne, but refused to acknowledge Henry as head of More ascended the scaffold on July 6, 1535, joking to his
the church, or his annulment from Catherine. This led to his executioners to help him up the scaffold, but that he would see
arrest and imprisonment. He was locked away in the Tower of himself down. He then made a final statement, proclaiming that
London. he was "the king's good servant, but God's first."
He faced trial on July 1 and was convicted by a court that Following his death, it was revealed that More wore a hair shirt, a
included Anne Boylen's own father, brother and uncle, hardly an garment destined to be itchy, and worn to as a sign of atonement
impartial jury. Still, More had one thing going for him. He could and repentance. It became obvious to all that he was a man of
not break the law of which he was accused if he remained silent. deep piety, asceticism, voluntary self discipline, and penitence.
However, he had no defense against treachery, and several

More's decapitated body was buried in the Chapel of St. Peter ad In the eyes of millions of his fellow Indians, Gandhi was the
Vincula at the Tower of London, in an unmarked grave. His head Mahatma (“Great Soul”). The unthinking adoration of the huge
was put on display, but his daughter Margaret possibly bribed crowds that gathered to see him all along the route of his tours
someone to take it down. The skull may be in the vault of a made them a severe ordeal; he could hardly work during the day
church in Canterbury. or rest at night. “The woes of the Mahatmas,” he wrote, “are
known only to the Mahatmas.” His fame spread worldwide during
his lifetime and only increased after his death. The name
Thomas More has been widely remembered as a man of
Mahatma Gandhi is now one of the most universally recognized on
tremendous integrity, and he has since been described as a
earth.
martyr and canonized a saint.
Youth
Pope Leo XIII beatified More in 1886, and he was canonized by
Pope Pius XI on May 19, 1935.
Gandhi was the youngest child of his father’s fourth wife. His
father—Karamchand Gandhi, who was the dewan (chief minister)
His feast day is June 22.
of Porbandar, the capital of a small principality in western India
(in what is now Gujarat state) under British suzerainty—did not
He is the patron saint of adopted children lawyers, civil servants, have much in the way of a formal education. He was, however, an
politicians, and difficult marriages. able administrator who knew how to steer his way between
Mahatma Gandhi, byname of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi, the capricious princes, their long-suffering subjects, and the
(born October 2, 1869, Porbandar, India—died January 30, headstrong British political officers in power.
1948, Delhi), Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer

who became the leader of the nationalist movement against the
Gandhi’s mother, Putlibai, was completely absorbed in religion,
British rule of India. As such, he came to be considered the father
did not care much for finery or jewelry, divided her time between
of his country. Gandhi is internationally esteemed for his doctrine
her home and the temple, fasted frequently, and wore herself out
of nonviolent protest (satyagraha) to achieve political and social
in days and nights of nursing whenever there was sickness in the
progress.
family. Mohandas grew up in a home steeped in Vaishnavism—
worship of the Hindu god Vishnu—with a strong tinge of Jainism,
a morally rigorous Indian religion whose chief tenets are take even the heroes of Hindu mythology, such
nonviolence and the belief that everything in the universe is as Prahlada and Harishcandra—legendary embodiments of
eternal. Thus, he took for granted ahimsa (noninjury to all living truthfulness and sacrifice—as living models.
beings), vegetarianism, fasting for self-purification, and mutual In 1887 Mohandas scraped through the matriculation
tolerance between adherents of various creeds and sects. examination of the University of Bombay (now University of
The educational facilities at Porbandar were rudimentary; in Mumbai) and joined Samaldas College in Bhavnagar (Bhaunagar).
the primary school that Mohandas attended, the children wrote As he had to suddenly switch from his native language—
the alphabet in the dust with their fingers. Luckily for him, his Gujarati—to English, he found it rather difficult to follow the
father became dewan of Rajkot, another princely state. Though lectures.
Mohandas occasionally won prizes and scholarships at the local Meanwhile, his family was debating his future. Left to himself, he
schools, his record was on the whole mediocre. One of the would have liked to have been a doctor. But, besides the
terminal reports rated him as “good at English, fair in Arithmetic Vaishnava prejudice against vivisection, it was clear that, if he was
and weak in Geography; conduct very good, bad handwriting.” He to keep up the family tradition of holding high office in one of the
was married at the age of 13 and thus lost a year at school. states in Gujarat, he would have to qualify as a barrister. That
A diffident child, he shone neither in the classroom nor on the meant a visit to England, and Mohandas, who was not too happy
playing field. He loved to go out on long solitary walks when he at Samaldas College, jumped at the proposal. His youthful
was not nursing his by then ailing father (who died soon imagination conceived England as “a land of philosophers and
thereafter) or helping his mother with her household chores. poets, the very centre of civilization.” But there were several
He had learned, in his words, “to carry out the orders of the hurdles to be crossed before the visit to England could be realized.
elders, not to scan them.” With such extreme passivity, it is not His father had left the family little property; moreover, his
surprising that he should have gone through a phase of adolescent mother was reluctant to expose her youngest child to unknown
rebellion, marked by secret atheism, petty thefts, furtive smoking, temptations and dangers in a distant land. But Mohandas was
and—most shocking of all for a boy born in a Vaishnava family— determined to visit England. One of his brothers raised the
meat eating. His adolescence was probably no stormier than that necessary money, and his mother’s doubts were allayed when he
of most children of his age and class. What was extraordinary was took a vow that, while away from home, he would not touch wine,
the way his youthful transgressions ended. women, or meat. Mohandas disregarded the last obstacle—the
“Never again” was his promise to himself after each escapade. decree of the leaders of the Modh Bania subcaste (Vaishya caste),
And he kept his promise. Beneath an unprepossessing exterior, he to which the Gandhis belonged, who forbade his trip to England
concealed a burning passion for self-improvement that led him to as a violation of the Hindu religion—and sailed in September
1888. Ten days after his arrival, he joined the Inner Temple, one DID YOU KNOW?
of the four London law colleges (The Temple).
 Time Magazine named Mahatma Gandhi Person of the
Year in 1930.
Mahatma Gandhi
 The United Nations declared Gandhi's birthday, October
2nd, as the International Day of Non-violence in 2007.
BORN  Gandhi was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize five
times but never received the award.
October 2, 1869
 As a young child Gandhi was very shy and would run
Porbandar, India
home as soon as school ended to avoid talking to anyone.
DIED  Before taking a vow of celibacy, Mahatma Gandhi had

four sons.
January 30, 1948 (aged 78)
Sojourn In England And Return To India
Delhi, India
POLITICAL AFFILIATION
Gandhi took his studies seriously and tried to brush up on his
 Indian National Congress English and Latin by taking the University of

London matriculation examination. But, during the three years he
ROLE IN
spent in England, his main preoccupation was with personal
 British Raj and moral issues rather than with academic ambitions. The
 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre transition from the half-rural atmosphere of Rajkot to
 Salt March the cosmopolitan life of London was not easy for him. As he
 Noncooperation Movement struggled painfully to adapt himself to Western food, dress, and
 Round Table Conference etiquette, he felt awkward. His vegetarianism became a continual
 Poona Pact source of embarrassment to him; his friends warned him that it
NOTABLE FAMILY MEMBERS would wreck his studies as well as his health. Fortunately for him
he came across a vegetarian restaurant as well as a book
 Spouse Kasturba Gandhi
providing a reasoned defense of vegetarianism, which henceforth
became a matter of conviction for him, not merely a legacy of his too diffident to elbow his way into it. In the very first brief he
Vaishnava background. The missionary zeal he developed for argued in a court in Bombay (now Mumbai), he cut a sorry figure.
vegetarianism helped to draw the pitifully shy youth out of his Turned down even for the part-time job of a teacher in a
shell and gave him a new poise. He became a member of the Bombay high school, he returned to Rajkot to make a modest
executive committee of the London Vegetarian Society, attending living by drafting petitions for litigants. Even that employment
its conferences and contributing articles to its journal. was closed to him when he incurred the displeasure of a local
In the boardinghouses and vegetarian restaurants of England, British officer. It was, therefore, with some relief that in 1893 he
Gandhi met not only food faddists but some earnest men and accepted the none-too-attractive offer of a year’s contract from
women to whom he owed his introduction to the Bible and, more an Indian firm in Natal, South Africa.
important, the Bhagavadgita, which he read for the first time in Years In South Africa
its English translation by Sir Edwin Arnold.
The Bhagavadgita (commonly known as the Gita) is part of the
Africa was to present to Gandhi challenges and opportunities that
great epic the Mahabharata and, in the form of a philosophical
he could hardly have conceived. In the end he would spend more
poem, is the most-popular expression of Hinduism. The English
than two decades there, returning to India only briefly in 1896–
vegetarians were a motley crowd. They included socialists and
97. The youngest two of his four children were born there.
humanitarians such as Edward Carpenter, “the British Thoreau”;
Emergence as a political and social activist
Fabians such as George Bernard Shaw; and Theosophists such
as Annie Besant. Most of them were idealists; quite a few were
rebels who rejected the prevailing values of the late-Victorian Gandhi was quickly exposed to the racial discrimination practiced
establishment, denounced the evils of the capitalist and industrial in South Africa. In a Durban court he was asked by the European
society, preached the cult of the simple life, and stressed the magistrate to take off his turban; he refused and left the
superiority of moral over material values and of cooperation over courtroom. A few days later, while traveling to Pretoria, he was
conflict. Those ideas were to contribute substantially to the unceremoniously thrown out of a first-class railway compartment
shaping of Gandhi’s personality and, eventually, to his politics. and left shivering and brooding at the rail station
Painful surprises were in store for Gandhi when he returned in Pietermaritzburg. In the further course of that journey, he was
to India in July 1891. His mother had died in his absence, and he beaten up by the white driver of a stagecoach because he would
discovered to his dismay that the barrister’s degree was not a not travel on the footboard to make room for a European
guarantee of a lucrative career. The legal profession was already passenger, and finally he was barred from hotels reserved “for
beginning to be overcrowded, and Gandhi was much Europeans only.” Those humiliations were the daily lot of Indian
traders and labourers in Natal, who had learned to pocket them almost overnight into a proficient political campaigner. He drafted
with the same resignation with which they pocketed their meagre petitions to the Natal legislature and the British government and
earnings. What was new was not Gandhi’s experience but his had them signed by hundreds of his compatriots. He could not
reaction. He had so far not been conspicuous for self-assertion or prevent the passage of the bill but succeeded in drawing the
aggressiveness. But something happened to him as he smarted attention of the public and the press in Natal, India, and England
under the insults heaped upon him. In retrospect the journey from to the Natal Indians’ grievances. He was persuaded to settle down
Durban to Pretoria struck him as one of the most-creative in Durban to practice law and to organize the Indian community.
experiences of his life; it was his moment of truth. Henceforth he In 1894 he founded the Natal Indian Congress, of which he
would not accept injustice as part of the natural or unnatural himself became the indefatigable secretary. Through that common
order in South Africa; he would defend his dignity as an Indian political organization, he infused a spirit of solidarity in
and as a man. the heterogeneous Indian community. He flooded the government,
While in Pretoria, Gandhi studied the conditions in which his the legislature, and the press with closely reasoned statements of
fellow South Asians in South Africa lived and tried to educate Indian grievances. Finally, he exposed to the view of the outside
them on their rights and duties, but he had no intention of world the skeleton in the imperial cupboard, the discrimination
staying on in South Africa. Indeed, in June 1894, as his year’s practiced against the Indian subjects of Queen Victoria in one of
contract drew to a close, he was back in Durban, ready to sail for her own colonies in Africa. It was a measure of his success as a
India. At a farewell party given in his honour, he happened to publicist that such important newspapers as The Times of London
glance through the Natal Mercury and learned that the Natal and The Statesman and Englishman of Calcutta (now Kolkata)
Legislative Assembly was considering a bill to deprive Indians of editorially commented on the Natal Indians’ grievances.
the right to vote. “This is the first nail in our coffin,” Gandhi told In 1896 Gandhi went to India to fetch his wife, Kasturba (or
his hosts. They professed their inability to oppose the bill, and Kasturbai), and their two oldest children and to canvass support
indeed their ignorance of the politics of the colony, and begged for the Indians overseas. He met prominent leaders and persuaded
him to take up the fight on their behalf. them to address public meetings in the country’s principal cities.
Until the age of 18, Gandhi had hardly ever read a newspaper. Unfortunately for him, garbled versions of his activities and
Neither as a student in England nor as a budding barrister in utterances reached Natal and inflamed its European population.
India had he evinced much interest in politics. Indeed, he was On landing at Durban in January 1897, he was assaulted and
overcome by a terrifying stage fright whenever he stood up to nearly lynched by a white mob. Joseph Chamberlain, the colonial
read a speech at a social gathering or to defend a client in court. secretary in the British Cabinet, cabled the government of Natal
Nevertheless, in July 1894, when he was barely 25, he blossomed to bring the guilty men to book, but Gandhi refused to prosecute
his assailants. It was, he said, a principle with him not to seek held a mass protest meeting at Johannesburg in September 1906
redress of a personal wrong in a court of law. and, under Gandhi’s leadership, took a pledge to defy the
Resistance and results ordinance if it became law in the teeth of their opposition and to
suffer all the penalties resulting from their defiance. Thus was
born satyagraha (“devotion to truth”), a new technique for
Gandhi was not the man to nurse a grudge. On the outbreak of
redressing wrongs through inviting, rather than inflicting,
the South African (Boer) War in 1899, he argued that the
suffering, for resisting adversaries without rancour and fighting
Indians, who claimed the full rights of citizenship in the British
them without violence.
crown colony of Natal, were in duty bound to defend it. He raised
The struggle in South Africa lasted for more than seven years. It
an ambulance corps of 1,100 volunteers, out of whom 300 were
had its ups and downs, but under Gandhi’s leadership, the small
free Indians and the rest indentured labourers. It was a motley
Indian minority kept up its resistance against heavy odds.
crowd: barristers and accountants, artisans and labourers. It was
Hundreds of Indians chose to sacrifice their livelihood and liberty
Gandhi’s task to instill in them a spirit of service to those whom
rather than submit to laws repugnant to their conscience and
they regarded as their oppressors. The editor of the Pretoria
self-respect. In the final phase of the movement in 1913,
News offered an insightful portrait of Gandhi in the battle zone:
hundreds of Indians, including women, went to jail, and
After a night’s work which had shattered men with much bigger
thousands of Indian workers who had struck work in the mines
frames, I came across Gandhi in the early morning sitting by the
bravely faced imprisonment, flogging, and even shooting. It was a
roadside eating a regulation army biscuit. Every man in [General]
terrible ordeal for the Indians, but it was also the worst possible
Buller’s force was dull and depressed, and damnation was
advertisement for the South African government, which, under
heartily invoked on everything. But Gandhi was stoical in his
pressure from the governments of Britain and India, accepted a
bearing, cheerful and confident in his conversation and had a
compromise negotiated by Gandhi on the one hand and the South
kindly eye.
African statesman Gen. Jan Christian Smuts on the other.
The British victory in the war brought little relief to the Indians
“The saint has left our shores,” Smuts wrote to a friend on
in South Africa. The new regime in South Africa was to blossom
Gandhi’s departure from South Africa for India, in July 1914, “I
into a partnership, but only between Boers and Britons. Gandhi
hope for ever.” A quarter century later, he wrote that it had been
saw that, with the exception of a few Christian missionaries and
his “fate to be the antagonist of a man for whom even then I had
youthful idealists, he had been unable to make a perceptible
the highest respect.” Once, during his not-infrequent stays in jail,
impression upon the South African Europeans. In 1906
Gandhi had prepared a pair of sandals for Smuts, who recalled
the Transvaal government published a particularly humiliating
that there was no hatred and personal ill-feeling between them,
ordinance for the registration of its Indian population. The Indians
and when the fight was over “there was the atmosphere in which the Bhagavadgita, which Gandhi had first read in London, that
a decent peace could be concluded.” became his “spiritual dictionary” and exercised probably the
greatest single influence on his life. Two Sanskrit words in
As later events were to show, Gandhi’s work did not provide an
the Gita particularly fascinated him. One
enduring solution for the Indian problem in South Africa. What he
was aparigraha (“nonpossession”), which implies that people have
did to South Africa was indeed less important than what South
to jettison the material goods that cramp the life of the spirit and
Africa did to him. It had not treated him kindly, but, by drawing
to shake off the bonds of money and property. The other
him into the vortex of its racial problem, it had provided him
was samabhava (“equability”), which enjoins people to remain
with the ideal setting in which his peculiar talents could unfold
unruffled by pain or pleasure, victory or defeat, and to work
themselves.
without hope of success or fear of failure.
Those were not merely counsels of perfection. In the civil case that
The religious quest had taken him to South Africa in 1893, he had persuaded
the antagonists to settle their differences out of court. The true
function of a lawyer seemed to him “to unite parties riven
Gandhi’s religious quest dated back to his childhood, the influence
asunder.” He soon regarded his clients not as purchasers of his
of his mother and of his home life in Porbandar and Rajkot, but it
services but as friends; they consulted him not only on legal issues
received a great impetus after his arrival in South Africa.
but on such matters as the best way of weaning a baby or
His Quaker friends in Pretoria failed to convert him to
balancing the family budget. When an associate protested that
Christianity, but they quickened his appetite for religious studies.
clients came even on Sundays, Gandhi replied: “A man in distress
He was fascinated by the writings of Leo Tolstoy on Christianity,
cannot have Sunday rest.”
read the Quʾrān in translation, and delved into Hindu scriptures
Gandhi’s legal earnings reached a peak figure of £5,000 a year,
and philosophy. The study of comparative religion, talks with
but he had little interest in moneymaking, and his savings were
scholars, and his own reading of theological works brought him to
often sunk in his public activities. In Durban and later in
the conclusion that all religions were true and yet every one of
Johannesburg, he kept an open table; his house was a virtual
them was imperfect because they were “interpreted with poor
hostel for younger colleagues and political coworkers. This was
intellects, sometimes with poor hearts, and more often
something of an ordeal for his wife, without whose extraordinary
misinterpreted.”
patience, endurance, and self-effacement Gandhi could hardly
Shrimad Rajchandra, a brilliant young Jain philosopher who
have devoted himself to public causes. As he broke through the
became Gandhi’s spiritual mentor, convinced him of “the subtlety
and profundity” of Hinduism, the religion of his birth. And it was
conventional bonds of family and property, their life tended to Return To India
shade into a community life.
Gandhi felt an irresistible attraction to a life of simplicity, manual
Gandhi decided to leave South Africa in the summer of 1914, just
labour, and austerity. In 1904—after reading John Ruskin’s Unto
before the outbreak of World War I. He and his family first went
This Last, a critique of capitalism—he set up a farm at Phoenix
to London, where they remained for several months. Finally, they
near Durban where he and his friends could live by the sweat of
departed England in December, arriving in Bombay in early
their brow. Six years later another colony grew up under Gandhi’s
January 1915.
fostering care near Johannesburg; it was named Tolstoy Farm for
the Russian writer and moralist, whom Gandhi admired and
corresponded with. Those two settlements were the precursors of Emergence as nationalist leader
the more-famous ashrams (religious retreats) in India, at For the next three years, Gandhi seemed to hover uncertainly on
Sabarmati near Ahmedabad (Ahmadabad) and the periphery of Indian politics, declining to join any political
at Sevagram near Wardha. agitation, supporting the British war effort, and even recruiting
South Africa had not only prompted Gandhi to evolve a novel soldiers for the British Indian Army. At the same time, he did not
technique for political action but also transformed him into a flinch from criticizing the British officials for any acts of high-
leader of men by freeing him from bonds that make cowards of handedness or from taking up the grievances of the long-suffering
most men. “Persons in power,” the British Classical scholar Gilbert peasantry in Bihar and Gujarat. By February 1919, however, the
Murray prophetically wrote about Gandhi in the Hibbert British had insisted on pushing through—in the teeth of fierce
Journal in 1918, Indian opposition—the Rowlatt Acts, which empowered the
should be very careful how they deal with a man who cares authorities to imprison without trial those suspected of sedition. A
nothing for sensual pleasure, nothing for riches, nothing for provoked Gandhi finally revealed a sense of estrangement from
comfort or praise, or promotion, but is simply determined to do the British Raj and announced a satyagraha struggle. The result
what he believes to be right. He is a dangerous and uncomfortable was a virtual political earthquake that shook the subcontinent in
enemy, because his body which you can always conquer gives you the spring of 1919. The violent outbreaks that followed—notably
so little purchase upon his soul. the Massacre of Amritsar, which was the killing by British-led
soldiers of nearly 400 Indians who were gathered in an open
space in Amritsar in the Punjab region (now in Punjab state), and
the enactment of martial law—prompted him to stay his hand.
However, within a year he was again in a militant mood, having
in the meantime been irrevocably alienated by British undergoing surgery for appendicitis. The political landscape had
insensitiveness to Indian feeling on the Punjab tragedy and Muslim changed in his absence. The Congress Party had split into two
resentment on the peace terms offered to Turkey following World factions, one under Chitta Ranjan Das and Motilal Nehru (the
War I. father of Jawaharlal Nehru, India’s first prime minister) favouring
By the autumn of 1920, Gandhi was the dominant figure on the the entry of the party into legislatures and the other
political stage, commanding an influence never before attained by under Chakravarti Rajagopalachari and Vallabhbhai Jhaverbhai
any political leader in India or perhaps in any other country. He Patel opposing it. Worst of all, the unity between Hindus and
refashioned the 35-year-old Indian National Congress (Congress Muslims of the heyday of the noncooperation movement of
Party) into an effective political instrument of Indian nationalism: 1920–22 had dissolved. Gandhi tried to draw the
from a three-day Christmas-week picnic of the upper middle warring communities out of their suspicion and fanaticism by
class in one of the principal cities of India, it became a mass reasoning and persuasion. Finally, after a serious outbreak of
organization with its roots in small towns and villages. Gandhi’s communal unrest, he undertook a three-week fast in the autumn
message was simple: it was not British guns but imperfections of of 1924 to arouse the people into following the path of
Indians themselves that kept their country in bondage. His nonviolence. In December 1924 he was named president of the
program, the nonviolent noncooperation movement against the Congress Party, and he served for a year.
British government, included boycotts not only of British Return to party leadership
manufactures but of institutions operated or aided by the British
in India: legislatures, courts, offices, schools. The campaign
During the mid-1920s Gandhi took little interest in active politics
electrified the country, broke the spell of fear of foreign rule, and
and was considered a spent force. In 1927, however, the British
led to the arrests of thousands of satyagrahis, who defied laws
government appointed a constitutional reform commission
and cheerfully lined up for prison. In February 1922 the
under Sir John Simon, a prominent English lawyer and politician,
movement seemed to be on the crest of a rising wave, but,
that did not contain a single Indian. When the Congress and other
alarmed by a violent outbreak in Chauri Chaura, a remote village
parties boycotted the commission, the political tempo rose. At the
in eastern India, Gandhi decided to call off mass civil disobedience.
Congress session (meeting) at Calcutta in December 1928, Gandhi
That was a blow to many of his followers, who feared that his
put forth the crucial resolution demanding dominion status from
self-imposed restraints and scruples would reduce the nationalist
the British government within a year under threat of a
struggle to pious futility. Gandhi himself was arrested on March
nationwide nonviolent campaign for complete independence.
10, 1922, tried for sedition, and sentenced to six years’
Henceforth, Gandhi was back as the leading voice of the Congress
imprisonment. He was released in February 1924, after
Party. In March 1930 he launched the Salt March, a satyagraha of the disabilities of the untouchables, whom Gandhi referred to as
against the British-imposed tax on salt, which affected the Harijans, or “children of God.” (That term has fallen out of favour,
poorest section of the community. One of the most spectacular replaced by Dalit; Scheduled Castes is the official designation.)
and successful campaigns in Gandhi’s nonviolent war against the In 1934 Gandhi resigned not only as the leader but also as a
British Raj, it resulted in the imprisonment of more than 60,000 member of the Congress Party. He had come to believe that its
people. A year later, after talks with the viceroy, Lord Irwin (later leading members had adopted nonviolence as a political expedient
Lord Halifax), Gandhi accepted a truce (the Gandhi-Irwin Pact), and not as the fundamental creed it was for him. In place of
called off civil disobedience, and agreed to attend the Round Table political activity he then concentrated on his “constructive
Conference in London as the sole representative of the Indian programme” of building the nation “from the bottom up”—
National Congress. educating rural India, which accounted for 85 percent of the
The conference, which concentrated on the problem of the Indian population; continuing his fight against untouchability; promoting
minorities rather than on the transfer of power from the British, hand spinning, weaving, and other cottage industries to
was a great disappointment to the Indian nationalists. Moreover, supplement the earnings of the underemployed peasantry; and
when Gandhi returned to India in December 1931, he found his evolving a system of education best suited to the needs of the
party facing an all-out offensive from Lord Irwin’s successor as people. Gandhi himself went to live at Sevagram, a village in
viceroy, Lord Willingdon, who unleashed the sternest repression in central India, which became the centre of his program of social
the history of the nationalist movement. Gandhi was once more and economic uplift.
imprisoned, and the government tried to insulate him from the The last phase
outside world and to destroy his influence. That was not an easy
task. Gandhi soon regained the initiative. In September 1932,
With the outbreak of World War II, the nationalist struggle in
while still a prisoner, he embarked on a fast to protest against the
India entered its last crucial phase. Gandhi hated fascism and all it
British government’s decision to segregate the so-
stood for, but he also hated war. The Indian National Congress, on
called untouchables (the lowest level of the Indian caste system) by
the other hand, was not committed to pacifism and was prepared
allotting them separate electorates in the new constitution. The
to support the British war effort if Indian self-government was
fast produced an emotional upheaval in the country, and
assured. Once more Gandhi became politically active. The failure of
an alternative electoral arrangement was jointly and speedily
the mission of Sir Stafford Cripps, a British cabinet minister who
devised by the leaders of the Hindu community and the
went to India in March 1942 with an offer that Gandhi found
untouchables and endorsed by the British government. The fast
unacceptable, the British equivocation on the transfer of power to
became the starting point of a vigorous campaign for the removal
Indian hands, and the encouragement given by high British a climate in which Gandhi’s appeals to reason and justice,
officials to conservative and communal forces tolerance and trust had little chance. When partition of the
promoting discord between Muslims and Hindus impelled Gandhi subcontinent was accepted—against his advice—he threw himself
to demand in the summer of 1942 an immediate British heart and soul into the task of healing the scars of the communal
withdrawal from India—what became known as the Quit India conflict, toured the riot-torn areas in Bengal and
Movement. Bihar, admonished the bigots, consoled the victims, and tried to
In mid-1942 the war against the Axis Powers, particularly Japan, rehabilitate the refugees. In the atmosphere of that period,
was in a critical phase, and the British reacted sharply to the surcharged with suspicion and hatred, that was a difficult and
campaign. They imprisoned the entire Congress leadership and set heartbreaking task. Gandhi was blamed by partisans of both the
out to crush the party once and for all. There were violent communities. When persuasion failed, he went on a fast. He won
outbreaks that were sternly suppressed, and the gulf between at least two spectacular triumphs: in September 1947
Britain and India became wider than ever before. Gandhi, his wife, his fasting stopped the rioting in Calcutta, and in January 1948
and several other top party leaders (including Nehru) were he shamed the city of Delhi into a communal truce. A few days
confined in the Aga Khan Palace (now the Gandhi National later, on January 30, while he was on his way to his evening
Memorial) in Poona (now Pune). Kasturba died there in early prayer meeting in Delhi, he was shot down by Nathuram Godse, a
1944, shortly before Gandhi and the others were released. young Hindu fanatic.
A new chapter in Indo-British relations opened with the victory
of the Labour Party in Britain 1945. During the next two years,
there were prolonged triangular negotiations between leaders of
the Congress, the Muslim League under Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Jose Diokno
and the British government, culminating in the Mountbatten Plan From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
of June 3, 1947, and the formation of the two new dominions of
Jump to navigationJump to search
India and Pakistan in mid-August 1947.
It was one of the greatest disappointments of Gandhi’s life that
In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family
Indian freedom was realized without Indian unity. Muslim
name is Wright and the surname or paternal family name
separatism had received a great boost while Gandhi and his
is Diokno.
colleagues were in jail, and in 1946–47, as the final
constitutional arrangements were being negotiated, the outbreak
of communal riots between Hindus and Muslims unhappily created
The Honourable In office

December 31, 1961 – May 19, 1962
Jose W. Diokno
President Diosdado Macapagal
Preceded by Alejo Mabanag
Succeeded by Juan Liwag
Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Human

Rights
Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng In office

mga Bayani, showing names from the first batch of 1986–1987
Bantayog Honorees, including that of Ka Pepe Diokno
Personal details
Born February 26, 1922

Senator of the Philippines
Manila, Philippine Islands
In office
Died February 27, 1987 (aged 65)
December 30, 1963 – September 23, 1972[1]
Quezon City, Metro
Manila, Philippines
Secretary of Justice
Nationality Filipino
Early life and education[edit]

Political party Nacionalista Party
Jose W. Diokno was born in Manila on Feb. 26, 1922, to Ramon
Diokno, a former senator and Justice of the Supreme Court, and
Spouse(s) Carmen Reyes Icasiano-Diokno Leonor Wright, an American mestiza of British descent. His
grandfather was Ananias Diokno, a general in the Philippine
Alma mater De La Salle University Revolution and the Philippine-American War.
University of Santo Tomas In 1937, Diokno graduated as valedictorian of his high school class
at De La Salle College, Manila, and went on to study commerce,
Occupation Public official also at De La Salle University. he graduated from college summa
cum laude at age 17. Diokno took the CPA board examinations—
for which he had to secure special dispensation, since he was too
Website diokno.org
young.[4]
Jose "Pepe" Wright Diokno (February 26, 1922 – February 27, After Diokno enrolled in law at the University of Santo Tomas, his
1987) was a Filipino nationalist. He served as Senator of the studies were interrupted by the outbreak of World War II. During
Philippines, Secretary of Justice, founding chair of the Commission the war, Diokno continued his education by reading his father's
on Human Rights, and founder of the Free Legal Assistance Group. law books. When the war was over, he was granted a special
dispensation by the Supreme Court of the Philippines and allowed
Diokno is the only person to top both the Philippine Bar
to take the Philippine Bar Examination despite having never
Examination and the board exam for Certified Public
completed a law degree.[4]
Accountants (CPA). His career was dedicated to the promotion
of human rights, the defense of Philippine sovereignty, and the Secretary of Justice[edit]
enactment pro-Filipino economic legislation.
See also: Stonehill investigation
In 2004, Diokno was posthumously conferred the Order of
Immediately after passing the Bar, Diokno embarked on his law
Lakandula with the rank of Supremo—the Philippines' highest
practice, handling and winning high-profile cases, such as
honor.[2] February 27 is celebrated in the country as Jose W.
Diokno Day.[3] successfully battling libel charges against Manila Mayor Arsenio
Lacson, and winning an election case on behalf of his father, Diokno then authored RA 6173 or the Oil Industry Commission
Ramon. Act of 1971, which created the Oil Industry Commission (OIC) to
regulate oil pricing from different companies. He also authored
With his reputation as a legal practitioner, in 1961, Diokno was
Joint Resolution No. 2, which set the policies for economic
appointed Secretary of Justice by President Diosdado Macapagal.
development and social progress. In addition to that, he sponsored
In March 1962, Diokno ordered a raid on a firm owned by Harry and co-authored the Export Incentives Act of 1970 and the
S. Stonehill, an American businessman who was suspected of tax Revised Election Law, among many others.
evasion and bribing public officials, among other crimes. Diokno's
For his performance as legislator, Diokno was named Outstanding
investigation of Stonehill further revealed corruption within
Senator by the Philippines Free Press from 1967 to 1970,
government ranks, and as Secretary of Justice, he prepared to
making him the only legislator to receive the recognition for four
prosecute those involved. However, President Macapagal
successive years.
intervened, accepting a deal that absolved Stonehill in exchange
for his deportation, then ordering Diokno to resign. Diokno Martial law[edit]
questioned Macapagal's actions, saying, "How can the government
In the early 1970s, Diokno sensed a shift in
now prosecute the corrupted when it has allowed the corrupter to
the Marcos presidency toward authoritarianism. Diokno and
go?"[5]
Ferdinand Marcos were members of the Nacionalista Party, but
when Marcos suspended the privilege of the writ of habeas corpus,
Senator[edit]
Diokno resigned from the party in protest and took to the
Months later, Diokno ran for senator under the Nacionalista streets.[4]
Party in the 1963 elections, and won.
Following the Jabidah massacre, where alleged 14 Muslim youths
Senator Diokno became chairman of the Senate Economic Affairs were gunned down in Corregidor by unknown armed men, Diokno
Committee, and worked for the passage of pro-Filipino legislation, called on the administration to respect its citizens, saying in an
including what is considered to be the most important incentive oft-quoted speech, "No cause is more worthy than the cause of
law in the country, RA 5186, also known as the Investment human rights... they are what makes a man human. Deny them
Incentives Act of 1967, which provides incentives to Filipino and you deny man's humanity."[6]
investors and entrepreneurs in order to place control of the
He was a leading figure in the formation of the Movement of
Philippine economy in the hands of Filipinos. It also led to the
Concerned Citizens for Civil Liberties, which organized series of
foundation of the Board of Investments, the premier government
protest rallies which it organized from 1871-72.[7] The most
agency responsible for propagating investments in the Philippines.
massive of these rallies was held on 21 September 1972, shortly And so law in the land died. I grieve for it but I do not despair
[7]
before the imposition of Martial Law by the Marcos dictatorship. over it. I know, with a certainty no argument can turn, no wind
can shake, that from its dust will rise a new and better law: more
Diokno's second term as senator was cut short on September 21,
just, more human, and more humane. When that will happen, I
1972, when Marcos declared martial law. Shortly after the
know not. That it will happen, I know.[6]
declaration, Diokno was arrested by the dictatorship. Six carloads
of armed soldiers visited Diokno at his home to "invite" him for
People Power[edit]
questioning. They had no warrant.[4] Diokno was then brought to
Camp Crame, and later, Fort Bonifacio, where he was detained After the 1986 People Power Revolution, Diokno was appointed
along with Ninoy Aquino and Chino Roces. Diokno and Aquino, by President Corazon Aquino as founding chairman of
whom the dictatorship considered their foremost opponents, were the Presidential Committee on Human Rights, and tasked to lead
later transferred to solitary confinement in Laur, Nueva Ecija. a government panel to negotiate for the return of rebel forces to
the government folds.
Diokno spent nearly two years in detention. No charge was ever
filed against him. Diokno was released arbitrarily on September Diokno would be disappointed, however, by the Mendiola
11, 1974—Marcos's 57th birthday. massacre of January 22, 1987, where 15 farmers staging a
peaceful rally in Mendiola were gunned down by the military
Human rights work[edit]
under Aquino. Diokno resigned from his two government posts in
Immediately after his release, Diokno set up the Free Legal deep disgust and great sadness. His daughter Maris noted that "It
Assistance Group in 1974, which gave free legal services to the was the only time we saw him near tears."[4]
victims of martial law. It was the first and largest association of
human rights attorneys ever assembled in the nation. In court, Death and legacy[edit]
Diokno personally defended tribal groups, peasants, social workers
In 1984, even before People Power, Diokno had been diagnosed
threatened by exploitation and military atrocities. He was also
with terminal lung cancer. He had smoked all his adult life. Diokno
involved in documenting cases of torture, summary execution, and
continued to work, despite his illness, until his death on Feb. 27,
disappearances under the Marcos regime.[4]
1987—one day after his 65th birthday.
Diokno had no fear of being arrested again, and went around and
Following Diokno's death, President Cory Aquino declared March
outside the Philippines, spreading a message of hope and
2–12, 1987 as a period of national mourning. Expressing her
democracy. In another oft-quoted speech, he once quipped:
grief, Aquino said, "Pepe braved the Marcos dictatorship with a
dignified and eloquent courage our country will long
remember."[8] She quoted what her husband Ninoy would often Vice President for Academic Affairs of the University of the
tell his friends that he was "the one man he would unquestioningly Philippines.
follow to the ends of the earth."
Jose Manuel, or "Chel", is a human rights lawyer, Chairman of
In 2004, Diokno was posthumously conferred the Order of the Free Legal Assistance Group, Founding Dean of the De La Salle
Lakandula with the rank of Supremo—the Philippines' highest University College of Law, and former Special Counsel of the
[2]
honor. February 27 is celebrated in the country as Jose W. Senate Blue Ribbon Committee.
[3]
Diokno Day.
His grandson Jose Lorenzo "Pepe" Diokno is the executive director
In 2005, the first ever "Ka Pepe Diokno Champion of Human of alternative education group Rock Ed Philippines[10] and is best
Rights" award was given to Voltaire Y. Rosales, Executive Judge of known a motion
Tanauan, Batangas for his effort in protecting the downtrodden. picture director, producer and screenwriter whose debut film,
Subsequent annual awards have been given to worthy candidates Engkwentro won the Venice Film Festival’s Lion of the Future
who, in their life and death, fulfilled the values of protecting Award in 2009, as well as Venice’s Orizzonti Prize,
human rights just as Senator Diokno. [9]
the NETPAC Award for Best Asian Film, and the Gawad Urian for
Best Editing.[11][12]
In 2007, by virtue of Republic Act No. 9468, Bay Boulevard, a
4.38 kilometer road in Pasay and Parañaque cities was
Publications[edit]
renamed Jose Diokno Boulevard in his honor and memory. In
2017, the Commission on Human Rights erected a 9- foot statue A Nation for Our Children, a collection of Jose W. Diokno’s essays
of Diokno in the CHR compound in Quezon City and the park and speeches on human rights, nationalism, and
surrounding it was named the Diokno Freedom Park. Philippine sovereignty, was published in 1987 by the Diokno
Foundation. The collection is named after Diokno's popular speech,
Personal life and descendants[edit] in which he says,
Sen. Diokno was married to Carmen Reyes Icasiano-Diokno, with There is one dream that all Filipinos share: that our children may
whom he had ten (10) children: Carmen Leonor, Jose Ramon, have a better life than we have had. So there is one vision that is
Maria de la Paz, Maria Serena, Maria Teresa, Maria Socorro, Jose distinctly Filipino: the vision to make this country, our country, a
Miguel, Jose Manuel, Maria Victoria and Martin Jose. nation for our children.[6]
Maria Serena, or "Maris", a historian, is the former chair of Several parts of the book are now accessible online, at The Diokno
the National Historical Commission of the Philippines, and former Foundation
Famous quotes[edit] power, the United States of America. There is no

insurmountable barrier that could stop us from becoming
 "No cause is more worthy than the cause of human rights... what we want to be."
they are what makes a man human. Deny them and you  "All of us are Filipinos not only because we are brothers in
deny man's humanity." blood, but because we are all brothers in tears; not because we
 "There is one dream that we all Filipinos share: that our all share the same land, but because we share the same
children may have a better life than we have had. To make dream."
this country, our country, a nation for our children."  "Reality is often much more beautiful than anything that we
 "Law in the land died. I grieve for it but I do not despair over can conceive of. If we can release the creative energy of our
it. I know, with a certainty no argument can turn, no wind people, then we will have a nation full of hope and full of joy,
can shake, that from its dust will rise a new and better law: full of life and full of love — a nation that may not be a
more just, more human, and more humane. When that will nation for our children but which will be a nation of our
happen, I know not. That it will happen, I know." children."
 "We are one nation with one future, a future that will be as
CASS v SNOW & SNOW: LINCOLN PERFORMS A SURGICAL
bright or as dark as we remain united or divided." CROSS-EXAMINATION
 "Authoritarianism does not let people decide; its basic premise
is that people do not know how to decide. It promotes Among the legends that grew up after Lincoln’s death, there is a story of
Lincoln persuading a jury to ignore the law in a case which he handled in 1847.
repression that prevents meaningful change, and preserves According to the traditional story, an elderly gentleman named either Cass sold
the structure of power and privilege." a “prairie team” to two brothers named Snow. A prairie team consisted of a
heavy duty plow for breaking never-before cultivated prairie land and a team of
 "Yes-men are not compatible with democracy. We can oxen to pull it. The Snow brothers signed a note for the team, which they
refused to pay when it came due. Cass hired Lincoln to sue on the note. The
strengthen our leaders by pointing out what they are doing
lawyers defending the Snows interposed a plea of infancy and thus the issue
that is wrong." was joined. At the trial it was readily admitted that the brothers signed the note,
but the defense called a witness to testify that they were both under the age of
 "The point is not to make a perfect world, just a better one – 21.
and that is difficult enough."
Stymied and enraged by the hyper-technical defense that the brothers’ crooked
 "Do not forget: We Filipinos are the first Asian people who lawyers had interposed, Lincoln supposedly gave a rousing final argument
revolted against a western imperial power, Spain; the first which convinced the jury to ignore the law and find for the plaintiff in spite of
the fact that the boys were not legally obligated to pay the note. Lincoln
who adopted a democratic republican constitution in Asia, the accomplished this feat by putting the brothers’ lawyer on trial. Lincoln’s
argument to the jury went something like this:
Malolos Constitution; the first to fight the first major war of
the twentieth century against another western imperial
Gentlemen of the jury: are you willing to allow these trial the brothers were undoubtedly over 21 and fully responsible for debts
boys to begin life with this shame and disgrace incurred as adults. If they still had Cass’s prairie team, and they had not paid
attached to their characters? If you are, I am not. for it, they could be compelled to pay the purchase price. A legally binding
The best judge of human nature that ever wrote has contract consists of an offer and an acceptance. Cass offered to sell the team for
left these immortal words for all of us to ponder: a set price when the boys were under age. They may not have been able to
accept the team at the time they took possession, but they made a legally
"Who steals my purse steals trash;‘tis binding acceptance of Cass’s offer when they kept the oxen after coming of age.
something,nothing They owed Cass the money for goods sold and delivered, but they did not owe
"‘Twas mine, ‘tis his, and has been slave to money on the note they executed when still under 21.
thousands;
"But he that filches from me my good name, Treat saw that the case would rise and fall on how Lincoln had worded the
"Robs me of that which not enriches him, complaint. Common law pleading was very strict. If Lincoln had filed a one
"And makes me poor indeed." count complaint simply alleging money owed on the note, Judge Treat would
be required to direct a verdict for the defense. If, however, he had included a
These poor innocent boys would never have attempted second count for goods sold and delivered, he could collect the price of the
this low villainy had it not been for the advice of prairie team notwithstanding his inability to collect on the note.
these men [their lawyers]. It was bad advice in
morals and in law. The law never sanctions cheating, When the defense witness finished testifying on direct examination Treat asked
and a lawyer must be very smart indeed to twist the Lincoln “Is there a count in the declaration [complaint] for oxen and plow sold
law so that it will sanction fraud. and delivered?”
After finishing a scathing rebuke of the boys unscrupulous lawyers Lincoln Lincoln, ever the careful pleader, replied “Yes, and I have only two or three
concluded by saying “And now, gentlemen, you have it in your power to set questions to ask the witness.” On cross-examination Lincoln then proceeded to
these boys right before the world.” The jury was allegedly so moved by prove that the brothers still had the prairie team:
Lincoln’s tongue lashing of his opposing counsel that they returned a verdict
for the plaintiff without leaving their seats; and the brothers were so repentant Q: Where is the prairie team now?
that they willingly paid the purchase price. It is a pretty story of how the A: On the farm of the Snow boys.
saintly Lincoln achieved substantial justice, defeated the efforts of unethical
shysters, and set two wayward children on the path to an honorable life by Q: Have you seen anyone breaking prairie with it
persuading the jury to ignore the law, but there is likely little truth in it. lately?
A: Yes. The Snow boys were breaking up with it last
What really happened, however, demonstrates that Lincoln was not only a week.
surgical cross-examiner but also a careful pleader.
Q: How old are the boys now?
Mr. Cass did sell a prairie team to the Snow brothers; they were under age at A: One is a little over twenty-one, and the other is
the time they signed the note promising to pay for the team; Lincoln did file near twenty-three.
suit on Cass’s behalf; and the brothers’ attorneys interposed the defense of
infancy to defeat Cass’s claim for payment of the note. Cass, however, had So we see that Lincoln won his case through careful pleading and a surgical
patiently allowed the Snow brothers ample time to pay the note and only filed cross-examination; not by using his considerable oratorical skill to convince the
suit after going for two years without being paid. All the defense had to do to jury to ignore the law. We can see that the heart and soul of Lincoln’s final
defeat the claim on the note was to produce a witness who could testify that the speech did not come when he allegedly castigated the defense lawyers, but
Snows were under 21 when they signed the note. when he said:
As the defense witness testified on direct examination, the presiding judge, The judge will tell you what your own sense of
Samuel H. Treat Jr., immediately saw the flaw in the defense. At the time of the justice has already told you—that if those boys were
mean enough to plead the baby act when they came to average of 75 per cent in all subjects, without falling below 50
be men, they at least ought to have taken the oxen
and plow back to Mr. Cass. They ought to know that per cent in any subject." (Rule 127, sec. 14, Rules of Court).
they cannot go back on their contract and also keep
Nevertheless, considering the varying difficulties of the different
what the note was given for.
bar examinations held since 1946 and the varying degree of
The supposed tongue-lashing of the Snow boys’ lawyers is more likely legend
strictness with which the examination papers were graded, this
than fact. In the unlikely event that Lincoln said anything unkind about the
opposing lawyers, he must have said it with his tongue in his cheek. court passed and admitted to the bar those candidates who had
It is plain that the lawyers defending the Snows did not persuade two innocent obtained an average of only 72 per cent in 1946, 69 per cent in
boys to make use of a sleazy dodge to evade payment. The Snows were 1947, 70 per cent in 1948, and 74 per cent in 1949. In 1950
deadbeats. They had refused to pay the bill for the oxen for two years before
they got sued; and they certainly didn’t hire or consult their lawyers until they to 1953, the 74 per cent was raised to 75 per cent.
got sued. Lincoln knew as well as anyone that the lawyers interposed a valid
legal defense when they pled the “baby act;” and he knew that defense lawyers
Believing themselves as fully qualified to practice law as those
are ethically required to use every lawful means to defend their clients.
reconsidered and passed by this court, and feeling conscious of
Resolution March 18, 1954 having been discriminated against (See Explanatory Note to R.A.
No. 972), unsuccessful candidates who obtained averages of a few
In the Matter of the Petitions for Admission to the Bar of percentage lower than those admitted to the Bar agitated in
Unsuccessful Candidates of 1946 to 1953; Congress for, and secured in 1951 the passage of Senate Bill No.
ALBINO CUNANAN, ET AL., petitioners. 12 which, among others, reduced the passing general average in
bar examinations to 70 per cent effective since 1946. The
Jose M. Aruego, M.H. de Joya, Miguel R. Cornejo, and Antonio President requested the views of this court on the bill. Complying
Enrile Inton for petitioners. with that request, seven members of the court subscribed to and
Office of the Solicitor General Juan R. Liwag for respondent. submitted written comments adverse thereto, and shortly
thereafter the President vetoed it. Congress did not override the
DIOKNO, J.:
veto. Instead, it approved Senate Bill No. 371, embodying
substantially the provisions of the vetoed bill. Although the
In recent years few controversial issues have aroused so much
members of this court reiterated their unfavorable views on the
public interest and concern as Republic Act No. 972, popularly
matter, the President allowed the bill to become a law on June
known as the "Bar Flunkers' Act of 1953." Under the Rules of
21, 1953 without his signature. The law, which incidentally was
Court governing admission to the bar, "in order that a candidate
enacted in an election year, reads in full as follows:
(for admission to the Bar) may be deemed to have passed his
examinations successfully, he must have obtained a general
REPUBLIC ACT NO. 972 fraction, shall be considered as one and included as part of
the next whole number.
AN ACT TO FIX THE PASSING MARKS FOR BAR
EXAMINATIONS FROM NINETEEN HUNDRED SEC. 2. Any bar candidate who obtained a grade of
AND FORTY-SIX UP TO AND INCLUDING seventy-five per cent in any subject in any bar
NINETEEN HUNDRED AND FIFTY-FIVE. examination after July fourth, nineteen hundred and
forty-six shall be deemed to have passed in such subject or
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of subjects and such grade or grades shall be included in
Representatives of the Philippines in Congress computing the passing general average that said candidate
assembled: may obtain in any subsequent examinations that he may
take.
SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of section
fourteen, Rule numbered one hundred twenty-seven of SEC. 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
the Rules of Court, any bar candidate who obtained a
general average of seventy per cent in any bar Enacted on June 21, 1953, without the Executive
examinations after July fourth, nineteen hundred and approval.
forty-six up to the August nineteen hundred and fifty-one
bar examinations; seventy-one per cent in the nineteen After its approval, many of the unsuccessful postwar candidates
hundred and fifty-two bar examinations; seventy-two per filed petitions for admission to the bar invoking its provisions,
cent in the in the nineteen hundred and fifty-three bar while others whose motions for the revision of their examination
examinations; seventy-three per cent in the nineteen papers were still pending also invoked the aforesaid law as an
hundred and fifty-four bar examinations; seventy-four additional ground for admission. There are also others who have
per cent in the nineteen hundred and fifty-five bar sought simply the reconsideration of their grades without,
examinations without a candidate obtaining a grade below however, invoking the law in question. To avoid injustice to
fifty per cent in any subject, shall be allowed to take and individual petitioners, the court first reviewed the motions for
subscribe the corresponding oath of office as member of reconsideration, irrespective of whether or not they had invoked
the Philippine Bar: Provided, however, That for the Republic Act No. 972. Unfortunately, the court has found no
purpose of this Act, any exact one-half or more of a reason to revise their grades. If they are to be admitted to the bar,
it must be pursuant to Republic Act No. 972 which, if declared
valid, should be applied equally to all concerned whether they (2) In addition, some other 10 unsuccessful candidates are to be
have filed petitions or not. A complete list of the petitioners, benefited by section 2 of said Republic Act. These candidates had
properly classified, affected by this decision, as well as a more each taken from two to five different examinations, but failed to
detailed account of the history of Republic Act No. 972, are obtain a passing average in any of them. Consolidating, however,
appended to this decision as Annexes I and II. And to realize more their highest grades in different subjects in previous examinations,
readily the effects of the law, the following statistical data are set with their latest marks, they would be sufficient to reach the
forth: passing average as provided for by Republic Act No. 972.
(1) The unsuccessful bar candidates who are to be benefited by (3) The total number of candidates to be benefited by this
section 1 of Republic Act No. 972 total 1,168, classified as follows: Republic Acts is therefore 1,094, of which only 604 have filed
petitions. Of these 604 petitioners, 33 who failed in 1946 to
1946 (August) 206 121 18 1951 had individually presented motions for reconsideration
which were denied, while 125 unsuccessful candidates of 1952,
1946 (November) 477 228 43
and 56 of 1953, had presented similar motions, which are still
1947 749 340 0
pending because they could be favorably affected by Republic Act
1948 899 409 11 No. 972, — although as has been already stated, this tribunal
1949 1,218 532 164 finds no sufficient reasons to reconsider their grades
1950 1,316 893 26

UNCONSTITUTIONALITY OF REPUBLIC ACT NO. 972
1951 2,068 879 196
1952 2,738 1,033 426 Having been called upon to enforce a law of far-reaching effects
on the practice of the legal profession and the administration of
1953 2,555 968 284
justice, and because some doubts have been expressed as to its
TOTAL 12,230 5,421 1,168 validity, the court set the hearing of the afore-mentioned
petitions for admission on the sole question of whether or not
Of the total 1,168 candidates, 92 have passed in subsequent Republic Act No. 972 is constitutional.
examination, and only 586 have filed either motions for
admission to the bar pursuant to said Republic Act, or mere We have been enlightened in the study of this question by the
motions for reconsideration. brilliant assistance of the members of the bar who have amply
argued, orally an in writing, on the various aspects in which the and the inadequacy of the preparation of students who
question may be gleaned. The valuable studies of Messrs. E. took up law soon after the liberation.
Voltaire Garcia, Vicente J. Francisco, Vicente Pelaez and
Buenaventura Evangelista, in favor of the validity of the law, and Of the 9,675 candidates who took the examinations from 1946
of the U.P. Women's Lawyers' Circle, the Solicitor General, Messrs. to 1952, 5,236 passed. And now it is claimed that in addition
Arturo A. Alafriz, Enrique M. Fernando, Vicente Abad Santos, 604 candidates be admitted (which in reality total 1,094),
Carlos A. Barrios, Vicente del Rosario, Juan de Blancaflor, because they suffered from "insufficiency of reading materials" and
Mamerto V. Gonzales, and Roman Ozaeta against it, aside from of "inadequacy of preparation."
the memoranda of counsel for petitioners, Messrs. Jose M. Aruego,
M.H. de Joya, Miguel R. Cornejo and Antonio Enrile Inton, and of By its declared objective, the law is contrary to public interest
petitioners Cabrera, Macasaet and Galema themselves, has greatly because it qualifies 1,094 law graduates who confessedly had
helped us in this task. The legal researchers of the court have inadequate preparation for the practice of the profession, as was
exhausted almost all Philippine and American jurisprudence on exactly found by this Tribunal in the aforesaid examinations. The
the matter. The question has been the object of intense public interest demands of legal profession adequate preparation
deliberation for a long time by the Tribunal, and finally, after the and efficiency, precisely more so as legal problem evolved by the
voting, the preparation of the majority opinion was assigned to a times become more difficult. An adequate legal preparation is one
new member in order to place it as humanly as possible above all of the vital requisites for the practice of law that should be
suspicion of prejudice or partiality. developed constantly and maintained firmly. To the legal
profession is entrusted the protection of property, life, honor and
Republic Act No. 972 has for its object, according to its author, to civil liberties. To approve officially of those inadequately prepared
admit to the Bar, those candidates who suffered from individuals to dedicate themselves to such a delicate mission is to
insufficiency of reading materials and inadequate preparation. create a serious social danger. Moreover, the statement that there
Quoting a portion of the Explanatory Note of the proposed bill, its was an insufficiency of legal reading materials is grossly
author Honorable Senator Pablo Angeles David stated: exaggerated. There were abundant materials. Decisions of this
court alone in mimeographed copies were made available to the
The reason for relaxing the standard 75 per cent passing public during those years and private enterprises had also
grade is the tremendous handicap which students during published them in monthly magazines and annual digests.
the years immediately after the Japanese occupation has The Official Gazette had been published continuously. Books and
to overcome such as the insufficiency of reading materials magazines published abroad have entered without restriction since
1945. Many law books, some even with revised and enlarged This law has no precedent in its favor. When similar laws in other
editions have been printed locally during those periods. A new set countries had been promulgated, the judiciary immediately
of Philippine Reports began to be published since 1946, which declared them without force or effect. It is not within our power
continued to be supplemented by the addition of new volumes. to offer a precedent to uphold the disputed law.
Those are facts of public knowledge.
To be exact, we ought to state here that we have examined
Notwithstanding all these, if the law in question is valid, it has to carefully the case that has been cited to us as a favorable
be enforced. precedent of the law — that of Cooper (22 NY, 81), where the
Court of Appeals of New York revoked the decision of the
The question is not new in its fundamental aspect or from the Supreme court of that State, denying the petition of Cooper to be
point of view of applicable principles, but the resolution of the admitted to the practice of law under the provisions of a statute
question would have been easier had an identical case of similar concerning the school of law of Columbia College promulgated on
background been picked out from the jurisprudence we daily April 7, 1860, which was declared by the Court of Appeals to be
consult. Is there any precedent in the long Anglo-Saxon legal consistent with the Constitution of the state of New York.
history, from which has been directly derived the judicial system
established here with its lofty ideals by the Congress of the United It appears that the Constitution of New York at that time
States, and which we have preserved and attempted to improve, provided:
or in our contemporaneous judicial history of more than half a
century? From the citations of those defending the law, we can They (i.e., the judges) shall not hold any other office of
not find a case in which the validity of a similar law had been public trust. All votes for either of them for any elective
sustained, while those against its validity cite, among others, the office except that of the Court of Appeals, given by the
cases of Day (In re Day, 54 NE 646), of Cannon (State vs. Legislature or the people, shall be void. They shall not
Cannon, 240 NW, 441), the opinion of the Supreme Court of exercise any power of appointment to public office. Any
Massachusetts in 1932 (81 ALR 1061), of Guariña (24 Phil., 37), male citizen of the age of twenty-one years, of good
aside from the opinion of the President which is expressed in his moral character, and who possesses the requisite
vote of the original bill and which the postponement of the qualifications of learning and ability, shall be entitled to
contested law respects. admission to practice in all the courts of this State. (p.
93).
According to the Court of Appeals, the object of the constitutional Now, with respect to the law of April 7, 1860, the decision seems
precept is as follows: to indicate that it provided that the possession of a diploma of the
school of law of Columbia College conferring the degree of
Attorneys, solicitors, etc., were public officers; the power Bachelor of Laws was evidence of the legal qualifications that the
of appointing them had previously rested with the judges, constitution required of applicants for admission to the Bar. The
and this was the principal appointing power which they decision does not however quote the text of the law, which we
possessed. The convention was evidently dissatisfied with cannot find in any public or accessible private library in the
the manner in which this power had been exercised, and country.
with the restrictions which the judges had imposed upon
admission to practice before them. The prohibitory clause In the case of Cooper, supra, to make the law consistent with the
in the section quoted was aimed directly at this power, Constitution of New York, the Court of Appeals said of the object
and the insertion of the provision" expecting the admission of the law:
of attorneys, in this particular section of the Constitution,
evidently arose from its connection with the object of this The motive for passing the act in question is apparent.
prohibitory clause. There is nothing indicative of Columbia College being an institution of established
confidence in the courts or of a disposition to preserve any reputation, and having a law department under the
portion of their power over this subject, unless the charge of able professors, the students in which
Supreme Court is right in the inference it draws from the department were not only subjected to a formal
use of the word `admission' in the action referred to. It is examination by the law committee of the institution, but
urged that the admission spoken of must be by the court; to a certain definite period of study before being entitled
that to admit means to grant leave, and that the power to a diploma of being graduates, the Legislature evidently,
of granting necessarily implies the power of refusing, and and no doubt justly, considered this examination, together
of course the right of determining whether the applicant with the preliminary study required by the act, as fully
possesses the requisite qualifications to entitle him to equivalent as a test of legal requirements, to the ordinary
admission. examination by the court; and as rendering the latter
examination, to which no definite period of preliminary
These positions may all be conceded, without affecting the study was essential, unnecessary and burdensome.
validity of the act. (p. 93.)
The act was obviously passed with reference to the From the foregoing, the complete inapplicability of the case of
learning and ability of the applicant, and for the mere Cooper with that at bar may be clearly seen. Please note only the
purpose of substituting the examination by the law following distinctions:
committee of the college for that of the court. It could
have had no other object, and hence no greater scope (1) The law of New York does not require that any candidate of
should be given to its provisions. We cannot suppose that Columbia College who failed in the bar examinations be admitted
the Legislature designed entirely to dispense with the plain to the practice of law.
and explicit requirements of the Constitution; and the act
contains nothing whatever to indicate an intention that (2) The law of New York according to the very decision of Cooper,
the authorities of the college should inquire as to the age, has not taken from the court its jurisdiction over the question of
citizenship, etc., of the students before granting a diploma. admission of attorney at law; in effect, it does not decree the
The only rational interpretation of which the act admits is, admission of any lawyer.
that it was intended to make the college diploma

(3) The Constitution of New York at that time and that of the
competent evidence as to the legal attainments of the
Philippines are entirely different on the matter of admission of
applicant, and nothing else. To this extent alone it
the practice of law.
operates as a modification of pre-existing statutes, and it
is to be read in connection with these statutes and with
In the judicial system from which ours has been evolved, the
the Constitution itself in order to determine the present
admission, suspension, disbarment and reinstatement of attorneys
condition of the law on the subject. (p.89)
at law in the practice of the profession and their supervision have
been disputably a judicial function and responsibility. Because of
xxx x xx x xx
this attribute, its continuous and zealous possession and exercise
The Legislature has not taken from the court its by the judicial power have been demonstrated during more than
jurisdiction over the question of admission, that has simply six centuries, which certainly "constitutes the most solid of titles."
prescribed what shall be competent evidence in certain Even considering the power granted to Congress by our
cases upon that question. (p.93) Constitution to repeal, alter supplement the rules promulgated by
this Court regarding the admission to the practice of law, to our
judgment and proposition that the admission, suspension,
disbarment and reinstatement of the attorneys at law is a
legislative function, properly belonging to Congress, is Cannon an attorney at law, and in this respect it stands
unacceptable. The function requires (1) previously established rules alone as an assertion of legislative power. (p. 444)
and principles, (2) concrete facts, whether past or present,
affecting determinate individuals. and (3) decision as to whether Under the Constitution all legislative power is vested in a
these facts are governed by the rules and principles; in effect, a Senate and Assembly. (Section 1, art. 4.) In so far as the
judicial function of the highest degree. And it becomes more prescribing of qualifications for admission to the bar are
undisputably judicial, and not legislative, if previous judicial legislative in character, the Legislature is acting within its
resolutions on the petitions of these same individuals are constitutional authority when it sets up and prescribes
attempted to be revoked or modified. such qualifications. (p. 444)
We have said that in the judicial system from which ours has been But when the Legislature has prescribed those
derived, the act of admitting, suspending, disbarring and qualifications which in its judgment will serve the purpose
reinstating attorneys at law in the practice of the profession is of legitimate legislative solicitude, is the power of the court
concededly judicial. A comprehensive and conscientious study of to impose other and further exactions and qualifications
this matter had been undertaken in the case of State vs. Cannon foreclosed or exhausted? (p. 444)
(1932) 240 NW 441, in which the validity of a legislative
enactment providing that Cannon be permitted to practice before Under our Constitution the judicial and legislative
the courts was discussed. From the text of this decision we quote departments are distinct, independent, and coordinate
the following paragraphs: branches of the government. Neither branch enjoys all the
powers of sovereignty which properly belongs to its
This statute presents an assertion of legislative power department. Neither department should so act as to
without parallel in the history of the English speaking embarrass the other in the discharge of its respective
people so far as we have been able to ascertain. There has functions. That was the scheme and thought of the people
been much uncertainty as to the extent of the power of setting upon the form of government under which we
the Legislature to prescribe the ultimate qualifications of exist. State vs. Hastings, 10 Wis., 525; Attorney General
attorney at law has been expressly committed to the ex rel. Bashford vs. Barstow, 4 Wis., 567. (p. 445)
courts, and the act of admission has always been regarded
as a judicial function. This act purports to constitute Mr. The judicial department of government is responsible for
the plane upon which the administration of justice is
maintained. Its responsibility in this respect is exclusive. By admitted to the practice of law, which, as was said in
committing a portion of the powers of sovereignty to the Matter of the Sergeant's at Law, 6 Bingham's New Cases
judicial department of our state government, under 42a 235, "constitutes the most solid of all titles." If the courts
scheme which it was supposed rendered it immune from and judicial power be regarded as an entity, the power to
embarrassment or interference by any other department determine who should be admitted to practice law is a
of government, the courts cannot escape responsibility fir constituent element of that entity. It may be difficult to
the manner in which the powers of sovereignty thus isolate that element and say with assurance that it is
committed to the judicial department are exercised. (p. either a part of the inherent power of the court, or an
445) essential element of the judicial power exercised by the
court, but that it is a power belonging to the judicial
The relation at the bar to the courts is a peculiar and entity and made of not only a sovereign institution, but
intimate relationship. The bar is an attache of the courts. made of it a separate independent, and coordinate branch
The quality of justice dispense by the courts depends in no of the government. They took this institution along with
small degree upon the integrity of its bar. An unfaithful the power traditionally exercise to determine who should
bar may easily bring scandal and reproach to the constitute its attorney at law. There is no express
administration of justice and bring the courts themselves provision in the Constitution which indicates an intent
into disrepute. (p.445) that this traditional power of the judicial department
should in any manner be subject to legislative control.
Through all time courts have exercised a direct and severe Perhaps the dominant thought of the framers of our
supervision over their bars, at least in the English speaking constitution was to make the three great departments of
countries. (p. 445) government separate and independent of one another.
The idea that the Legislature might embarrass the judicial
After explaining the history of the case, the Court ends thus:
department by prescribing inadequate qualifications for
attorneys at law is inconsistent with the dominant
Our conclusion may be epitomized as follows: For more
purpose of making the judicial independent of the
than six centuries prior to the adoption of our
legislative department, and such a purpose should not be
Constitution, the courts of England, concededly
inferred in the absence of express constitutional provisions.
subordinate to Parliament since the Revolution of 1688,
While the legislature may legislate with respect to the
had exercise the right of determining who should be
qualifications of attorneys, but is incidental merely to its
general and unquestioned power to protect the public Egan, 23 S. D. 43, 119 N.W. 1021, 130 Am. St. Rep.
interest. When it does legislate a fixing a standard of 1030, 20 Ann. Cas. 413.
qualifications required of attorneys at law in order that
public interests may be protected, such qualifications do The power of admitting an attorney to practice having
not constitute only a minimum standard and limit the been perpetually exercised by the courts, it having been so
class from which the court must make its selection. Such generally held that the act of the court in admitting an
legislative qualifications do not constitute the ultimate attorney to practice is the judgment of the court, and an
qualifications beyond which the court cannot go in fixing attempt as this on the part of the Legislature to confer
additional qualifications deemed necessary by the course of such right upon any one being most exceedingly
the proper administration of judicial functions. There is no uncommon, it seems clear that the licensing of an
legislative power to compel courts to admit to their bars attorney is and always has been a purely judicial function,
persons deemed by them unfit to exercise the prerogatives no matter where the power to determine the
of an attorney at law. (p. 450) qualifications may reside. (p. 451)
Furthermore, it is an unlawful attempt to exercise the In that same year of 1932, the Supreme Court of Massachusetts,
power of appointment. It is quite likely true that the in answering a consultation of the Senate of that State, 180 NE
legislature may exercise the power of appointment when it 725, said:
is in pursuance of a legislative functions. However, the
authorities are well-nigh unanimous that the power to It is indispensible to the administration of justice and to
admit attorneys to the practice of law is a judicial interpretation of the laws that there be members of the
function. In all of the states, except New Jersey (In bar of sufficient ability, adequate learning and sound
re Reisch, 83 N.J. Eq. 82, 90 A. 12), so far as our moral character. This arises from the need of enlightened
investigation reveals, attorneys receive their formal license assistance to the honest, and restraining authority over
to practice law by their admission as members of the bar the knavish, litigant. It is highly important, also that the
of the court so admitting. Cor. Jur. 572; Ex public be protected from incompetent and vicious
parte Secombre, 19 How. 9,15 L. Ed. 565; Ex practitioners, whose opportunity for doing mischief is wide.
parte Garland, 4 Wall. 333, 18 L. Ed. 366; Randall vs. It was said by Cardoz, C.L., in People ex rel. Karlin vs.
Brigham, 7 Wall. 53, 19 L. Ed. 285; Hanson vs. Grattan, Culkin, 242 N.Y. 456, 470, 471, 162 N.E. 487, 489, 60
48 Kan, 843, 115 P. 646, 34 L.R.A. 519; Danforth vs. A.L.R. 851: "Membership in the bar is a privilege burden
with conditions." One is admitted to the bar "for an attorney and counselor, and for what cause he ought
something more than private gain." He becomes an "officer to be removed." (p.727)
of the court", and ,like the court itself, an instrument or
agency to advance the end of justice. His cooperation with In the case of Day and others who collectively filed a petition to
the court is due "whenever justice would be imperiled if secure license to practice the legal profession by virtue of a law of
cooperation was withheld." Without such attorneys at law state (In re Day, 54 NE 646), the court said in part:
the judicial department of government would be
hampered in the performance of its duties. That has been In the case of Ex parte Garland, 4 Wall, 333, 18 L. Ed.
the history of attorneys under the common law, both in 366, the court, holding the test oath for attorneys to be
this country and England. Admission to practice as an unconstitutional, explained the nature of the attorney's
attorney at law is almost without exception conceded to office as follows: "They are officers of the court, admitted
be a judicial function. Petition to that end is filed in courts, as such by its order, upon evidence of their possessing
as are other proceedings invoking judicial action. sufficient legal learning and fair private character. It has
Admission to the bar is accomplish and made open and always been the general practice in this country to obtain
notorious by a decision of the court entered upon its this evidence by an examination of the parties. In this
records. The establishment by the Constitution of the court the fact of the admission of such officers in the
judicial department conferred authority necessary to the highest court of the states to which they, respectively,
exercise of its powers as a coordinate department of belong for, three years preceding their application, is
government. It is an inherent power of such a department regarded as sufficient evidence of the possession of the
of government ultimately to determine the qualifications requisite legal learning, and the statement of counsel
of those to be admitted to practice in its courts, for moving their admission sufficient evidence that their
assisting in its work, and to protect itself in this respect private and professional character is fair. The order of
from the unfit, those lacking in sufficient learning, and admission is the judgment of the court that the parties
those not possessing good moral character. Chief Justice possess the requisite qualifications as attorneys and
Taney stated succinctly and with finality in Ex counselors, and are entitled to appear as such and
parte Secombe, 19 How. 9, 13, 15 L. Ed. 565, "It has conduct causes therein. From its entry the parties become
been well settled, by the rules and practice of common- officers of the court, and are responsible to it for
law courts, that it rests exclusively with the court to professional misconduct. They hold their office during good
determine who is qualified to become one of its officers, as behavior, and can only be deprived of it for misconduct
ascertained and declared by the judgment of the court 1018; See Annotation on Power of Legislature respecting
after opportunity to be heard has been afforded. Ex admission to bar, 65, A.L. R. 1512.
parte Hoyfron, admission or their exclusion is not the
exercise of a mere ministerial power. It is the exercise of On this matter there is certainly a clear distinction between the
judicial power, and has been so held in numerous cases. It functions of the judicial and legislative departments of the
was so held by the court of appeals of New York in the government.
matter of the application of Cooper for admission. Re
Cooper 22 N. Y. 81. "Attorneys and Counselors", said that The distinction between the functions of the legislative and
court, "are not only officers of the court, but officers the judicial departments is that it is the province of the
whose duties relate almost exclusively to proceedings of a legislature to establish rules that shall regulate and govern
judicial nature; and hence their appointment may, with in matters of transactions occurring subsequent to the
propriety, be entrusted to the court, and the latter, in legislative action, while the judiciary determines rights
performing his duty, may very justly considered as and obligations with reference to transactions that are
engaged in the exercise of their appropriate judicial past or conditions that exist at the time of the exercise of
functions." (pp. 650-651). judicial power, and the distinction is a vital one and not
subject to alteration or change either by legislative action
We quote from other cases, the following pertinent portions: or by judicial decree.
Admission to practice of law is almost without exception The judiciary cannot consent that its province shall be
conceded everywhere to be the exercise of a judicial invaded by either of the other departments of the
function, and this opinion need not be burdened with government. — 16 C.J.S., Constitutional Law, p. 229.
citations in this point. Admission to practice have also
been held to be the exercise of one of the inherent powers If the legislature cannot thus indirectly control the action
of the court. — Re Bruen, 102 Wash. 472, 172 Pac. 906. of the courts by requiring of them construction of the law
according to its own views, it is very plain it cannot do so
Admission to the practice of law is the exercise of a directly, by settling aside their judgments, compelling
judicial function, and is an inherent power of the court. — them to grant new trials, ordering the discharge of
A.C. Brydonjack, vs. State Bar of California, 281 Pac. offenders, or directing what particular steps shall be taken
in the progress of a judicial inquiry. — Cooley's Supreme Court to alter and modify the same. The
Constitutional Limitations, 192. Congress shall have the power to repeal, alter, or
supplement the rules concerning pleading, practice, and
In decreeing the bar candidates who obtained in the bar procedure, and the admission to the practice of law in the
examinations of 1946 to 1952, a general average of 70 per cent Philippines. — Constitution of the Philippines, Art. VIII, sec.
without falling below 50 per cent in any subject, be admitted in 13.
mass to the practice of law, the disputed law is not a legislation;
it is a judgment — a judgment revoking those promulgated by It will be noted that the Constitution has not conferred on
this Court during the aforecited year affecting the bar candidates Congress and this Tribunal equal responsibilities concerning the
concerned; and although this Court certainly can revoke these admission to the practice of law. the primary power and
judgments even now, for justifiable reasons, it is no less certain responsibility which the Constitution recognizes continue to reside
that only this Court, and not the legislative nor executive in this Court. Had Congress found that this Court has not
department, that may be so. Any attempt on the part of any of promulgated any rule on the matter, it would have nothing over
these departments would be a clear usurpation of its functions, as which to exercise the power granted to it. Congress may repeal,
is the case with the law in question. alter and supplement the rules promulgated by this Court, but the
authority and responsibility over the admission, suspension,
That the Constitution has conferred on Congress the power to disbarment and reinstatement of attorneys at law and their
repeal, alter or supplement the rule promulgated by this Tribunal, supervision remain vested in the Supreme Court. The power to
concerning the admission to the practice of law, is no valid repeal, alter and supplement the rules does not signify nor permit
argument. Section 13, article VIII of the Constitution provides: that Congress substitute or take the place of this Tribunal in the
exercise of its primary power on the matter. The Constitution
Section 13. The Supreme Court shall have the power to does not say nor mean that Congress may admit, suspend, disbar
promulgate rules concerning pleading, practice, and or reinstate directly attorneys at law, or a determinate group of
procedure in all courts, and the admission to the practice individuals to the practice of law. Its power is limited to repeal,
of law. Said rules shall be uniform for all courts of the modify or supplement the existing rules on the matter, if
same grade and shall not diminish, increase or modify according to its judgment the need for a better service of the legal
substantive rights. The existing laws on pleading, practice profession requires it. But this power does not relieve this Court of
and procedure are hereby repealed as statutes, and are its responsibility to admit, suspend, disbar and reinstate attorneys
declared Rules of Court, subject to the power of the at law and supervise the practice of the legal profession.
Being coordinate and independent branches, the power to had been appointed to the position of Fiscal may be admitted to
promulgate and enforce rules for the admission to the practice of the practice of law without a previous examination. The
law and the concurrent power to repeal, alter and supplement Government appointed Guariña and he discharged the duties of
them may and should be exercised with the respect that each Fiscal in a remote province. This tribunal refused to give his license
owes to the other, giving careful consideration to the responsibility without previous examinations. The court said:
which the nature of each department requires. These powers have
existed together for centuries without diminution on each part; Relying upon the provisions of section 2 of Act No. 1597,
the harmonious delimitation being found in that the legislature the applicant in this case seeks admission to the bar,
may and should examine if the existing rules on the admission to without taking the prescribed examination, on the ground
the Bar respond to the demands which public interest requires of that he holds the office of provincial fiscal for the Province
a Bar endowed with high virtues, culture, training and of Batanes.
responsibility. The legislature may, by means of appeal,
amendment or supplemental rules, fill up any deficiency that it Section 2 of Act No. 1597, enacted February 28, 1907,
may find, and the judicial power, which has the inherent is as follows:
responsibility for a good and efficient administration of justice and

Sec. 2. Paragraph one of section thirteen of Act Numbered
the supervision of the practice of the legal profession, should
One Hundred and ninety, entitled "An Act providing a
consider these reforms as the minimum standards for the
Code of Procedure in Civil Actions and Special Proceedings
elevation of the profession, and see to it that with these reforms
in the Philippine Islands," is hereby amended to read as
the lofty objective that is desired in the exercise of its traditional
follows:
duty of admitting, suspending, disbarring and reinstating
attorneys at law is realized. They are powers which, exercise
1. Those who have been duly licensed under the laws and
within their proper constitutional limits, are not repugnant, but
orders of the Islands under the sovereignty of Spain or of
rather complementary to each other in attaining the
the United States and are in good and regular standing as
establishment of a Bar that would respond to the increasing and
members of the bar of the Philippine Islands at the time
exacting necessities of the administration of justice.
of the adoption of this code; Provided, That any person
who, prior to the passage of this act, or at any time
The case of Guariña (1913) 24 Phil., 37, illustrates our criterion.
thereafter, shall have held, under the authority of the
Guariña took examination and failed by a few points to obtain the
United States, the position of justice of the Supreme Court,
general average. A recently enacted law provided that one who
judge of the Court of First Instance, or judge or associate occasion, he now "possesses the necessary qualifications of
judge of the Court of Land Registration, of the Philippine learning and ability."
Islands, or the position of Attorney General, Solicitor
General, Assistant Attorney General, assistant attorney in But it is contented that under the provisions of the above-
the office of the Attorney General, prosecuting attorney cited statute the applicant is entitled as of right to be
for the City of Manila, city attorney of Manila, assistant admitted to the bar without taking the prescribed
city attorney of Manila, provincial fiscal, attorney for the examination "upon motion before the Supreme Court"
Moro Province, or assistant attorney for the Moro accompanied by satisfactory proof that he has held and
Province, may be licensed to practice law in the courts of now holds the office of provincial fiscal of the Province of
the Philippine Islands without an examination, upon Batanes. It is urged that having in mind the object which
motion before the Supreme Court and establishing such the legislator apparently sought to attain in enacting the
fact to the satisfaction of said court. above-cited amendment to the earlier statute, and in
view of the context generally and especially of the fact
The records of this court disclose that on a former that the amendment was inserted as a proviso in that
occasion this appellant took, and failed to pass the section of the original Act which specifically provides for
prescribed examination. The report of the examining the admission of certain candidates without examination.
board, dated March 23, 1907, shows that he received an It is contented that this mandatory construction is
average of only 71 per cent in the various branches of imperatively required in order to give effect to the
legal learning upon which he was examined, thus falling apparent intention of the legislator, and to the candidate's
four points short of the required percentage of 75. We claim de jure to have the power exercised.
would be delinquent in the performance of our duty to the
public and to the bar, if, in the face of this affirmative And after copying article 9 of Act of July 1, 1902 of the
indication of the deficiency of the applicant in the Congress of the United States, articles 2, 16 and 17 of Act No.
required qualifications of learning in the law at the time 136, and articles 13 to 16 of Act 190, the Court continued:
when he presented his former application for admission to
the bar, we should grant him license to practice law in the Manifestly, the jurisdiction thus conferred upon this court
courts of these Islands, without first satisfying ourselves by the commission and confirmed to it by the Act of
that despite his failure to pass the examination on that Congress would be limited and restricted, and in a case
such as that under consideration wholly destroyed, by
giving the word "may," as used in the above citation from the office of provincial fiscal is in itself satisfactory proof if
Act of Congress of July 1, 1902, or of any Act of his possession of the necessary qualifications of learning
Congress prescribing, defining or limiting the power and ability. We conclude therefore that this application for
conferred upon the commission is to that extent invalid license to practice in the courts of the Philippines, should
and void, as transcending its rightful limits and authority. be denied.
Speaking on the application of the law to those who were In view, however, of the fact that when he took the
appointed to the positions enumerated, and with particular examination he fell only four points short of the necessary
emphasis in the case of Guariña, the Court held: grade to entitle him to a license to practice; and in view
also of the fact that since that time he has held the
In the various cases wherein applications for the admission responsible office of the governor of the Province of
to the bar under the provisions of this statute have been Sorsogon and presumably gave evidence of such marked
considered heretofore, we have accepted the fact that ability in the performance of the duties of that office that
such appointments had been made as satisfactory evidence the Chief Executive, with the consent and approval of the
of the qualifications of the applicant. But in all of those Philippine Commission, sought to retain him in the
cases we had reason to believe that the applicants had Government service by appointing him to the office of
been practicing attorneys prior to the date of their provincial fiscal, we think we would be justified under the
appointment. above-cited provisions of Act No. 1597 in waiving in his
case the ordinary examination prescribed by general rule,
In the case under consideration, however, it affirmatively provided he offers satisfactory evidence of his proficiency
appears that the applicant was not and never had been in a special examination which will be given him by a
practicing attorney in this or any other jurisdiction prior committee of the court upon his application therefor,
to the date of his appointment as provincial fiscal, and it without prejudice to his right, if he desires so to do, to
further affirmatively appears that he was deficient in the present himself at any of the ordinary examinations
required qualifications at the time when he last applied for prescribed by general rule. — (In re Guariña, pp. 48-49.)
admission to the bar.
It is obvious, therefore, that the ultimate power to grant license
In the light of this affirmative proof of his defieciency on for the practice of law belongs exclusively to this Court, and the
that occasion, we do not think that his appointment to law passed by Congress on the matter is of permissive character,
or as other authorities say, merely to fix the minimum conditions shall comply with the rules of the supreme court in regard
for the license. to admission to the bar in force at the time such applicant
commend the study of law, either in a law or office or a
The law in question, like those in the case of Day and Cannon, has law school or college, shall be granted a license under this
been found also to suffer from the fatal defect of being a class act notwithstanding any subsequent changes in said rules".
legislation, and that if it has intended to make a classification, it — In re Day et al, 54 N.Y., p. 646.
is arbitrary and unreasonable.
. . . After said provision there is a double proviso, one
In the case of Day, a law enacted on February 21, 1899 required branch of which is that up to December 31, 1899, this
of the Supreme Court, until December 31 of that year, to grant court shall grant a license of admittance to the bar to the
license for the practice of law to those students who began holder of every diploma regularly issued by any law school
studying before November 4, 1897, and had studied for two regularly organized under the laws of this state, whose
years and presented a diploma issued by a school of law, or to regular course of law studies is two years, and requiring
those who had studied in a law office and would pass an an attendance by the student of at least 36 weeks in each
examination, or to those who had studied for three years if they of such years, and showing that the student began the
commenced their studies after the aforementioned date. The study of law prior to November 4, 1897, and
Supreme Court declared that this law was unconstitutional being, accompanied with the usual proofs of good moral
among others, a class legislation. The Court said: character. The other branch of the proviso is that any
student who has studied law for two years in a law office,
This is an application to this court for admission to the or part of such time in a law office, "and part in the
bar of this state by virtue of diplomas from law schools aforesaid law school," and whose course of study began
issued to the applicants. The act of the general assembly prior to November 4, 1897, shall be admitted upon a
passed in 1899, under which the application is made, is satisfactory examination by the examining board in the
entitled "An act to amend section 1 of an act entitled "An branches now required by the rules of this court. If the
act to revise the law in relation to attorneys and right to admission exists at all, it is by virtue of the
counselors," approved March 28, 1884, in force July 1, proviso, which, it is claimed, confers substantial rights and
1874." The amendment, so far as it appears in the privileges upon the persons named therein, and establishes
enacting clause, consists in the addition to the section of rules of legislative creation for their admission to the bar.
the following: "And every application for a license who (p. 647.)
Considering the proviso, however, as an enactment, it is but the place where such physician has resided and
clearly a special legislation, prohibited by the constitution, practiced his profession cannot furnish such basis, and is
and invalid as such. If the legislature had any right to an arbitrary discrimination, making an enactment based
admit attorneys to practice in the courts and take part in upon it void (State vs. Pennyeor, 65 N.E. 113, 18 Atl.
the administration of justice, and could prescribe the 878). Here the legislature undertakes to say what shall
character of evidence which should be received by the serve as a test of fitness for the profession of the law, and
court as conclusive of the requisite learning and ability of plainly, any classification must have some reference to
persons to practice law, it could only be done by a general learning, character, or ability to engage in such practice.
law, persons or classes of persons. Const. art 4, section 2. The proviso is limited, first, to a class of persons who
The right to practice law is a privilege, and a license for began the study of law prior to November 4, 1897. This
that purpose makes the holder an officer of the court, and class is subdivided into two classes — First, those
confers upon him the right to appear for litigants, to presenting diplomas issued by any law school of this state
argue causes, and to collect fees therefor, and creates before December 31, 1899; and, second, those who
certain exemptions, such as from jury services and arrest studied law for the period of two years in a law office, or
on civil process while attending court. The law conferring part of the time in a law school and part in a law office,
such privileges must be general in its operation. No doubt who are to be admitted upon examination in the subjects
the legislature, in framing an enactment for that purpose, specified in the present rules of this court, and as to this
may classify persons so long as the law establishing classes latter subdivision there seems to be no limit of time for
in general, and has some reasonable relation to the end making application for admission. As to both classes, the
sought. There must be some difference which furnishes a conditions of the rules are dispensed with, and as between
reasonable basis for different one, having no just relation the two different conditions and limits of time are fixed.
to the subject of the legislation. Braceville Coal Co. vs. No course of study is prescribed for the law school, but a
People, 147 Ill. 66, 35 N.E. 62; Ritchie vs. People, 155 Ill. diploma granted upon the completion of any sort of
98, 40 N.E. 454; Railroad Co. vs. Ellis, 165 U.S. 150, 17 course its managers may prescribe is made all-sufficient.
Sup. Ct. 255. Can there be anything with relation to the qualifications
or fitness of persons to practice law resting upon the mere
The length of time a physician has practiced, and the skill date of November 4, 1897, which will furnish a basis of
acquired by experience, may furnish a basis for classification. Plainly not. Those who began the study of
classification (Williams vs. People 121 Ill. 48, II N.E. 881); law November 4th could qualify themselves to practice in
two years as well as those who began on the 3rd. The callings, Mr. Justice Field in the case of Dent. vs. West
classes named in the proviso need spend only two years in Virginia, 129 U.S. 114, 121, 9 S. Ct. 232, 233, 32 L.
study, while those who commenced the next day must Ed. 626, said: "It is undoubtedly the right of every citizen
spend three years, although they would complete two of the United States to follow any lawful calling, business
years before the time limit. The one who commenced on or profession he may choose, subject only to such
the 3rd. If possessed of a diploma, is to be admitted restrictions as are imposed upon all persons of like age, sex,
without examination before December 31, 1899, and and condition." This right may in many respects be
without any prescribed course of study, while as to the considered as a distinguishing feature of our republican
other the prescribed course must be pursued, and the institutions. Here all vocations are all open to every one on
diploma is utterly useless. Such classification cannot rest like conditions. All may be pursued as sources of livelihood,
upon any natural reason, or bear any just relation to the some requiring years of study and great learning for their
subject sought, and none is suggested. The proviso is for successful prosecution. The interest, or, as it is sometimes
the sole purpose of bestowing privileges upon certain termed, the "estate" acquired in them — that is, the right
defined persons. (pp. 647-648.) to continue their prosecution — is often of great value to
the possessors and cannot be arbitrarily taken from them,
In the case of Cannon above cited, State vs. Cannon, 240 N.W. any more than their real or personal property can be thus
441, where the legislature attempted by law to reinstate Cannon taken. It is fundamental under our system of government
to the practice of law, the court also held with regards to its that all similarly situated and possessing equal
aspect of being a class legislation: qualifications shall enjoy equal opportunities. Even statutes
regulating the practice of medicine, requiring medications
But the statute is invalid for another reason. If it be to establish the possession on the part of the application of
granted that the legislature has power to prescribe his proper qualifications before he may be licensed to
ultimately and definitely the qualifications upon which practice, have been challenged, and courts have seriously
courts must admit and license those applying as attorneys considered whether the exemption from such examinations
at law, that power can not be exercised in the manner of those practicing in the state at the time of the
here attempted. That power must be exercised through enactment of the law rendered such law unconstitutional
general laws which will apply to all alike and accord equal because of infringement upon this general principle.
opportunity to all. Speaking of the right of the Legislature State vs. Thomas Call, 121 N.C. 643, 28 S.E. 517; see,
to exact qualifications of those desiring to pursue chosen also, The State ex rel. Winkler vs. Rosenberg, 101 Wis.
172, 76 N.W. 345; State vs. Whitcom, 122 Wis. 110, 99 A good summary of a classification constitutionally acceptable is
N.W. 468. explained in 12 Am. Jur. 151-153 as follows:
This law singles out Mr. Cannon and assumes to confer The general rule is well settled by unanimity of the
upon him the right to practice law and to constitute him authorities that a classification to be valid must rest upon
an officer of this Court as a mere matter of legislative material differences between the person included in it and
grace or favor. It is not material that he had once those excluded and, furthermore, must be based upon
established his right to practice law and that one time he substantial distinctions. As the rule has sometimes avoided
possessed the requisite learning and other qualifications to the constitutional prohibition, must be founded upon
entitle him to that right. That fact in no matter affect the pertinent and real differences, as distinguished from
power of the Legislature to select from the great body of irrelevant and artificial ones. Therefore, any law that is
the public an individual upon whom it would confer its made applicable to one class of citizens only must be based
favors. on some substantial difference between the situation of
that class and other individuals to which it does not apply
A statute of the state of Minnesota (Laws 1929, c. 424) and must rest on some reason on which it can be
commanded the Supreme Court to admit to the practice defended. In other words, there must be such a difference
of law without examination, all who had served in the between the situation and circumstances of all the
military or naval forces of the United States during the members of the class and the situation and circumstances
World War and received a honorable discharge therefrom of all other members of the state in relation to the
and who (were disabled therein or thereby within the subjects of the discriminatory legislation as presents a just
purview of the Act of Congress approved June 7th, 1924, and natural cause for the difference made in their
known as "World War Veteran's Act, 1924 and whose liabilities and burdens and in their rights and privileges. A
disability is rated at least ten per cent thereunder at the law is not general because it operates on all within a
time of the passage of this Act." This Act was held clause unless there is a substantial reason why it is made
|unconstitutional on the ground that it clearly violated the to operate on that class only, and not generally on all. (12
quality clauses of the constitution of that state. In Am. Jur. pp. 151-153.)
re Application of George W. Humphrey, 178 Minn. 331,
227 N.W. 179. Pursuant to the law in question, those who, without a grade below
50 per cent in any subject, have obtained a general average of
69.5 per cent in the bar examinations in 1946 to 1951, 70.5 had 69 per cent or more; in 1948, 70 per cent and in 1949, 74
per cent in 1952, 71.5 per cent in 1953, and those will obtain per cent; and in 1950 to 1953, those who obtained 74 per cent,
72.5 per cent in 1954, and 73.5 per cent in 1955, will be which was considered by the Court as equivalent to 75 per cent as
permitted to take and subscribe the corresponding oath of office prescribed by the Rules, by reason of circumstances deemed to be
as members of the Bar, notwithstanding that the rules require a sufficiently justifiable. These changes in the passing averages
minimum general average of 75 per cent, which has been during those years were all that could be objected to or criticized.
invariably followed since 1950. Is there any motive of the nature Now, it is desired to undo what had been done — cancel the
indicated by the abovementioned authorities, for this license that was issued to those who did not obtain the prescribed
classification ? If there is none, and none has been given, then the 75 per cent ? Certainly not. The disputed law clearly does not
classification is fatally defective. propose to do so. Concededly, it approves what has been done by
this Tribunal. What Congress lamented is that the Court did not
It was indicated that those who failed in 1944, 1941 or the consider 69.5 per cent obtained by those candidates who failed in
years before, with the general average indicated, were not 1946 to 1952 as sufficient to qualify them to practice law. Hence,
included because the Tribunal has no record of the unsuccessful it is the lack of will or defect of judgment of the Court that is
candidates of those years. This fact does not justify the being cured, and to complete the cure of this infirmity, the
unexplained classification of unsuccessful candidates by years, from effectivity of the disputed law is being extended up to the years
1946-1951, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1955. Neither is the exclusion 1953, 1954 and 1955, increasing each year the general average
of those who failed before said years under the same conditions by one per cent, with the order that said candidates be admitted
justified. The fact that this Court has no record of examinations to the Bar. This purpose, manifest in the said law, is the best
prior to 1946 does not signify that no one concerned may prove proof that what the law attempts to amend and correct are not
by some other means his right to an equal consideration. the rules promulgated, but the will or judgment of the Court, by
means of simply taking its place. This is doing directly what the
To defend the disputed law from being declared unconstitutional Tribunal should have done during those years according to the
on account of its retroactivity, it is argued that it is curative, and judgment of Congress. In other words, the power exercised was
that in such form it is constitutional. What does Rep. Act 972 not to repeal, alter or supplement the rules, which continue in
intend to cure ? Only from 1946 to 1949 were there cases in force. What was done was to stop or suspend them. And this
which the Tribunal permitted admission to the bar of candidates power is not included in what the Constitution has granted to
who did not obtain the general average of 75 per cent: in 1946 Congress, because it falls within the power to apply the rules. This
those who obtained only 72 per cent; in the 1947 and those who
power corresponds to the judiciary, to which such duty been Summarizing, we are of the opinion and hereby declare that
confided. Republic Act No. 972 is unconstitutional and therefore, void, and
without any force nor effect for the following reasons, to wit:
Article 2 of the law in question permits partial passing of
examinations, at indefinite intervals. The grave defect of this 1. Because its declared purpose is to admit 810 candidates who
system is that it does not take into account that the laws and failed in the bar examinations of 1946-1952, and who, it admits,
jurisprudence are not stationary, and when a candidate finally are certainly inadequately prepared to practice law, as was
receives his certificate, it may happen that the existing laws and exactly found by this Court in the aforesaid years. It decrees the
jurisprudence are already different, seriously affecting in this admission to the Bar of these candidates, depriving this Tribunal
manner his usefulness. The system that the said law prescribes was of the opportunity to determine if they are at present already
used in the first bar examinations of this country, but was prepared to become members of the Bar. It obliges the Tribunal to
abandoned for this and other disadvantages. In this case, however, perform something contrary to reason and in an arbitrary
the fatal defect is that the article is not expressed in the title will manner. This is a manifest encroachment on the constitutional
have temporary effect only from 1946 to 1955, the text of responsibility of the Supreme Court.
article 2 establishes a permanent system for an indefinite time.
This is contrary to Section 21 (1), article VI of the Constitution, 2. Because it is, in effect, a judgment revoking the resolution of
which vitiates and annuls article 2 completely; and because it is this Court on the petitions of these 810 candidates, without
inseparable from article 1, it is obvious that its nullity affect the having examined their respective examination papers, and
entire law. although it is admitted that this Tribunal may reconsider said
resolution at any time for justifiable reasons, only this Court and
Laws are unconstitutional on the following grounds: first, because no other may revise and alter them. In attempting to do it
they are not within the legislative powers of Congress to enact, or directly Republic Act No. 972 violated the Constitution.
Congress has exceeded its powers; second, because they create or
establish arbitrary methods or forms that infringe constitutional 3. By the disputed law, Congress has exceeded its legislative power
principles; and third, because their purposes or effects violate the to repeal, alter and supplement the rules on admission to the Bar.
Constitution or its basic principles. As has already been seen, the Such additional or amendatory rules are, as they ought to be,
contested law suffers from these fatal defects. intended to regulate acts subsequent to its promulgation and
should tend to improve and elevate the practice of law, and this
Tribunal shall consider these rules as minimum norms towards
that end in the admission, suspension, disbarment and Upon mature deliberation by this Court, after hearing and
reinstatement of lawyers to the Bar, inasmuch as a good bar availing of the magnificent and impassioned discussion of the
assists immensely in the daily performance of judicial functions contested law by our Chief Justice at the opening and close of the
and is essential to a worthy administration of justice. It is debate among the members of the Court, and after hearing the
therefore the primary and inherent prerogative of the Supreme judicious observations of two of our beloved colleagues who since
Court to render the ultimate decision on who may be admitted the beginning have announced their decision not to take part in
and may continue in the practice of law according to existing voting, we, the eight members of the Court who subscribed to this
rules. decision have voted and resolved, and have decided for the Court,
and under the authority of the same:
4. The reason advanced for the pretended classification of
candidates, which the law makes, is contrary to facts which are of 1. That (a) the portion of article 1 of Republic Act No. 972
general knowledge and does not justify the admission to the Bar referring to the examinations of 1946 to 1952, and (b) all of
of law students inadequately prepared. The pretended article 2 of said law are unconstitutional and, therefore, void and
classification is arbitrary. It is undoubtedly a class legislation. without force and effect.
5. Article 2 of Republic Act No. 972 is not embraced in the title 2. That, for lack of unanimity in the eight Justices, that part of
of the law, contrary to what the Constitution enjoins, and being article 1 which refers to the examinations subsequent to the
inseparable from the provisions of article 1, the entire law is void. approval of the law, that is from 1953 to 1955 inclusive, is valid
and shall continue to be in force, in conformity with section 10,
6. Lacking in eight votes to declare the nullity of that part of article VII of the Constitution.
article 1 referring to the examinations of 1953 to 1955, said
part of article 1, insofar as it concerns the examinations in those Consequently, (1) all the above-mentioned petitions of the
years, shall continue in force. candidates who failed in the examinations of 1946 to 1952
inclusive are denied, and (2) all candidates who in the
examinations of 1953 obtained a general average of 71.5 per
cent or more, without having a grade below 50 per cent in any
subject, are considered as having passed, whether they have filed
RES OLU T ION petitions for admission or not. After this decision has become final,
they shall be permitted to take and subscribe the corresponding
oath of office as members of the Bar on the date or dates that the shall be given the following relative weights: Civil Law, 20
chief Justice may set. So ordered. per cent; Land Registration and Mortgages, 5 per cent;
Mercantile Law, 15 per cent; Criminal Law, 10 per cent;
Bengzon, Montemayor, Jugo, Labrador, Pablo, Padilla, and Reyes, Political Law, 10 per cent; International Law, 5 per cent;
JJ., concur. Remedial Law, 20 per cent; Legal Ethics and Practical
Exercises, 5 per cent; Social Legislation, 5 per cent;
There are the unsuccessful candidates totaling 604 directly Taxation, 5 per cent. Unsuccessful candidates shall not be
affected by this resolution. Adding 490 candidates who have not required to take another examination in any subject in
presented any petition, they reach a total of 1,094. which they have obtained a rating of 70 per cent or
higher and such rating shall be taken into account in
The Enactment of Republic Act No. 972
determining their general average in any subsequent
examinations: Provided, however, That if the candidate
As will be observed from Annex I, this Court reduced to 72 per
fails to get a general average of 70 per cent in his third
cent the passing general average in the bar examination of august
examination, he shall lose the benefit of having already
and November of 1946; 69 per cent in 1947; 70 per cent in
passed some subjects and shall be required to the
1948; 74 per cent in 1949; maintaining the prescribed 75 per
examination in all the subjects.
cent since 1950, but raising to 75 per cent those who obtained
74 per cent since 1950. This caused the introduction in 1951, in
SEC. 16. Admission and oath of successful applicants. —
the Senate of the Philippines of Bill No. 12 which was intended to
Any applicant who has obtained a general average of 70
amend Sections 5, 9, 12, 14 and 16 of Rule 127 of the Rules of
per cent in all subjects without falling below 50 per cent
Court, concerning the admission of attorneys-at-law to the
in any examination held after the 4th day of July, 1946,
practice of the profession. The amendments embrace many
or who has been otherwise found to be entitled to
interesting matters, but those referring to sections 14 and 16
admission to the bar, shall be allowed to take and
immediately concern us. The proposed amendment is as follows:
subscribe before the Supreme Court the corresponding
oath of office. (Arts. 4 and 5, 8, No. 12).
SEC. 14. Passing average. — In order that a candidate
may be deemed to have passed the examinations
With the bill was an Explanatory Note, the portion pertinent to
successfully, he must have obtained a general average of
the matter before us being:
70 per cent without falling below 50 per cent in any
subject. In determining the average, the foregoing subjects
It seems to be unfair that unsuccessful candidates at bar theories contained in those subjects and remembers only
examinations should be compelled to repeat even those those of the one or two subjects that he had last reviewed
subjects which they have previously passed. This is not the and passed. This is highly possible because there is nothing
case in any other government examination. The Rules of in the law which requires a candidate to continue taking
Court have therefore been amended in this measure to the Bar examinations every year in succession. The only
give a candidate due credit for any subject which he has condition imposed is that a candidate, on this plan, must
previously passed with a rating of 75 per cent or higher." pass the examination in no more that three installments;
but there is no limitation as to the time or number of
Senate Bill No. 12 having been approved by Congress on May 3, years intervening between each examination taken. This
1951, the President requested the comments of this Tribunal would defeat the object and the requirements of the law
before acting on the same. The comment was signed by seven and the Court in admitting persons to the practice of law.
Justices while three chose to refrain from making any and one When a person is so admitted, it is to be presumed and
took no part. With regards to the matter that interests us, the presupposed that he possesses the knowledge and
Court said: proficiency in the law and the knowledge of all law
subjects required in bar examinations, so as presently to
The next amendment is of section 14 of Rule 127. One be able to practice the legal profession and adequately
part of this amendment provides that if a bar candidate render the legal service required by prospective clients. But
obtains 70 per cent or higher in any subject, although this would not hold true of the candidates who may have
failing to pass the examination, he need not be examined obtained a passing grade on any five subjects eight years
in said subject in his next examination. This is a sort of ago, another three subjects one year later, and the last
passing the Bar Examination on the installment plan, one two subjects the present year. We believe that the present
or two or three subjects at a time. The trouble with this system of requiring a candidate to obtain a passing
proposed system is that although it makes it easier and general average with no grade in any subject below 50
more convenient for the candidate because he may in an per cent is more desirable and satisfactory. It requires one
examination prepare himself on only one or two subjects to be all around, and prepared in all required legal
so as to insure passing them, by the time that he has subjects at the time of admission to the practice of law.
passed the last required subjects, which may be several
years away from the time that he reviewed and passed xxx x xx x xx
the firs subjects, he shall have forgotten the principles and
We now come to the last amendment, that of section 16 obtained an average of 70 per cent or more but less than
of Rule 127. This amendment provides that any the general passing average fixed for that year. It is clear
application who has obtained a general average of 70 per that this question involves legal implications, and this
cent in all subjects without failing below 50 per cent in phase of the amendment if finally enacted into law might
any subject in any examination held after the 4th day of have to go thru a legal test. As one member of the Court
July, 1946, shall be allowed to take and subscribe the remarked during the discussion, when a court renders a
corresponding oath of office. In other words, Bar decision or promulgate a resolution or order on the basis
candidates who obtained not less than 70 per cent in any of and in accordance with a certain law or rule then in
examination since the year 1946 without failing below 50 force, the subsequent amendment or even repeal of said
per cent in any subject, despite their non-admission to law or rule may not affect the final decision, order, or
the Bar by the Supreme Court because they failed to resolution already promulgated, in the sense of revoking
obtain a passing general average in any of those years, will or rendering it void and of no effect.
be admitted to the Bar. This provision is not only
prospective but retroactive in its effects. Another aspect of this question to be considered is the fact
that members of the bar are officers of the courts,
We have already stated in our comment on the next including the Supreme Court. When a Bar candidate is
preceding amendment that we are not exactly in favor of admitted to the Bar, the Supreme Court impliedly
reducing the passing general average from 75 per cent to regards him as a person fit, competent and qualified to be
70 per cent to govern even in the future. As to the its officer. Conversely, when it refused and denied
validity of making such reduction retroactive, we have admission to the Bar to a candidate who in any year since
serious legal doubts. We should not lose sight of the fact 1946 may have obtained a general average of 70 per
that after every bar examinations, the Supreme Court cent but less than that required for that year in order to
passes the corresponding resolution not only admitting to pass, the Supreme Court equally and impliedly considered
the Bar those who have obtained a passing general and declared that he was not prepared, ready, competent
average grade, but also rejecting and denying the petitions and qualified to be its officer. The present amendment
for reconsideration of those who have failed. The present giving retroactivity to the reduction of the passing general
amendment would have the effect of repudiating, average runs counter to all these acts and resolutions of
reversing and revoking the Supreme Court's resolution the Supreme Court and practically and in effect says that
denying and rejecting the petitions of those who may have a candidate not accepted, and even rejected by the Court
to be its officer because he was unprepared, undeserving every bar examination the Supreme Court passes the
and unqualified, nevertheless and in spite of all, must be corresponding resolution not only admitting to the Bar
admitted and allowed by this Court to serve as its officer. those who have obtained a passing general average but
We repeat, that this is another important aspect of the also rejecting and denying the petitions for
question to be carefully and seriously considered. reconsideration of those who have failed. The provision
under consideration would have the effect of revoking the
The President vetoed the bill on June 16, 1951, stating the Supreme Court's resolution denying and rejecting the
following: petitions of those who may have failed to obtain the
passing average fixed for that year. Said provision also sets
I am fully in accord with the avowed objection of the bill, a bad precedent in that the Government would be morally
namely, to elevate the standard of the legal profession and obliged to grant a similar privilege to those who have
maintain it on a high level. This is not achieved, however, failed in the examinations for admission to other
by admitting to practice precisely a special class who have professions such as medicine, engineering, architecture and
failed in the bar examination, Moreover, the bill contains certified public accountancy.
provisions to which I find serious fundamental objections.
Consequently, the bill was returned to the Congress of the
Section 5 provides that any applicant who has obtained a Philippines, but it was not repassed by 2/3 vote of each House as
general average of 70 per cent in all subjects without prescribed by section 20, article VI of the Constitution. Instead Bill
failing below 50 per cent in any subject in any No. 371 was presented in the Senate. It reads as follows:
examination held after the 4th day of July, 1946, shall be
allowed to take and subscribed the corresponding oath of AN ACT TO FIX THE PASSING MARKS FOR BAR
office. This provision constitutes class legislation, benefiting EXAMINATIONS FROM 1946 UP TO AND INCLUDING
as it does specifically one group of persons, namely, the 1953
unsuccessful candidates in the 1946, 1947, 1948, 1949
and 1950 bar examinations. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the Philippines in Congress assembled:
The same provision undertakes to revoke or set aside final
resolutions of the Supreme Court made in accordance SECTION 1. Notwithstanding the provisions of section 14,
with the law then in force. It should be noted that after Rule 127 of the Rules of Court, any bar candidate who
obtained a general average of 70 per cent in any bar feel themselves discriminated by the Supreme Court from
examinations after July 4, 1946 up to the August 1951 1946 to 1951 when those who would otherwise have
Bar examinations; 71 per cent in the 1952 bar passed the bar examination but were arbitrarily not so
examinations; 72 per cent in the 1953 bar examinations; considered by altering its previous decisions of the passing
73 per cent in the 1954 bar examinations; 74 per cent mark. The Supreme Court has been altering the passing
in 1955 bar examinations without a candidate obtaining mark from 69 in 1947 to 74 in 1951. In order to cure
a grade below 50 per cent in any subject, shall be allowed the apparent arbitrary fixing of passing grades and to give
to take and subscribe the corresponding oath of office as satisfaction to all parties concerned, it is proposed in this
member of the Philippine Bar; Provided, however, That bill a gradual increase in the general averages for passing
75 per cent passing general average shall be restored in the bar examinations as follows; For 1946 to 1951 bar
all succeeding examinations; and Provided, finally, That examinations, 70 per cent; for 1952 bar examination, 71
for the purpose of this Act, any exact one-half or more of per cent; for 1953 bar examination, 72 per cent; for
a fraction, shall be considered as one and included as part 1954 bar examination, 73 percent; and for 1955 bar
of the next whole number. examination, 74 per cent. Thus in 1956 the passing mark
will be restored with the condition that the candidate
SEC. 2. Any bar candidate who obtained a grade of 75 shall not obtain in any subject a grade of below 50 per
per cent in any subject in any bar examination after July cent. The reason for relaxing the standard 75 per cent
4, 1945 shall be deemed to have passed in such subject or passing grade, is the tremendous handicap which students
subjects and such grade or grades shall be included in during the years immediately after the Japanese
computing the passing general average that said candidate occupation has to overcome such as the insufficiency of
may obtain in any subsequent examinations that he may reading materials and the inadequacy of the preparation
take. of students who took up law soon after the liberation. It is
believed that by 1956 the preparation of our students as
SEC. 3. This bill shall take effect upon its approval. well as the available reading materials will be under
normal conditions, if not improved from those years
With the following explanatory note:
preceding the last world war.
This is a revised Bar bill to meet the objections of the

In this will we eliminated altogether the idea of having our
President and to afford another opportunity to those who
Supreme Court assumed the supervision as well as the
administration of the study of law which was objected to classification" as against class legislation, is very expressed
by the President in the Bar Bill of 1951. in the following American Jurisprudence:
The President in vetoing the Bar Bill last year stated A valid classification must include all who naturally belong
among his objections that the bill would admit to the to the class, all who possess a common disability, attribute,
practice of law "a special class who failed in the bar or classification, and there must be a "natural" and
examination". He considered the bill a class legislation. This substantial differentiation between those included in the
contention, however, is not, in good conscience, correct class and those it leaves untouched. When a class is
because Congress is merely supplementing what the accepted by the Court as "natural" it cannot be again split
Supreme Court have already established as precedent by and then have the dissevered factions of the original unit
making as low as 69 per cent the passing mark of those designated with different rules established for each.
who took the Bar examination in 1947. These bar (Fountain Park Co. vs. Rensier, 199 Ind. 95, N. E. 465
candidates for who this bill should be enacted, considered (1926).
themselves as having passed the bar examination on the
strength of the established precedent of our Supreme Another case penned by Justice Cardozo: "Time with its
Court and were fully aware of the insurmountable tides brings new conditions which must be cared for by
difficulties and handicaps which they were unavoidably new laws. Sometimes the new conditions affect the
placed. We believe that such precedent cannot or could members of a class. If so, the correcting statute must
not have been altered, constitutionally, by the Supreme apply to all alike. Sometimes the condition affect only a
Court, without giving due consideration to the rights few. If so, the correcting statute may be as narrow as the
already accrued or vested in the bar candidates who took mischief. The constitution does not prohibit special laws
the examination when the precedent was not yet altered, inflexibly and always. It permits them when there are
or in effect, was still enforced and without being special evils with which the general laws are incompetent
inconsistent with the principles of their previous to cope. The special public purpose will sustain the special
resolutions. form. . . . The problem in the last analysis is one of
legislative policy, with a wide margin of discretion
If this bill would be enacted, it shall be considered as a conceded to the lawmakers. Only in the case of plain abuse
simple curative act or corrective statute which Congress will there be revision by the court. (In Williams vs. Mayor
has the power to enact. The requirement of a "valid
and City Council of Baltimore, 286 U. S. 36, 77 L. Ed. The President allowed the period within which the bill should be
1015, 53 Sup. Ct. 431). (1932) signed to pass without vetoing it, by virtue of which it became a
law on June 21, 1953 (Sec. 20, Art. VI, Constitution) numbered
This bill has all the earmarks of a corrective statute which 972 (many times erroneously cited as No. 974).
always retroacts to the extent of the care of correction
only as in this case from 1946 when the Supreme Court It may be mentioned in passing that 1953 was an election year,
first deviated from the rule of 75 per cent in the Rules of and that both the President and the author of the Bill were
Court. candidates for re-election, together, however, they lost in the
polls.
For the foregoing purposes the approval of this bill is
earnestly recommended.
(Sgd.) PABLO ANGELES DAVID

Separate Opinions
Senator
LABRADOR, J., concurring and dissenting:

Without much debate, the revised bill was passed by Congress as
above transcribed. The President again asked the comments of this The right to admit members to the Bar is, and has always been,
Court, which endorsed the following: the exclusive privilege of this Court, because lawyers are members
of the Court and only this Court should be allowed to determine
Respectfully returned to the Honorable, the Acting
admission thereto in the interest of the principle of the separation
Executive Secretary, Manila, with the information that,
of powers. The power to admit is judicial in the sense that
with respect to Senate Bill No. 371, the members of the
discretion is used in is exercise. This power should be distinguished
Court are taking the same views they expressed on Senate
from the power to promulgate rules which regulate admission. It
Bill No. 12 passed by Congress in May, 1951, contained
is only this power (to promulgate amendments to the rules) that
in the first indorsement of the undersigned dated June 5,
is given in the Constitution to the Congress, not the exercise of the
1951, to the Assistant Executive Secretary.
discretion to admit or not to admit. Thus the rules on the holding
of examination, the qualifications of applicants, the passing grades,
(Sgd.) RICARDO PARAS etc. are within the scope of the legislative power. But the power to
determine when a candidate has made or has not made the successfully, he must have obtained a general average of 75 per
required grade is judicial, and lies completely with this Court. cent in all subjects, without falling below 50 per cent in any
subject.' This passing mark has always been adhered to, with
I hold that the act under consideration is an exercise of the certain exception presently to be specified.
judicial function, and lies beyond the scope of the congressional
prerogative of amending the rules. To say that candidates who With reference to the bar examinations given in August, 1946,
obtain a general average of 72 per cent in 1953, 73 per cent in the original list of successful candidates included only those who
1954, and 74 per cent in 1955 should be considered as having obtained a general average of 75 per cent or more. Upon motion
passed the examination, is to mean exercise of the privilege and for reconsideration, however, 12 candidates with general averages
discretion judged in this Court. It is a mandate to the tribunal to ranging from 72 to 73 per cent were raised to 75 per cent by
pass candidates for different years with grades lower than the resolution of December 18, 1946. In the examinations of
passing mark. No reasoning is necessary to show that it is an November, 1946 the list first released containing the names of
arrogation of the Court's judicial authority and discretion. It is successful candidates covered only those who obtained a general
furthermore objectionable as discriminatory. Why should those average of 75 per cent or more; but, upon motion for
taking the examinations in 1953, 1954 and 1955 be allowed to reconsideration, 19 candidates with a general average of 72 per
have the privilege of a lower passing grade, while those taking cent were raised to 75 per cent by resolution of March 31, 1947.
earlier or later are not? This would indicate that in the original list of successful candidates
those having a general average of 73 per cent or more but below
I vote that the act in toto be declared unconstitutional, because it 75 per cent were included. After the original list of 1947
is not embraced within the rule-making power of Congress, successful bar candidates had been released, and on motion for
because it is an undue interference with the power of this Court reconsideration, all candidates with a general average of 69 per
to admit members thereof, and because it is discriminatory. cent were allowed to pass by resolution of July 15, 1948. With
respect to the bar examinations held in August, 1948, in addition
to the original list of successful bar candidates, all those who
obtained a general average of 70 per cent or more, irrespective of
the grades in any one subject and irrespective of whether they
PARAS, C.J., dissenting:
filed petitions for reconsideration, were allowed to pass by
resolution of April 28, 1949. Thus, for the year 1947 the Court
Under section 145 of Rule of Court No. 127, in order that a bar
in effect made 69 per cent as the passing average, and for the
candidate "may be deemed to have passed his examinations
year 1948, 70 per cent; and this amounted, without being which, speaking for the people, chose to repass the bill first vetoed
noticed perhaps, to an amendment of section 14 of Rule 127. by him.
Numerous flunkers in the bar examinations held subsequent to Under Republic Act No. 972, any bar candidates who obtained a
1948, whose general averages mostly ranged from 69 to 73 per general average of 70 per cent in any examinations after July 4,
cent, filed motions for reconsideration invoking the precedents set 1946 up to August 1951; 71 per cent in the 1952 bar
by this Court in 1947 and 1948, but said motions were examinations; 72 per cent in 1953 bar examinations; 73 per
uniformly denied. cent in the 1954 bar examinations; and 74 per cent in the 1955
bar examinations, without obtaining a grade below 50 per cent in
In the year 1951, the Congress, after public hearings where law any subject, shall be allowed to pass. Said Act also provides that
deans and professors, practising attorneys, presidents of bar any bar candidate who obtained a grade of 75 per cent in any
associations, and law graduates appeared and argued subject in any examination after July 4, 1946, shall be deemed to
lengthily pro or con, approved a bill providing, among others, for have passed in such subject or subjects and such grade or grades
the reduction of the passing general average from 75 per cent to shall be included in computing the passing in any subsequent
70 per cent, retroactive to any bar examination held after July 4, examinations.
1946. This bill was vetoed by the President mainly in view of an
unfavorable comment of Justices Padilla, Tuason, Montemayor, Numerous candidates who had taken the bar examinations
Reyes, Bautista and Jugo. In 1953, the Congress passed another previous to the approval of Republic Act No. 972 and failed to
bill similar to the previous bill vetoed by the President, with the obtain the necessary passing average, filed with this Court mass or
important difference that in the later bill the provisions in the separate petitions, praying that they be admitted to the practice
first bill regarding (1) the supervision and regulation by the of law under and by virtue of said Act, upon the allegation that
Supreme Court of the study of law, (2) the inclusion of Social they have obtained the general averages prescribed therein. In
Legislation and Taxation as new bar subjects, (3) the publication virtue of the resolution of July 6, 1953, this Court held on July
of the bar examiners before the holding of the examination, and 11, 1953 a hearing on said petitions, and members of the bar,
(4) the equal division among the examiners of all the admission especially authorized representatives of bar associations, were
fees paid by bar applicants, were eliminated. This second bill was invited to argue or submit memoranda as amici curiae, the reason
allowed to become a law, Republic Act No. 972, by the President alleged for said hearing being that some doubt had "been
by merely not signing it within the required period; and in doing expressed on the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 972 in so
so the President gave due respect to the will of the Congress
far as it affects past bar examinations and the matter" involved "a The opponents of Republic Act No. 972 argue that this Act, in so
new question of public interest." far as it covers bar examinations held prior to its approval, is
unconstitutional, because it sets aside the final resolutions of the
All discussions in support of the proposition that the power to Supreme Court refusing to admit to the practice of law the
regulate the admission to the practice of law is inherently judicial, various petitioners, thereby resulting in a legislative encroachment
are immaterial, because the subject is now governed by the upon the judicial power. In my opinion this view is erroneous. In
Constitution which in Article VII, section 13, provides as follows: the first place, resolutions on the rejection of bar candidates do
not have the finality of decisions in justiciable cases where the
The Supreme Court shall have the power to promulgate Rules of Court expressly fix certain periods after which they
rules concerning pleading, practice, and procedure in all become executory and unalterable. Resolutions on bar matters,
courts, and the admission to the practice of law. Said specially on motions for reconsiderations filed by flunkers in any
rules shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade and give year, are subject to revision by this Court at any time,
shall not diminish, increase or modify substantive right. regardless of the period within which the motion were filed, and
The existing laws on pleading, practice, and procedure are this has been the practice heretofore. The obvious reason is that
hereby repealed as statutes and are declared Rules of bar examinations and admission to the practice of law may be
Court, subject to the power of the Supreme Court to alter deemed as a judicial function only because said matters happen to
and modify the same. The Congress shall have the power be entrusted, under the Constitution and our Rules of Court, to
to repeal, alter, or supplement the rules concerning the Supreme Court. There is no judicial function involved, in the
pleading, practice, and procedure, and the admission to subject and constitutional sense of the word, because bar
the practice of law in the Philippines. examinations and the admission to the practice of law, unlike
justiciable cases, do not affect opposing litigants. It is no more
Under this constitutional provision, while the Supreme Court has
than the function of other examining boards. In the second place,
the power to promulgate rules concerning the admission to the
retroactive laws are not prohibited by the Constitution, except
practice of law, the Congress has the power to repeal, alter or
only when they would be ex post facto, would impair obligations
supplement said rules. Little intelligence is necessary to see that
and contracts or vested rights or would deny due process and
the power of the Supreme Court and the Congress to regulate the
equal protection of the law. Republic Act No. 972 certainly is not
admission to the practice of law is concurrent.
an ex post facto enactment, does not impair any obligation and
contract or vested rights, and denies to no one the right to due
process and equal protection of the law. On the other hand, it is a
mere curative statute intended to correct certain obvious passing bar candidates who had obtained the general average
inequalities arising from the adoption by this Court of different prescribed by section 14 of Rule 127. A law would be
passing general averages in certain years. objectionable and unconstitutional if, for instance, it would
provide that those who have been admitted to the bar after July
Neither can it be said that bar candidates prior to July 4, 1946, 4, 1946, whose general average is below 80 per cent, will not be
are being discriminated against, because we no longer have any allowed to practice law, because said statute would then destroy a
record of those who might have failed before the war, apart from right already acquired under previous resolutions of this Court,
the circumstance that 75 per cent had always been the passing namely, the bar admission of those whose general averages were
mark during said period. It may also be that there are no pre- from 75 to 79 per cent.
war bar candidates similarly situated as those benefited by
Republic Act No. 972. At any rate, in the matter of classification, Without fear of contradiction, I think the Supreme Court, in the
the reasonableness must be determined by the legislative body. It exercise of its rule-making power conferred by the Constitution,
is proper to recall that the Congress held public hearings, and we may pass a resolution amending section 14 of Rule 127 by
can fairly suppose that the classification adopted in the Act reducing the passing average to 70 per cent, effective several
reflects good legislative judgment derived from the facts and years before the date of the resolution. Indeed, when this Court on
circumstances then brought out. July 15, 1948 allowed to pass all candidates who obtained a
general average of 69 per cent or more and on April 28, 1949
As regards the alleged interference in or encroachment upon the those who obtained a general average of 70 per cent or more,
judgment of this Court by the Legislative Department, it is irrespective of whether they filed petitions for reconsideration, it
sufficient to state that, if there is any interference at all, it is one in effect amended section 14 of Rule 127 retroactively, because
expressly sanctioned by the Constitution. Besides, interference in during the examinations held in August 1947 and August 1948,
judicial adjudication prohibited by the Constitution is essentially said section (fixing the general average at 75 per cent) was
aimed at protecting rights of litigants that have already been supposed to be in force. In stands to reason, if we are to admit
vested or acquired in virtue of decisions of courts, not merely for that the Supreme Court and the Congress have concurrent power
the empty purpose of creating appearances of separation and to regulate the admission to the practice of law, that the latter
equality among the three branches of the Government. Republic may validly pass a retroactive rule fixing the passing general
Act No. 972 has not produced a case involving two parties and average.
decided by the Court in favor of one and against the other.
Needless to say, the statute will not affect the previous resolutions
Republic Act No. 972 cannot be assailed on the ground that it is only hope that the right men are put in the right places in our
unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious, since this Court had already Government.
adopted as passing averages 69 per cent for the 1947 bar
examinations and 70 per cent for the 1948 examinations. Wherefore, I hold that Republic Act No. 972 is constitutional and
Anyway, we should not inquire into the wisdom of the law, since should therefore be given effect in its entirety.
this is a matter that is addressed to the judgment of the
legislators. This Court in many instances had doubted the
propriety of legislative enactments, and yet it has consistently
refrained from nullifying them solely on that ground.
Separate Opinions
To say that the admission of the bar candidates benefited under

LABRADOR, J., concurring and dissenting:
Republic Act 972 is against public interest, is to assume that the
matter of whether said Act is beneficial or harmful to the general
The right to admit members to the Bar is, and has always been,
public was not considered by the Congress. As already stated, the
the exclusive privilege of this Court, because lawyers are members
Congress held public hearings, and we are bound to assume that
of the Court and only this Court should be allowed to determine
the legislators, loyal, as do the members of this Court, to their
admission thereto in the interest of the principle of the separation
oath of office, had taken all the circumstances into account before
of powers. The power to admit is judicial in the sense that
passing the Act. On the question of public interest I may observe
discretion is used in is exercise. This power should be distinguished
that the Congress, representing the people who elected them,
from the power to promulgate rules which regulate admission. It
should be more qualified to make an appraisal. I am inclined to
is only this power (to promulgate amendments to the rules) that
accept Republic Act No. 972 as an expression of the will of the
is given in the Constitution to the Congress, not the exercise of the
people through their duly elected representatives.
discretion to admit or not to admit. Thus the rules on the holding
of examination, the qualifications of applicants, the passing grades,
I would, however, not go to the extent of admitting that the
etc. are within the scope of the legislative power. But the power to
Congress, in the exercise of its concurrent power to repeal, alter,
determine when a candidate has made or has not made the
or supplement the Rules of Court regarding the admission to the
required grade is judicial, and lies completely with this Court.
practice of law, may act in an arbitrary or capricious manner, in
the same way that this Court may not do so. We are thus left in
I hold that the act under consideration is an exercise of the
the situation, incidental to a democracy, where we can and should
judicial function, and lies beyond the scope of the congressional
prerogative of amending the rules. To say that candidates who With reference to the bar examinations given in August, 1946,
obtain a general average of 72 per cent in 1953, 73 per cent in the original list of successful candidates included only those who
1954, and 74 per cent in 1955 should be considered as having obtained a general average of 75 per cent or more. Upon motion
passed the examination, is to mean exercise of the privilege and for reconsideration, however, 12 candidates with general averages
discretion judged in this Court. It is a mandate to the tribunal to ranging from 72 to 73 per cent were raised to 75 per cent by
pass candidates for different years with grades lower than the resolution of December 18, 1946. In the examinations of
passing mark. No reasoning is necessary to show that it is an November, 1946 the list first released containing the names of
arrogation of the Court's judicial authority and discretion. It is successful candidates covered only those who obtained a general
furthermore objectionable as discriminatory. Why should those average of 75 per cent or more; but, upon motion for
taking the examinations in 1953, 1954 and 1955 be allowed to reconsideration, 19 candidates with a general average of 72 per
have the privilege of a lower passing grade, while those taking cent were raised to 75 per cent by resolution of March 31, 1947.
earlier or later are not? This would indicate that in the original list of successful candidates
those having a general average of 73 per cent or more but below
I vote that the act in toto be declared unconstitutional, because it 75 per cent were included. After the original list of 1947
is not embraced within the rule-making power of Congress, successful bar candidates had been released, and on motion for
because it is an undue interference with the power of this Court reconsideration, all candidates with a general average of 69 per
to admit members thereof, and because it is discriminatory. cent were allowed to pass by resolution of July 15, 1948. With
respect to the bar examinations held in August, 1948, in addition
to the original list of successful bar candidates, all those who
obtained a general average of 70 per cent or more, irrespective of
the grades in any one subject and irrespective of whether they
PARAS, C.J., dissenting:
filed petitions for reconsideration, were allowed to pass by
resolution of April 28, 1949. Thus, for the year 1947 the Court
Under section 145 of Rule of Court No. 127, in order that a bar
in effect made 69 per cent as the passing average, and for the
candidate "may be deemed to have passed his examinations
year 1948, 70 per cent; and this amounted, without being
successfully, he must have obtained a general average of 75 per
noticed perhaps, to an amendment of section 14 of Rule 127.
cent in all subjects, without falling below 50 per cent in any
subject.' This passing mark has always been adhered to, with
Numerous flunkers in the bar examinations held subsequent to
certain exception presently to be specified.
1948, whose general averages mostly ranged from 69 to 73 per
cent, filed motions for reconsideration invoking the precedents set 1946 up to August 1951; 71 per cent in the 1952 bar
by this Court in 1947 and 1948, but said motions were examinations; 72 per cent in 1953 bar examinations; 73 per
uniformly denied. cent in the 1954 bar examinations; and 74 per cent in the 1955
bar examinations, without obtaining a grade below 50 per cent in
In the year 1951, the Congress, after public hearings where law any subject, shall be allowed to pass. Said Act also provides that
deans and professors, practising attorneys, presidents of bar any bar candidate who obtained a grade of 75 per cent in any
associations, and law graduates appeared and argued subject in any examination after July 4, 1946, shall be deemed to
lengthily pro or con, approved a bill providing, among others, for have passed in such subject or subjects and such grade or grades
the reduction of the passing general average from 75 per cent to shall be included in computing the passing in any subsequent
70 per cent, retroactive to any bar examination held after July 4, examinations.
1946. This bill was vetoed by the President mainly in view of an
unfavorable comment of Justices Padilla, Tuason, Montemayor, Numerous candidates who had taken the bar examinations
Reyes, Bautista and Jugo. In 1953, the Congress passed another previous to the approval of Republic Act No. 972 and failed to
bill similar to the previous bill vetoed by the President, with the obtain the necessary passing average, filed with this Court mass or
important difference that in the later bill the provisions in the separate petitions, praying that they be admitted to the practice
first bill regarding (1) the supervision and regulation by the of law under and by virtue of said Act, upon the allegation that
Supreme Court of the study of law, (2) the inclusion of Social they have obtained the general averages prescribed therein. In
Legislation and Taxation as new bar subjects, (3) the publication virtue of the resolution of July 6, 1953, this Court held on July
of the bar examiners before the holding of the examination, and 11, 1953 a hearing on said petitions, and members of the bar,
(4) the equal division among the examiners of all the admission especially authorized representatives of bar associations, were
fees paid by bar applicants, were eliminated. This second bill was invited to argue or submit memoranda as amici curiae, the reason
allowed to become a law, Republic Act No. 972, by the President alleged for said hearing being that some doubt had "been
by merely not signing it within the required period; and in doing expressed on the constitutionality of Republic Act No. 972 in so
so the President gave due respect to the will of the Congress far as it affects past bar examinations and the matter" involved "a
which, speaking for the people, chose to repass the bill first vetoed new question of public interest."
by him.
All discussions in support of the proposition that the power to
Under Republic Act No. 972, any bar candidates who obtained a regulate the admission to the practice of law is inherently judicial,
general average of 70 per cent in any examinations after July 4,
are immaterial, because the subject is now governed by the the first place, resolutions on the rejection of bar candidates do
Constitution which in Article VII, section 13, provides as follows: not have the finality of decisions in justiciable cases where the
Rules of Court expressly fix certain periods after which they
The Supreme Court shall have the power to promulgate become executory and unalterable. Resolutions on bar matters,
rules concerning pleading, practice, and procedure in all specially on motions for reconsiderations filed by flunkers in any
courts, and the admission to the practice of law. Said give year, are subject to revision by this Court at any time,
rules shall be uniform for all courts of the same grade and regardless of the period within which the motion were filed, and
shall not diminish, increase or modify substantive right. this has been the practice heretofore. The obvious reason is that
The existing laws on pleading, practice, and procedure are bar examinations and admission to the practice of law may be
hereby repealed as statutes and are declared Rules of deemed as a judicial function only because said matters happen to
Court, subject to the power of the Supreme Court to alter be entrusted, under the Constitution and our Rules of Court, to
and modify the same. The Congress shall have the power the Supreme Court. There is no judicial function involved, in the
to repeal, alter, or supplement the rules concerning subject and constitutional sense of the word, because bar
pleading, practice, and procedure, and the admission to examinations and the admission to the practice of law, unlike
the practice of law in the Philippines. justiciable cases, do not affect opposing litigants. It is no more
than the function of other examining boards. In the second place,
Under this constitutional provision, while the Supreme Court has retroactive laws are not prohibited by the Constitution, except
the power to promulgate rules concerning the admission to the only when they would be ex post facto, would impair obligations
practice of law, the Congress has the power to repeal, alter or and contracts or vested rights or would deny due process and
supplement said rules. Little intelligence is necessary to see that equal protection of the law. Republic Act No. 972 certainly is not
the power of the Supreme Court and the Congress to regulate the an ex post facto enactment, does not impair any obligation and
admission to the practice of law is concurrent. contract or vested rights, and denies to no one the right to due
process and equal protection of the law. On the other hand, it is a
The opponents of Republic Act No. 972 argue that this Act, in so
mere curative statute intended to correct certain obvious
far as it covers bar examinations held prior to its approval, is
inequalities arising from the adoption by this Court of different
unconstitutional, because it sets aside the final resolutions of the
passing general averages in certain years.
Supreme Court refusing to admit to the practice of law the
various petitioners, thereby resulting in a legislative encroachment Neither can it be said that bar candidates prior to July 4, 1946,
upon the judicial power. In my opinion this view is erroneous. In are being discriminated against, because we no longer have any
record of those who might have failed before the war, apart from right already acquired under previous resolutions of this Court,
the circumstance that 75 per cent had always been the passing namely, the bar admission of those whose general averages were
mark during said period. It may also be that there are no pre- from 75 to 79 per cent.
war bar candidates similarly situated as those benefited by
Republic Act No. 972. At any rate, in the matter of classification, Without fear of contradiction, I think the Supreme Court, in the
the reasonableness must be determined by the legislative body. It exercise of its rule-making power conferred by the Constitution,
is proper to recall that the Congress held public hearings, and we may pass a resolution amending section 14 of Rule 127 by
can fairly suppose that the classification adopted in the Act reducing the passing average to 70 per cent, effective several
reflects good legislative judgment derived from the facts and years before the date of the resolution. Indeed, when this Court on
circumstances then brought out. July 15, 1948 allowed to pass all candidates who obtained a
general average of 69 per cent or more and on April 28, 1949
As regards the alleged interference in or encroachment upon the those who obtained a general average of 70 per cent or more,
judgment of this Court by the Legislative Department, it is irrespective of whether they filed petitions for reconsideration, it
sufficient to state that, if there is any interference at all, it is one in effect amended section 14 of Rule 127 retroactively, because
expressly sanctioned by the Constitution. Besides, interference in during the examinations held in August 1947 and August 1948,
judicial adjudication prohibited by the Constitution is essentially said section (fixing the general average at 75 per cent) was
aimed at protecting rights of litigants that have already been supposed to be in force. In stands to reason, if we are to admit
vested or acquired in virtue of decisions of courts, not merely for that the Supreme Court and the Congress have concurrent power
the empty purpose of creating appearances of separation and to regulate the admission to the practice of law, that the latter
equality among the three branches of the Government. Republic may validly pass a retroactive rule fixing the passing general
Act No. 972 has not produced a case involving two parties and average.
decided by the Court in favor of one and against the other.
Needless to say, the statute will not affect the previous resolutions Republic Act No. 972 cannot be assailed on the ground that it is
passing bar candidates who had obtained the general average unreasonable, arbitrary or capricious, since this Court had already
prescribed by section 14 of Rule 127. A law would be adopted as passing averages 69 per cent for the 1947 bar
objectionable and unconstitutional if, for instance, it would examinations and 70 per cent for the 1948 examinations.
provide that those who have been admitted to the bar after July Anyway, we should not inquire into the wisdom of the law, since
4, 1946, whose general average is below 80 per cent, will not be this is a matter that is addressed to the judgment of the
allowed to practice law, because said statute would then destroy a legislators. This Court in many instances had doubted the
propriety of legislative enactments, and yet it has consistently [G.R. No. 100113. September 3, 1991.]
refrained from nullifying them solely on that ground.
RENATO L. CAYETANO, Petitioner, v. CHRISTIAN MONSOD, HON.
To say that the admission of the bar candidates benefited under JOVITO R. SALONGA, COMMISSION ON APPOINTMENTS, and
Republic Act 972 is against public interest, is to assume that the HON. GUILLERMO CARAGUE in his capacity as Secretary of
matter of whether said Act is beneficial or harmful to the general Budget and Management, Respondents.
public was not considered by the Congress. As already stated, the
Congress held public hearings, and we are bound to assume that Renato L. Cayetano for and in his own behalf.
the legislators, loyal, as do the members of this Court, to their
oath of office, had taken all the circumstances into account before Sabina E. Acut, Jr. and Mylene Garcia-Albano co-counsel for
passing the Act. On the question of public interest I may observe petitioner.
that the Congress, representing the people who elected them,
should be more qualified to make an appraisal. I am inclined to
accept Republic Act No. 972 as an expression of the will of the DECI S IO N
people through their duly elected representatives.
I would, however, not go to the extent of admitting that the PARAS, J.:
Congress, in the exercise of its concurrent power to repeal, alter,
or supplement the Rules of Court regarding the admission to the
practice of law, may act in an arbitrary or capricious manner, in We are faced here with a controversy of far-reaching proportions
the same way that this Court may not do so. We are thus left in While ostensibly only legal issues are involved, the Court’s decision
the situation, incidental to a democracy, where we can and should in this case would indubitably have a profound effect on the
only hope that the right men are put in the right places in our political aspect of our national existence.
Government.
The 1987 Constitution provides in Section 1(1), Article IX-

Wherefore, I hold that Republic Act No. 972 is constitutional and
C:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
should therefore be given effect in its entirety.
"There shall be a Commission on Elections composed of a

Chairman and six Commissioners who shall be natural-born
citizens of the Philippines and, at the time of their appointment, or advising and assisting in the conduct of litigation, but embraces
at least thirty-five years of age, holders of a college degree, and the preparation of pleadings, and other papers incident to actions
must not have been candidates for any elective position in the and special proceedings, conveyancing, the preparation of legal
immediately preceding elections. However, a majority thereof, instruments of all kinds, and the giving of all legal advice to
including the Chairman, shall be members of the Philippine Bar clients. It embraces all advice to clients and all actions taken for
who have been engaged in the practice of law for at least ten them in matters connected with the law. An attorney engages in
years." (Emphasis supplied) the practice of law by maintaining an office where he is held out
to be an attorney, using a letterhead describing himself as an
The aforequoted provision is patterned after Section 1(1), Article attorney, counseling clients in legal matters, negotiating with
XII-C of the 1973 Constitution which similarly opposing counsel about pending litigation, and fixing and
provides:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph collecting fees for services rendered by his associate." (Black’s Law
Dictionary, 3rd ed.).
"There shall be an independent Commission on Elections composed
of a Chairman and eight Commissioners who shall be natural-born The practice of law is not limited to the conduct of cases in court.
citizens of the Philippines and, at the time of their appointment, (Land Title Abstract and Trust Co. v. Dworken, 129 Ohio St. 23,
at least thirty-five years of age and holders of a college degree. 193 N.E. 650) A person is also considered to be in the practice of
However, a majority thereof, including the Chairman, shall be law when he:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
members of the Philippine Bar who have been engaged in the
practice of law for al least ten years." (Emphasis supplied) ". . . for valuable consideration engages in the business of advising
person, firms, associations or corporations as to their rights under
Regrettably, however, there seems to be no jurisprudence as to the law, or appears in a representative capacity as an advocate in
what constitutes practice of law as a legal qualification to an proceedings pending or prospective, before any court,
appointive office.chanrobles virtual lawlibrary commissioner, referee, board, body, committee, or commission
constituted by law or authorized to settle controversies and there,
Black defines "practice of law" as:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph in such representative capacity performs any act or acts for the
purpose of obtaining or defending the rights of their clients under
"The rendition of services requiring the knowledge and the the law. Otherwise stated, one who, in a representative capacity,
application of legal principles and technique to serve the interest engages in the business of advising clients as to their rights under
of another with his consent. It is not limited to appearing in court, the law, or while so engaged performs any act or acts either in
court or outside of court for that purpose, is engaged in the extensive field of business and trust relations and other affairs.
practice of law." (State ex. rel. Mckittrick v. C.S. Dudley and Co., Although these transactions may have no direct connection with
102 S.W. 2d 895, 340 Mo. 852). court proceedings, they are always subject to become involved in
litigation. They require in many aspects a high degree of legal skill,
This Court in the case of Philippine Lawyers Association v. Agrava, a wide experience with men and affairs, and great capacity for
(105 Phil. 173, 176-177) stated:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph adaptation to difficult and complex situations. These customary
functions of an attorney or counselor at law bear an intimate
"The practice of law is not limited to the conduct of cases or relation to the administration of justice by the courts. No valid
litigation in court; it embraces the preparation of pleadings and distinction, so far as concerns the question set forth in the order,
other papers incident to actions and special proceedings, the can be drawn between that part of the work of the lawyer which
management of such actions and proceedings on behalf of clients involves appearance in court and that part which involves advice
before judges and courts, and in addition, conveying. In general, and drafting of instruments in his office. It is of importance to the
all advice to clients, and all action taken for them in matters welfare of the public that these manifold customary functions be
connected with the law incorporation services, assessment and performed by persons possessed of adequate learning and skill, of
condemnation services contemplating an appearance before a sound moral character, and acting at all times under the heavy
judicial body, the foreclosure of a mortgage, enforcement of a trust obligations to clients which rests upon all attorneys." (Moran,
creditor’s claim in bankruptcy and insolvency proceedings, and Comments on the Rules of Court, Vol. 3 [1953 ed.], p. 665-666,
conducting proceedings in attachment, and in matters of estate citing In re Opinion of the Justices [Mass.], 194 N.E. 313, quoted
and guardianship have been held to constitute law practice, as do in Rhode Is. Bar Assoc. v. Automobile Service Assoc. [R.I.] 179 A.
the preparation and drafting of legal instruments, where the 139, 144). (Emphasis ours).
work done involves the determination by the trained legal mind of
the legal effect of facts and conditions." (5 Am. Jr. p. 262, 263). The University of the Philippines Law Center in conducting
(Emphasis supplied) orientation briefing for new lawyers (1974-1975) listed the
dimensions of the practice of law in even broader terms as
"Practice of law under modern conditions consists in no small part advocacy, counseling and public service.
of work performed outside of any court and having no immediate
relation to proceedings in court. It embraces conveyancing, the "One may be a practicing attorney in following any line of
giving of legal advice on a large variety of subjects, and the employment in the profession. If what he does exacts knowledge of
preparation and execution of legal instruments covering an the law and is of a kind usual for attorneys engaging in the active
practice of their profession, and he follows some one or more lines Philippine Bar’ — I am quoting from the provision — ‘who have
of employment such as this he is a practicing attorney at law been engaged in the practice of law for at least ten years.’"
within the meaning of the statute." (Barr D. Cardell, 155 NW
312). "To avoid any misunderstanding which would result in excluding
members of the Bar who are now employed in the COA or
Practice of law means any activity, in or out of court, which Commission on Audit, we would like to make the clarification that
requires the application of law, legal procedure, knowledge, this provision on qualifications regarding members of the Bar does
training and experience. "To engage in the practice of law is to not necessarily refer or involve actual practice of law outside the
perform those acts which are characteristics of the profession. COA. We have to interpret this to mean that as long as the
Generally, to practice law is to give notice or render any kind of lawyers who are employed in the COA are using their legal
service, which device or service requires the use in any degree of knowledge or legal talent in their respective work within COA,
legal knowledge or skill." (111 ALR 23). then they are qualified to be considered for appointment as
members or commissioners, even chairman, of the Commission on
The following records of the 1986 Constitutional Commission Audit.
show that it has adopted a liberal interpretation of the term
"practice of law." chanrobles virtual lawlibrary "This has been discussed by the Committee on Constitutional
Commissions and Agencies and we deem it important to take it
"MR. FOZ. Before we suspend the session, may I make a up on the floor so that this interpretation may be made available
manifestation which I forgot to do during our review of the whenever this provision on the qualifications as regards members
provisions on the Commission on Audit. May I be allowed to make of the Philippine Bar engaging in the practice of law for at least
a very brief statement? ten years is taken up.
"THE PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Jamir). "MR. OPLE. Will Commissioner Foz yield to just one question.
The Commissioner will please proceed. "MR. FOZ. Yes, Mr. Presiding Officer.
"MR. FOZ. This has to do with the qualifications of the members of "MR. OPLE. Is he, in effect, saying that service in the COA by a
the Commission on Audit. Among others, the qualifications lawyer is equivalent to the requirement of a law practice that is
provided for by Section 1 is that ‘They must be Members of the set forth in the Article on the Commission on Audit?"
Illinois), 1986], p. 15]).

MR. FOZ. We must consider the fact that the work of COA
although it is auditing, will necessarily involve legal work; it will At this point, it might be helpful to define private practice. The
involve legal work. And, therefore, lawyers who are employed in term, as commonly understood, means "an individual or
COA now would have the necessary qualifications in accordance organization engaged in the business of delivering legal services."
with the provision on qualifications under our provisions on the (Ibid.). Lawyers who practice alone are often called "sole
Commission on Audit. And, therefore, the answer is yes. practitioners." Groups of lawyers are called "firms." The firm is
usually a partnership and members of the firm are the partners.
"MR. OPLE. Yes. So that the construction given to this is that this Some firms may be organized as professional corporations and the
is equivalent to the practice of law. members called shareholders. In either case, the members of the
firm are the experienced attorneys. In most firms, there are
"MR. FOZ. Yes, Mr. Presiding Officer. younger or more inexperienced salaried attorneys called
"associates." (Ibid.).
"MR. OPLE. Thank you."cralaw virtua1aw library
The test that defines law practice by looking to traditional areas
. . . (Emphasis supplied) of law practice is essentially tautologies, unhelpful defining the
practice of law as that which lawyers do. (Charles W. Wolfram,
Section 1(1), Article IX-D of the 1987 Constitution, provides, Modern Legal Ethics [West Publishing Co.: Minnesota, 1986], p.
among others, that the Chairman and two Commissioners of the 593). The practice of law is defined as "the performance of any
Commission on Audit (COA) should either be certified public acts . . . in or out of court, commonly understood to be the
accountants with not less than ten years of auditing practice, or practice of law. (State Bar Ass’n v. Connecticut Bank & Trust Co.,
members of the Philippine Bar who have been engaged in the 145 Conn. 222, 140 A. 2d 863, 870 [1958] [quoting Grievance
practice of law for at least ten years. (Emphasis supplied) Comm. v. Payne, 128 Conn. 325, 22 A. 2d 623, 626 [1941]).
Because lawyers perform almost every function known in the
Corollary to this is the term "private practitioner" and which is in commercial and governmental realm, such a definition would
many ways synonymous with the word "lawyer." Today, although obviously be too global to be workable. (Wolfram, op. cit.)
many lawyers do not engage in private practice, it is still a fact
that the majority of lawyers are private practitioners. (Gary The appearance of a lawyer in litigation in behalf of a client is at
Munneke, Opportunities in Law Careers [VGM Career Horizons: once the most publicly familiar role for lawyers as well as an
uncommon role for the average lawyer. Most lawyers spend little and other interested parties. Even the increasing numbers of
time in courtrooms, and a large percentage spend their entire lawyers in specialized practice will usually perform at least some
practice without litigating a case. (Ibid., p. 593). Nonetheless, legal services outside their specialty. And even within a narrow
many lawyers do continue to litigate and the litigating lawyer’s specialty such as tax practice, a lawyer will shift from one legal
role colors much of both the public image and the self-perception task or role such as advice-giving to an importantly different one
of the legal profession. (Ibid.).chanrobles.com:cralaw:red such as representing a client before an administrative agency.
(Wolfram, supra, p. 687).
In this regard thus, the dominance of litigation in the public mind
reflects history, not reality. (Ibid.). Why is this so? Recall that the By no means will most of this work involve litigation, unless the
late Alexander Sycip, a corporate lawyer, once articulated on the lawyer is one of the relatively rare types — a litigator who
importance of a lawyer as a business counselor in this wise: "Even specializes in this work to the exclusion of much else. Instead, the
today, there are still uninformed laymen whose concept of an work will require the lawyer to have mastered the full range of
attorney is one who principally tries cases before the courts. The traditional lawyer skills of client counselling, advice-giving,
members of the bench and bar and the informed laymen such as document drafting, and negotiation. And increasingly lawyers find
businessmen, know that in most developed societies today, that the new skills of evaluation and mediation are both effective
substantially more legal work is transacted in law offices than in for many clients and a source of employment. (Ibid.).
the courtrooms. General practitioners of law who do both
litigation and non-litigation work also know that in most cases Most lawyers will engage in non-litigation legal work or in
they find themselves spending more time doing what [is] loosely litigation work that is constrained in very important ways, at
describe[d] as business counseling than in trying cases. The least theoretically, so as to remove from it some of the salient
business lawyer has been described as the planner, the features of adversarial litigation. Of these special roles, the most
diagnostician and the trial lawyer, the surgeon. I[t] need not [be] prominent is that of prosecutor. In some lawyers’ work the
stress[ed] that in law, as in medicine, surgery should be avoided constraints are imposed both by the nature of the client and by
where internal medicine can be effective." (Business Star, the way in which the lawyer is organized into a social unit to
"Corporate Finance Law," Jan. 11, 1989, p. 4). perform that work. The most common of these roles are those of
corporate practice and government legal service. (Ibid.).
In the course of a working day the average general practitioner
will engage in a number of legal tasks, each involving different In several issues of the Business Star, a business daily, herein below
legal doctrines, legal skills, legal processes, legal institutions, clients, quoted are emerging trends in corporate law practice, a
departure from the traditional concept of practice of law. of action in terms of futuristic effects flowing therefrom.
We are experiencing today what truly may be called a Although members of the legal profession are regularly engaged in
revolutionary transformation in corporate law practice. Lawyers predicting and projecting the trends of the law, the subject of
and other professional groups, in particular those members corporate finance law has received relatively little organized and
participating in various legal-policy decisional contexts, are formalized attention in the philosophy of advancing corporate
finding that understanding the major emerging trends in legal education. Nonetheless, a cross-disciplinary approach to legal
corporation law is indispensable to intelligent decision-making. research has become a vital necessity.
Constructive adjustment to major corporate problems of today Certainly, the general orientation for productive contributions by
requires an accurate understanding of the nature and implications those trained primarily in the law can be improved through an
of the corporate law research function accompanied by an early introduction to multi-variable decisional contexts and the
accelerating rate of information accumulation. The recognition of various approaches for handling such problems. Lawyers,
the need for such improved corporate legal policy formulation, particularly with either a master’s or doctorate degree in business
particularly "model-making" and contingency planning," has administration or management, functioning at the legal policy
impressed upon us the inadequacy of traditional procedures in level of decision-making now have some appreciation for the
many decisional contexts. concepts and analytical techniques of other professions which are
currently engaged in similar types of complex decision-making.
In a complex legal problem the mass of information to be
processed, the sorting and weighing of significant conditional Truth to tell, many situations involving corporate finance
factors, the appraisal of major trends, the necessity of estimating problems would require the services of an astute attorney because
the consequences of given courses of action, and the need for fast of the complex legal implications that arise from each and every
decision and response in situations of acute danger have prompted necessary step in securing and maintaining the business issue
the use of sophisticated concepts of information flow theory, raised. (Business Star, "Corporate Finance Law," Jan. 11, 1989, p.
operational analysis, automatic data processing, and electronic 4).
computing equipment. Understandably, an improved decisional
structure must stress the predictive component of the policy- In our litigation-prone country, a corporate lawyer is assiduously
making process, wherein a model", of the decisional context or a referred to as the "abogado de campanilla." He is the "big-time"
segment thereof is developed to test projected alternative courses lawyer, earning big money and with a clientele composed of the
tycoons and magnates of business and industry. first hand. In short, a corporate lawyer is sometimes offered this
fortune to be more closely involved in the running of the business.
Despite the growing number of corporate lawyers, many people
could not explain what it is that a corporate lawyer does. For one, Moreover, a corporate lawyer’s services may sometimes be
the number of attorneys employed by a single corporation will engaged by a multinational corporation (MNC). Some large MNCs
vary with the size and type of the corporation. Many smaller and provide one of the few opportunities available to corporate
some large corporations farm out all their legal problems to lawyers to enter the international law field. After all,
private law firms. Many others have in-house counsel only for international law is practiced in a relatively small number of
certain matters. Other corporation have a staff large enough to companies and law firms. Because working in a foreign country is
handle most legal problems in-house. perceived by many as glamorous, this is an area coveted by
corporate lawyers. In most cases, however, the overseas jobs go to
A corporate lawyer, for all intents and purposes, is a lawyer who experienced attorneys while the younger attorneys do their
handles the legal affairs of a corporation. His areas of concern or "international practice" in law libraries. (Business Star, "Corporate
jurisdiction may include, inter alia: corporate legal research, tax Law Practice," May 25, 1990, p. 4).
laws research, acting out as corporate secretary (in board
meetings), appearances in both courts and other adjudicatory This brings us to the inevitable, i.e., the role of the lawyer in the
agencies (including the Securities and Exchange Commission), and realm of finance. To borrow the lines of Harvard-educated lawyer
in other capacities which require an ability to deal with the Bruce Wassertein, to wit: "A bad lawyer is one who fails to spot
law.chanrobles virtualawlibrary chanrobles.com:chanrobles.com.ph problems, a good lawyer is one who perceives the difficulties, and
the excellent lawyer is one who surmounts them." (Business Star,
At any rate, a corporate lawyer may assume responsibilities other "Corporate Finance Law," Jan. 11, 1989, p. 4).
than the legal affairs of the business of the corporation he is
representing. These include such matters as determining policy Today, the study of corporate law practice direly needs a "shot in
and becoming involved in management. (Emphasis supplied.) the arm," so to speak. No longer are we talking of the traditional
law teaching method of confining the subject study to the
In a big company, for example, one may have a feeling of being Corporation Code and the Securities Code but an incursion as well
isolated from the action, or not understanding how one’s work into the intertwining modern management issues.
actually fits into the work of the organization. This can be
frustrating to someone who needs to see the results of his work Such corporate legal management issues deal primarily with three
(3) types of learning: (1) acquisition of insights into current institutions and laws are perceived as barriers. These trends are
advances which are of particular significance to the corporate complicated as corporations organize for global operations.
counsel; (2) an introduction to usable disciplinary skills applicable (Emphasis supplied).
to a corporate counsel’s management responsibilities; and (3) a
devotion to the organization and management of the legal The practising lawyer of today is familiar as well with
function itself. governmental policies toward the promotion and management of
technology. New collaborative arrangements for promoting specific
These three subject areas may be thought of as intersecting circles, technologies or competitiveness more generally require approaches
with a shared area linking them. Otherwise known as "intersecting from industry that differ from older, more adversarial
managerial jurisprudence," it forms a unifying theme for the relationships and traditional forms of seeking to influence
corporate counsel’s total learning. governmental policies. And there are lessons to be learned from
other countries. In Europe, Esprit, Eureka and Race are examples
Some current advances in behavior and policy sciences affect the of collaborative efforts between governmental and business Japan’s
counsel’s role. For that matter, the corporate lawyer reviews the MITI is world famous. (Emphasis supplied)
globalization process, including the resulting strategic repositioning
that the firms he provides counsel for are required to make, and Following the concept of boundary spanning, the office of the
the need to think about a corporation’s strategy at multiple levels. Corporate Counsel comprises a distinct group within the
The salience of the nation-state is being reduced as firms deal managerial structure of all kinds of organizations. Effectiveness of
both with global multinational entities and simultaneously with both long-term and temporary groups within organizations has
sub-national governmental units. Firms increasingly collaborate been found to be related to indentifiable factors in the group-
not only with public entities but with each other — often with context interaction such as the groups actively revising their
those who are competitors in other arenas. knowledge of the environment, coordinating work with outsiders,
promoting team achievements within the organization. In general,
Also, the nature of the lawyer’s participation in decision-making such external activities are better predictors of team performance
within the corporation is rapidly changing. The modern corporate than internal group processes.
lawyer has gained a new role as a stockholder — in some cases
participating in the organization and operations of governance In a crisis situation, the legal managerial capabilities of the
through participation on boards and other decision-making roles. corporate lawyer vis-a-vis the managerial mettle of corporations
Often these new patterns develop alongside existing legal are challenged. Current research is seeking ways both to anticipate
effective managerial procedures and to understand relationships of

financial liability and insurance considerations. (Emphasis supplied) [Be this as it may,] the organization and management of the legal
function, concern three pointed areas of consideration,
Regarding the skills to apply by the corporate counsel, three thus:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
factors are apropos:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
Preventive Lawyering. Planning by lawyers requires special skills
First System Dynamics. The field of systems dynamics has been that comprise a major part of the general counsel’s responsibilities.
found an effective tool for new managerial thinking regarding They differ from those of remedial law. Preventive lawyering is
both planning and pressing immediate problems. An concerned with minimizing the risks of legal trouble and
understanding of the role of feedback loops, inventory levels, and maximizing legal rights for such legal entities at that time when
rates of flow, enable users to simulate all sorts of systematic transactional or similar facts are being considered and
problems — physical, economic, managerial, social, and made.chanrobles lawlibrary : rednad
psychological. New programming techniques now make the
systems dynamics principles more accessible to managers — Managerial Jurisprudence. This is the framework within which are
including corporate counsels. (Emphasis supplied). undertaken those activities of the firm to which legal consequences
attach. It needs to be directly supportive of this nation’s evolving
Second Decision Analysis. This enables users to make better economic and organizational fabric as firms change to stay
decisions involving complexity and uncertainty. In the context of a competitive in a global, interdependent environment. The practice
law department, it can be used to appraise the settlement value and theory of "law" is not adequate today to facilitate the
of litigation, aid in negotiation settlement, and minimize the cost relationships needed in trying to make a global economy work.
and risk involved in managing a portfolio of cases. (Emphasis
supplied) Organization and Functioning of the Corporate Counsel’s Office.
The general counsel has emerged in the last decade as one of the
Third Modeling for Negotiation Management. Computer-based most vibrant subsets of the legal profession. The corporate counsel
models can be used directly by parties and mediators in all kinds hear responsibility for key aspects of the firm’s strategic issues,
of negotiations. All integrated set of such tools provide coherent including structuring its global operations, managing improved
and effective negotiation support, including hands-on on relationships with an increasingly diversified body of employees,
instruction in these techniques. A simulation case of an managing expanded liability exposure, creating new and varied
international joint venture may be used to illustrate the point. interactions with public decision-makers, coping internally with
more complex make or by decisions. On June 5, 1991, the Commission on Appointments confirmed
the nomination of Monsod as Chairman of the COMELEC. On June
This whole exercise drives home the thesis that knowing corporate 18, 1991, he took his oath of office. On the same day, he
law is not enough to make one a good general corporate counsel assumed office as Chairman of the COMELEC.
nor to give him a full sense of how the legal system shapes
corporate activities. And even if the corporate lawyer’s aim is not Challenging the validity of the confirmation by the Commission on
the understand all of the law’s effects on corporate activities, he Appointments of Monsod’s nomination, petitioner as a citizen and
must, at the very least, also gain a working knowledge of the taxpayer, filed the instant petition for Certiorari and Prohibition
management issues if only to be able to grasp not only the basic praying that said confirmation and the consequent appointment
legal "constitution" or make-up of the modern corporation. of Monsod as Chairman of the Commission on Elections be
"Business Star, The Corporate Counsel," April 10, 1991, p. 4). declared null and void.
The challenge for lawyers (both of the bar and the bench) is to Atty. Christian Monsod is a member of the Philippine Bar, having
have more than a passing knowledge of financial law affecting passed the bar examinations of 1960 with a grade of 86.55%. He
each aspect of their work. Yet, many would admit to ignorance of has been a dues paying member of the Integrated Bar of the
vast tracts of the financial law territory. What transpires next is a Philippines since its inception in 1972-73. He has also been
dilemma of professional security: Will the lawyer admit ignorance paying his professional license fees as lawyer for more than ten
and risk opprobrium?; or will he feign understanding and risk years. (p. 124, Rollo).
exposure? (Business Star, "Corporate Finance law," Jar. 11, 1989,
p. 4).chanrobles law library : red After graduating from the College of Law (U.P.) and having
hurdled the bar, Atty. Monsod worked in the law office of his
Respondent Christian Monsod was nominated by President father. During his stint in the World Bank Group (1963-1970),
Corazon C. Aquino to the position of Chairman of the COMELEC Monsod worked as an operations officer for about two years in
in a letter received by the Secretariat of the Commission on Costa Rica and Panama, which involved getting acquainted with
Appointments on April 25, 1991. Petitioner opposed the the laws of member-countries, negotiating loans and coordinating
nomination because allegedly Monsod does not possess the required legal, economic, and project work of the Bank. Upon returning to
qualification of having been engaged in the practice of law for at the Philippines in 1970, he worked with the Meralco Group,
least ten years. served as chief executive officer of an investment bank and
subsequently of a business conglomerate, and since 1986, has
rendered services to various companies as a legal and economic legal counsel), the finance manager, and an operations officer
consultant or chief executive officer. As former Secretary-General (such as an official involved in negotiating the contracts) who
(1986) and National Chairman (1987) of NAMFREL. Monsod’s comprise the members of the team. (Guillermo V. Soliven, "Loan
work involved being knowledgeable in election law. He appeared Negotiating Strategies for Developing Country Borrowers," Staff
for NAMFREL in its accreditation hearings before the Comelec. In Paper No. 2, Central Bank of the Philippines, Manila, 1982, p.
the field of advocacy, Monsod, in his personal capacity and as 11). (Emphasis supplied)
former Co-Chairman of the Bishops Businessmen’s Conference for
Human Development, has worked with the under privileged After a fashion, the loan agreement is like a country’s Constitution;
sectors, such as the farmer and urban poor groups, in initiating, it lays down the law as far as the loan transaction is concerned.
lobbying for and engaging in affirmative action for the agrarian Thus, the meat of any Loan Agreement can be compartmentalized
reform law and lately the urban land reform bill. Monsod also into five (5) fundamental parts: (1) business terms; (2) borrower’s
made use of his legal knowledge as a member of the Davide representation; (3) conditions of closing; (4) covenants; and (5)
Commission, a quasi-judicial body, which conducted numerous events of default. (Ibid., p. 13)
hearings (1990) and as a member of the Constitutional
Commission (1986-1987), and Chairman of its Committee on In the same vein, lawyers play an important role in any debt
Accountability of Public Officers, for which he was cited by the restructuring program. For aside from performing the tasks of
President of the Commission, Justice Cecilia Muñoz-Palma for legislative drafting and legal advising, they score national
"innumerable amendments to reconcile government functions with development policies as key factors in maintaining their countries’
individual freedoms and public accountability and the party-list sovereignty. (Condensed from the work paper, entitled "Wanted:
system for the House of Representative." (pp. 128-129 Rollo) Development Lawyers for Developing Nations," submitted by L.
(Emphasis supplied) Michael Hager, regional legal adviser of the United States Agency
for International Development, during the Session on Law for the
Just a word about the work of a negotiating team of which Atty. Development of Nations at the Abidjan World Conference in Ivory
Monsod used to be a member. Coast, sponsored by the World Peace Through Law Center on
August 26-31, 1973). (Emphasis supplied).
In a loan agreement, for instance, a negotiating panel acts as a
team, and which is adequately constituted to meet the various Loan concessions and compromises, perhaps even more so than
contingencies that arise during a negotiation. Besides top officials purely re negotiation policies, demand expertise in the law of
of the Borrower concerned, there are the legal officer (such as the contracts, in legislation and agreement drafting and in re
negotiation. Necessarily, a sovereign lawyer may work with an "practice of law", particularly the modern concept of law practice,
international business specialist or an economist in the and taking into consideration the liberal construction intended by
formulation of a model loan agreement. Debt restructuring the framers of the Constitution, Atty. Monsod s past work
contract agreements contain such a mixture of technical language experiences as a lawyer-economist, a lawyer-manager, a lawyer-
that they should be carefully drafted and signed only with the entrepreneur of industry, a lawyer-negotiator of contracts, and a
advise of competent counsel in conjunction with the guidance of lawyer-legislator of both the rich and the poor — verily more
adequate technical support personnel. (See International Law than satisfy the constitutional requirement — that he has been
Aspects of the Philippine External Debts, an unpublished engaged in the practice of law for at least ten years.
dissertation, U.S.T. Graduate School of Law, 1987, p. 321).
(Emphasis supplied). Besides in the leading case of Luego v. Civil Service Commission,
143 SCRA 327, the Court said:chanrobles.com : virtual law
A critical aspect of sovereign debt restructuring/contract library
construction is the set of terms and conditions which determines
the contractual remedies for a failure to perform one or more "Appointment is an essentially discretionary power and must be
elements of the contract. A good agreement must not only define performed by the officer in which it is vested according to his best
the responsibilities of both parties, but must also state the lights, the only condition being that the appointee should possess
recourse open to either party when the other fails to discharge an the qualifications required by law. If he does, then the
obligation. For a complete debt restructuring represents a appointment cannot be faulted on the ground that there are
devotion to that principle which in the ultimate analysis is sine others better qualified who should have been preferred. This is a
qua non for foreign loan agreements — an adherence to the rule political question involving considerations of wisdom which only
of law in domestic and international affairs of whose kind U.S. the appointing authority can decide." (Emphasis supplied).
Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. once said: ‘They
carry no banners, they beat no drums; but where they are, men No less emphatic was the Court in the case of Central Bank v.
learn that bustle and bush are not the equal of quiet genius and Civil Service Commission, 171 SCRA 744) where it
serene mastery.’ (See Ricardo J. Romulo, "The Role of Lawyers in stated:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
Foreign Investments," Integrated Bar of the Philippine Journal,
Vol. 15, Nos. 3 and 4, Third and Fourth Quarters, 1977, p. 265). "It is well-settled that when the appointee is qualified, as in this
case, and all the other legal requirements are satisfied, the
Interpreted in the light of the various definitions of the term Commission has no alternative but to attest to the appointment
in accordance with the Civil Service Law. The Commission has no without re appointment. Appointment to any vacancy shall be
authority to revoke an appointment on the ground that another only for the unexpired term of the predecessor. In no case shall
person is more qualified for a particular position. It also has no any Member be appointed or designated in a temporary or acting
authority to direct the appointment of a substitute of its choice. capacity."cralaw virtua1aw library
To do so would be an encroachment on the discretion vested upon
the appointing authority. An appointment is essentially within the Anent Justice Teodoro Padilla’s separate opinion, suffice it to say
discretionary power of whomsoever it is vested, subject to the only that his definition of the practice of law is the traditional or
condition that the appointee should possess the qualifications stereotyped notion of law practice, as distinguished from the
required by law." (Emphasis supplied). modern concept of the practice of law, which modern connotation
is exactly what was intended by the eminent framers of the 1987
The appointing process in a regular appointment as in the case at Constitution. Moreover, Justice Padilla’s definition would require
bar, consists of four (4) stages: (1) nomination; (2) confirmation generally a habitual law practice, perhaps practiced two or three
by the Commission on Appointments; (3) issuance of a commission times a week and would outlaw say, law practice once or twice a
(in the Philippines, upon submission by the Commission on year for ten consecutive years. Clearly, this is far from the
Appointments of its certificate of confirmation, the President constitutional intent.
issues the permanent appointment; and (4) acceptance e.g., oath-
taking, posting of bond, etc. . . . (Lacson v. Romero, No. L-3081, Upon the other hand, the separate opinion of Justice Isagani Cruz
October 14, 1949; Gonzales, Law on Public Officers, p. 200) states that in my written opinion, I made use of a definition of
law practice which really means nothing because the definition
The power of the Commission on Appointments to give its consent says that law practice." . . is what people ordinarily mean by the
to the nomination of Monsod as Chairman of the Commission on practice of law." True I cited the definition but only by way of
Elections is mandated by Section 1(2) Sub-Article C, Article IX of sarcasm as evident from my statement that the definition of law
the Constitution which provides:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph practice by "traditional areas of law practice is essentially
tautologous" or defining a phrase by means of the phrase itself
"The Chairman and the Commissioners shall be appointed by the that is being defined.
President with the consent of the Commission on Appointments
for a term of seven years without re appointment. Of those first Justice Cruz goes on to say in substance that since the law covers
appointed, three Members shall hold office for seven years, two almost all situations, most individuals, in making use of the law,
Members for five years, and the last Members for three years, or in advising others on what the law means, are actually
practicing law. In that sense, perhaps, but we should not lose sight
of the fact that Mr. Monsod is a lawyer, a member of the Additionally, consider the following:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
Philippine Bar, who has been practicing law for over ten years.
This is different from the acts of persons practicing law, without (1) If the Commission on Appointments rejects a nominee by the
first becoming lawyers. President, may the Supreme Court reverse the Commission, and
thus in effect confirm the appointment? Clearly, the answer is in
Justice Cruz also says that the Supreme Court can even disqualify the negative.
an elected President of the Philippines, say, on the ground that he
lacks one or more qualifications. This matter, I greatly doubt. For (2) In the same vein, may the Court reject the nominee, whom
one thing, how can an action or petition be brought against the the Commission has confirmed? The answer is likewise clear.
President? And even assuming that he is indeed disqualified, how
can the action be entertained since he is the incumbent President? (3) If the United States Senate (which is the confirming body in
the U.S. Congress) decides to confirm a Presidential nominee, it
We now proceed:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library would be incredible that the U.S. Supreme Court would still
reverse the U.S. Senate.
The Commission on the basis of evidence submitted during the
public hearings on Monsod’s confirmation, implicitly determined Finally, one significant legal maxim is:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
that he possessed the necessary qualifications as required by law.
The judgment rendered by the Commission in the exercise of such "We must interpret not by the letter that killeth, but by the spirit
an acknowledged power is beyond judicial interference except only that giveth life."cralaw virtua1aw library
upon a clear showing of a grave abuse of discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdiction. (Art. VIII, Sec. 1 Constitution). Thus, Take this hypothetical case of Samson and Delilah. Once, the
only where such grave abuse of discretion is clearly shown shall procurator of Judea asked Delilah (who was Samson’s beloved) for
the Court interfere with the Commission’s judgment. In the help in capturing Samson. Delilah agreed on condition that —
instant case, there is no occasion for the exercise of the Court’s
corrective power, since no abuse, much less a grave abuse of "No blade shall touch his skin;
discretion, that would amount to lack or excess of jurisdiction and
would warrant the issuance of the writs prayed, for has been No blood shall flow from his veins."cralaw virtua1aw library
clearly shown.chanrobles lawlibrary : rednad
When Samson (his long hair cut by Delilah) was captured, the I concur with the decision of the majority written by Mr. Justice
procurator placed an iron rod burning white-hot two or three Paras, albeit only in the result; it does not appear to me that
inches away from in front of Samson’s eyes. This blinded the man. there has been an adequate showing that the challenged
Upon hearing of what had happened to her beloved, Delilah was determination by the Commission on Appointments — that the
beside herself with anger, and fuming with righteous appointment of respondent Monsod as Chairman of the
fury, Accused the procurator of reneging on his word. The Commission on Elections should, on the basis of his stated
procurator calmly replied: "Did any blade touch his skin? Did any qualifications and after due assessment thereof, be confirmed —
blood flow from his veins?" The procurator was clearly relying on was attended by error so gross as to amount to grave abuse of
the letter, not the spirit of the agreement. discretion and consequently merits nullification by this Court in
accordance with the second paragraph of Section 1, Article VIII of
In view of the foregoing, this petition is hereby DISMISSED. SO the Constitution. I therefore vote to DENY the petition.
ORDERED.
PADILLA, J., dissenting:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
Fernan, C.J., Griño-Aquino and Medialdea, JJ., concur.
The records of this case will show that when the Court first
Melencio-Herrera, J., concurs in the result. deliberated on the Petition at bar, I voted not only to require the
respondents to comment on the Petition, but I was the sole vote
Feliciano, J., I certify that he voted to dismiss the petition. for the issuance of a temporary restraining order to enjoin
(Fernan, C.J.). respondent Monsod from assuming the position of COMELEC
Chairman, while the Court deliberated on his constitutional
Sarmiento, J., is on leave. qualification for the office. My purpose in voting for a TRO was to
prevent the inconvenience and even embarrassment to all parties
Regalado and Davide, Jr., JJ., took no part. concerned were the Court to finally decide for respondent
Monsod’s disqualification. Moreover, a reading of the Petition then
Separate Opinions in relation to established jurisprudence already showed prima
facie that respondent Monsod did not possess the needed
qualification, that is, he had not engaged in the practice of law for
NARVASA, J., concurring:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library at least ten (10) years prior to his appointment as COMELEC
Chairman.
exercise or pursue an employment or profession actively,

After considering carefully respondent Monsod’s comment, I am habitually, repeatedly or customarily.
even more convinced that the constitutional requirement of"
practice of low for at least ten (10) years" has not been met. Therefore, a doctor of medicine who is employed and is habitually
performing the tasks of a nursing aide, cannot be said to be in the
The procedural barriers interposed by respondents deserve scant "practice of medicine." A certified public accountant who works as
consideration because, ultimately, the core issue to be resolved in a clerk, cannot be said to practice his profession as an accountant.
this petition is the proper construal of the constitutional provision In the same way, a lawyer who is employed as a business executive
requiring a majority of the membership of COMELEC, including or a corporate manager, other than as head or attorney of a
the Chairman thereof to "have been engaged in the practice of law Legal Department of a corporation or a governmental agency,
for at least ten (10) years." (Art IX(C), Section 1(1), 1987 cannot be said to be in the practice of law.
Constitution). Questions involving the construction of
constitutional provisions are best left to judicial resolution. As As aptly held by this Court in the case of People v. Villanueva: 2
declared in Angara v. Electoral Commission, (63 Phil. 139) "upon
the judicial department is thrown the solemn and inescapable "Practice is more than an isolated appearance for it consists in
obligation of interpreting the Constitution and defining frequent or customary actions, a succession of acts of the same
constitutional boundaries."cralaw virtua1aw library kind. In other words, it is frequent habitual exercise (State v.
Cotner, 127, p. 1, 87 Kan. 864, 42 LRA, M S. 768). Practice of
The Constitution has imposed clear and specific standards for a law to fall within the prohibition of statute has been interpreted
COMELEC Chairman. Among these are that he must have been as customarily or habitually holding one’s self out to the public as
"engaged in the practice of law for at least ten (10) years." It is a lawyer and demanding payment for such services (State v.
the bounded duty of this Court to ensure that such standard is Bryan, 4 S.E. 522, 98 N.C. 644, 647.) . . ." (Emphasis supplied).
met and complied with.
It is worth mentioning that the respondent Commission on
What constitutes practice of law? As commonly understood, Appointments in a Memorandum it prepared, enumerated several
"practice" refers to the actual performance or application of factors determinative of whether a particular activity constitutes
knowledge as distinguished from mere possession of knowledge; it "practice of law." It states:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
connotes an active, habitual, repeated or customary action. 1 To
"practice" law, or any profession for that matter, means, to "1. Habituality. The term ‘practice of law’ implies customarily or
habitually holding one’s self out to the public as a lawyer (People v. law. (Elwood Fitchette Et. Al., v. Arthur C. Taylor, 94A-L.R. 356-
Villanueva, 14 SCRA 109 citing State v. Boyen, 4 S.E. 522, 98 359).
N.C. 644) such as when one sends a circular announcing the
establishment of a law office for the general practice of law (U.S. v. 3. Application of law, legal principle, practice, or procedure which
Ney Bosque, 8 Phil. 146), or when one takes the oath of office as calls for legal knowledge, training and experience is within the
a lawyer before a notary public, and files a manifestation with the term `practice of law’. (Martin supra).
Supreme Court informing it of his intention to practice law in all
courts in the country (People v. De Luna, 102 Phil. 968). 4. Attorney-client relationship. Engaging in the practice of law
presupposes the existence of lawyer-client relationship. Hence,
Practice is more than an isolated appearance for it consists in where a lawyer undertakes an activity which requires knowledge
frequent or customary action, a succession of acts of the same of law but involves no attorney-client relationship, such as
kind. In other words, it is a habitual exercise (People v. Villanueva, teaching law or writing law books or articles, he cannot be said to
14 SCRA 109 citing State v. Cotner, 127, p. 1, 87 Kan, 864). be engaged in the practice of his profession or a lawyer (Agpalo,
Legal Ethics, 1989 ed., p. 30)." 3
2. Compensation. Practice of law implies that one must have
presented himself to be in the active and continued practice of the The above-enumerated factors would, I believe, be useful aids in
legal profession and that his professional services are available to determining whether or not respondent Monsod meets the
the public for compensation, as a service of his livelihood or in constitutional qualification of practice of law for at least ten (10)
consideration of his said services. (People v. Villanueva, supra). years at the time of his appointment as COMELEC Chairman.
Hence, charging for services such as preparation of documents
involving the use of legal knowledge and skill is within the term The following relevant questions may be asked:chanrob1es virtual
‘practice of law’ (Ernani Paño, Bar Reviewer in Legal and Judicial 1aw library
Ethics, 1988 ed., p. 8 citing People v. People’s Stockyards State
Bank, 176 N.B. 901) and, one who renders an opinion as to the 1. Did respondent Monsod perform any of the tasks which are
proper interpretation of a statute, and receives pay for it, is to peculiar to the practice of law?
that extent, practicing law (Martin, supra, p. 806 citing
Mendelaun v. Gilbert and Barket Mfg. Co., 290 N.Y.S. 462) If 2. Did respondent perform such tasks customarily or habitually?
compensation is expected, `all advice to clients and all action
taken for them in matters connected with the law; are practicing 3. Assuming that he performed any of such tasks habitually, did
he do so HABITUALLY FOR AT LEAST TEN (10) YEARS prior to

his appointment as COMELEC Chairman? CRUZ, J., dissenting:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
Given the employment or job history of respondent Monsod as I am sincerely impressed by the ponencia of my brother Paras but
appears from the records, I am persuaded that if ever he did find I must dissent just the same. There are certain points on
perform any of the tasks which constitute the practice of law, he which I must differ with him while of course respecting his
did not do so HABITUALLY for at least ten (10) years prior to his viewpoint.
appointment as COMELEC Chairman.
To begin with, I do not think we are inhibited from examining the
While it may be granted that he performed tasks and activities qualifications of the respondent simply because his nomination has
which could be latitudinarianly considered activities peculiar to been confirmed by the Commission on Appointments. In my view,
the practice of law, like the drafting of legal documents and the this is not a political question that we are barred from resolving.
rendering of legal opinion or advice, such were isolated Determination of the appointee’s credentials is made on the basis
transactions or activities which do not qualify his past endeavors of the established facts, not the discretion of that body. Even if it
as "practice of law." To become engaged in the practice of law, were, the exercise of that discretion would still be subject to our
there must be a continuity, or a succession of acts. As observed by review.chanrobles virtual lawlibrary
the Solicitor General in People v. Villanueva: 4
In Luego, which is cited in the ponencia, what was involved was
"Essentially, the word private practice of law implies that one the discretion of the appointing authority to choose between two
must have presented himself to be in the active and continued claimants to the same office who both possessed the required
practice of the legal profession and that his professional services qualifications. It was that kind of discretion that we said could not
are available to the public for a compensation, as a source of his be reviewed.
livelihood or in consideration of his said services."cralaw virtua1aw
library If a person elected by no less than the sovereign people may be
ousted by this Court for lack of the required qualifications, I see no
ACCORDINGLY, my vote is to GRANT the petition and to declare reason why we cannot disqualify an appointee simply because he
respondent Monsod as not qualified for the position of COMELEC has passed the Commission on Appointments.
Chairman for not having engaged in the practice of law for at
least ten (10) years prior to his appointment to such position. Even the President of the Philippines may be declared ineligible by
this Court in an appropriate proceeding notwithstanding that he involve his knowledge and application of the laws regulating such
has been found acceptable by no less than the enfranchised transactions. If he operates a public utility vehicle as his main
citizenry. The reason is that what we would be examining is not source of livelihood, he would still be deemed engaged in the
the wisdom of his election but whether or not he was qualified to practice of law because he must obey the Public Service Act and
be elected in the first place. the rules and regulations of the Energy Regulatory Board.
Coming now to the qualifications of the private respondent, I fear The ponencia quotes an American decision defining the practice of
that the ponencia may have been too sweeping in its definition of law as the "performance of any acts . . . in or out of court,
the phrase "practice of law" as to render the qualification commonly understood to be the practice of law," which tells us
practically toothless. From the numerous activities accepted as absolutely nothing. The decision goes on to say that "because
embraced in the term, I have the uncomfortable feeling that one lawyers perform almost every function known in the commercial
does not even have to be a lawyer to be engaged in the practice of and governmental realm, such a definition would obviously be too
law as long as his activities involve the application of some law, global to be workable."cralaw virtua1aw library
however peripherally. The stock broker and the insurance adjuster
and the realtor could come under the definition as they deal with The effect of the definition given in the ponencia is to consider
or give advice on matters that are likely "to become involved in virtually every lawyer to be engaged in the practice of law even if
litigation."cralaw virtua1aw library he does not earn his living, or at least part of it, as a lawyer. It is
enough that his activities are incidentally (even if only remotely)
The lawyer is considered engaged in the practice of law even if his connected with some law, ordinance, or regulation. The possible
main occupation is another business and he interprets and applies exception is the lawyer whose income is derived from teaching
some law only as an incident of such business. That covers every ballroom dancing or escorting wrinkled ladies with pubescent
company organized under the Corporation Code and regulated by pretensions.
the SEC under P.D. 902-A. Considering the ramifications of the
modern society, there is hardly any activity that is not affected by The respondent’s credentials are impressive, to be sure, but they
some law or government regulation the businessman must know do not persuade me that he has been engaged in the practice of
about and observe. In fact, again going by the definition, a lawyer law for ten years as required by the Constitution. It is conceded
does not even have to be part of a business concern to be that he has been engaged in business and finance, in which areas
considered a practitioner. He can be so deemed when, on his own, he has distinguished himself, but as an executive and economist
he rents a house or buys a car or consults a doctor as these acts and not as a practicing lawyer. The plain fact is that he has
occupied the various positions listed in his resume by virtue of his one of official leave with no instructions left behind on how he
experience and prestige as a businessman and not as an attorney- viewed the issue; and 2 not taking part in the deliberations and
at-law whose principal attention is focused on the law. Even if it the decision.chanrobles law library
be argued that he was acting as a lawyer when he lobbied in
Congress for agrarian and urban reform, served in the NAMFREL There are two key factors that make our task difficult. First is our
and the Constitutional Commission (together with non-lawyers reviewing the work of a constitutional Commission on
like farmers and priests) and was a member of the Davide Appointments whose duty is precisely to look into the
Commission, he has not proved that his activities in these qualifications of persons appointed to high office. Even if the
capacities extended over the prescribed 10-year period of actual Commission errs, we have no power to set aside error. We can
practice of the law. He is doubtless eminently qualified for many look only into grave abuse of discretion or whimsically and
other positions worthy of his abundant talents but not as arbitrariness. Second is our belief that Mr. Monsod possesses
Chairman of the Commission on Elections. superior qualifications in terms of executive ability, proficiency in
management, educational background, experience in international
I have much admiration for respondent Monsod, no less than for banking and finance, and instant recognition by the public. His
Mr. Justice Paras, but I must regretfully vote to grant the petition. integrity and competence are not questioned by the petitioner.
What is before us is compliance with a specific requirement
GUTIERREZ, JR., J., dissenting:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library written into the Constitution.
When this petition was filed, there was hope that engaging in the Inspite of my high regard for Mr. Monsod, I cannot shirk my
practice of law as a qualification for public office would be settled constitutional duty. He has never engaged in the practice of law
one way or another in fairly definitive terms. Unfortunately, this for even one year. He is a member of the bar but to say that he
was not the result. has practiced law is stretching the term beyond rational limits.
Of the fourteen (14) member Court, 5 are of the view that Mr. A person may have passed the bar examinations. But if he has not
Christian Monsod engaged in the practice of law (with one of dedicated his life to the law, if he has not engaged in an activity
these 5 leaving his vote behind while on official leave but not where membership in the bar is a requirement I fail to see how he
expressing his clear stand on the matter); 4 categorically stating can claim to have been engaged in the practice of law.
that he did not practice law; 2 voting in the result because there
was no error so gross as to amount to grave abuse of discretion; Engaging in the practice of law is a qualification not only for
COMELEC chairman but also for appointment to the Supreme there?

Court and all lower courts. What kind of Judges or Justices will
we have if there main occupation is selling real estate, managing a The professional life of the respondent
business corporation, serving in fact-finding committee, working follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
in media, or operating a farm with no active involvement in the
law, whether in Government or private practice, except that in "1.15.1 Respondent Monsod’s activities since his passing the Bar
one joyful moment in the distant past, they happened to pass the examinations in 1961 consist of the following:chanrob1es virtual
bar examinations? 1aw library
The Constitution uses the phrase "engaged in the practice of law 1. 1961-1963: M.A. in Economics (Ph. D. candidate), University
for at least ten years." The deliberate choice of words shows that of Pennsylvania
the practice envisioned is active and regular, not isolated,
occasional, accidental, intermittent, incidental, seasonal, or 2. 1963-1970: World Bank Group — Economist, Industry
extemporaneous. To be "engaged" in an activity for ten years Department; Operations, Latin American Department; Division
requires committed participation in something which is the result Chief, South Asia and Middle East, International Finance
of one’s decisive choice. It means that one is occupied and involved Corporation
in the enterprise; one is obliged or pledged to carry it out with
intent and attention during the ten-year period. 3. 1970-1973: Meralco Group Executive of various companies,
i.e., Meralco Securities Corporation, Philippine Petroleum
I agree with the petitioner that based on the bio-data submitted Corporation, Philippine Electric Corporation
by respondent Monsod to the Commission on Appointments, the
latter has not been engaged in the practice of law for at least ten 4. 1973-1976: Yujuico Group — President, Fil-Capital
years. In fact, if appears that Mr. Monsod has never practiced law Development Corporation and affiliated companies
except for an alleged one year period after passing the bar
examinations when he worked in his father’s law firm. Even then 5. 1976-1978: Finaciera Manila — Chief Executive Officer
his law practice must have been extremely limited because he was
also working for M.A. and Ph. D. degrees in Economics at the 6. 1978-1986: Guevent Group of Companies Chief Executive
University of Pennsylvania during that period. How could he Officer
practice law in the United States while not a member of the Bar
7. 1986-1987: Philippine Constitutional Commission — Member e. Graphic Atelier
8. 1989-1991: The Fact-Finding Commission on the December f. Manila Electric Company

1989 Coup Attempt — Member
g. Philippine Commercial Capital, Inc.
9. Presently: Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of
the following companies:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library h. Philippine Electric Corporation
a. ACE Container Philippines, Inc. i. Tarlac Reforestation and Environment Enterprises
b. Dataprep, Philippines j. Tolong Aquaculture Corporation
c. Philippine SUN systems Products, Inc. k. Visayan Aquaculture Corporation
d. Semirara Coal Corporation l. Guimaras Aquaculture Corporation"
e. CBL Timber Corporation (Rollo, pp. 21-22)
Member of the Board of the Following:chanrob1es virtual 1aw There is nothing in the above bio-data which even remotely
library indicates that respondent Monsod has given the law enough
attention or a certain degree of commitment and participation as
a. Engineering Construction Corporation of the Philippines would support in all sincerity and candor the claim of having
engaged in its practice for at least ten years. Instead of working
b. First Philippine Energy Corporation as a lawyer, he has lawyers working for him. Instead of giving
legal advice of legal services, he was the one receiving that advice
c. First Philippine Holdings Corporation and those services as an executive but not as a lawyer.
d. First Philippine Industrial Corporation The deliberations before the Commission on Appointments show
an effort to equate "engaged in the practice of law" with the use
of legal knowledge in various fields of endeavor such as commerce, determined. People ex rel. Chicago Bar Ass’n v. Tinkoff, 399 III.
industry, civic work, blue ribbon investigations, agrarian reform, 282, 77 N.E.2d 693; People ex rel. Illinois State Bar Ass’n v.
etc. where such knowledge would be helpful.chanrobles lawlibrary : People’s Stock Yards State Bank, 344 Ill. 462, 176 N.E. 901,
rednad and cases cited.
I regret that I cannot join in playing fast and loose with a term, It would be difficult, if not impossible to lay down a formula or
which even an ordinary layman accepts as having a familiar and definition of what constitutes the practice of law.’Practicing law’
customary well-defined meaning. Every resident of this country has been defined as ‘Practicing as an attorney or counselor at law
who has reached the age of discernment has to know, follow, or according to the laws and customs of our courts, is the giving of
apply the law at various times in his life. Legal knowledge is useful advice or rendition of any sort of service by any person, firm or
if not necessary for the business executive, legislator, mayor, corporation when the giving of such advice or rendition of such
barangay captain, teacher, policeman, farmer, fisherman, market service requires the use of any degree of legal knowledge or skill.’
vendor, and student to name only a few. And yet, can these Without adopting that definition, we referred to it as being
people honestly assert that as such, they are engaged in the substantially correct in People ex rel . Illinois State Bar Ass’n v.
practice of law?. People’s Stock Yards State Bank, 344 III. 462, 176 N.E. 901."
(People v. Schafer, 87 N.E. 2d 773, 776).
The Constitution requires having been "engaged in the practice of
law for at least ten years." It is not satisfied with having been "a For one’s actions to come within the purview of practice of law
member of the Philippine bar for at least ten years.." they should not only be activities peculiar to the work of a lawyer,
they should also be performed, habitually, frequently or
Some American courts have defined the practice of law, as customarily, to wit:chanrob1es virtual 1aw library
follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph
x x x
"The practice of law involves not only appearance in court in

connection with litigation but also services rendered out of court,
and it includes the giving of advice or the rendering of any "Respondent’s answers to questions propounded to him were
services requiring the use of legal skill or knowledge, such as rather evasive. He was asked whether or not he ever prepared
preparing a will, contract or other instrument, the legal effect of contracts for the parties in real-estate transactions where he was
which, under the facts and conditions involved, must be carefully not the procuring agent. He answered: ‘Very seldom.’ In answer to
the question as to how many times he had prepared contracts for ". . . An attorney, in the most general sense, is a person
the parties during the twenty-mine years of his business, he said: designated or employed by another to act in his stead; an agent;
‘I have no idea.’ When asked if it would be more than half a dozen more especially, one of a class of persons authorized to appear and
times his answer was I suppose.’ Asked if he did not recall making act for suitors or defendants in legal proceedings. Strictly, these
the statement to several parties that he had prepared contracts professional persons are attorneys at law, and non-professional
in a large number of instances, he answered: ‘I don’t recall exactly agents are properly styled ‘attorneys in fact;’ but the single word
what was said.’ When asked if he did not remember saying that is much used as meaning an attorney at law. A person may be an
he had made a practice of preparing deeds, mortgages and attorney in facto for another, without being an attorney at law.’
contracts and charging a fee to the parties therefor in instances Abb. Law Dict.’Attorney.’ ‘A public attorney, or attorney at law,
where he was not the broker in the deal, he answered: Well, I says Webster, ‘is an officer of a court of law, legally qualified to
don’t believe so, that is not a practice.’ Pressed further for an prosecute and defend actions in such court on the retainer of
answer as to his practice in preparing contracts and deeds for clients.’The principal duties of an attorney are (1) to be true to
parties where he was not the broker, he finally answered: ‘I have the court and to his client; (2) to manage the business of his client
done about everything that is on the books as far as real estate is with care, skill, and integrity; (3) to keep his client informed as to
concerned.’ the state of his business; (4) to keep his secrets confided to him as
such. . . . His rights are to be justly compensated for his services.’
x x x Bouv. Law Dict. tit.’Attorney.’ The transitive verb ‘practice,’ as
defined by Webster, means ‘to do or perform frequently,
customarily, or habitually; to perform by a succession of acts, as,
Respondent takes the position that because he is a real-estate to practice gaining; . . . to carry on in practice, or repeated action;
broker he has a lawful right to do any legal work in connection to apply, as a theory, to real life; to exercise, as a profession,
with real-estate transactions, especially in drawing of real-estate trade, art. etc.; as, to practice law or medicine,’ etc. . . ." (State v.
contracts, deeds, mortgages, notes and the like. There is no doubt Bryan, S.E. 522, 523; Emphasis supplied)
but that he has engaged in these practices over the years and has
charged for his services in that In this jurisdiction, we have ruled that the practice of law denotes
frequency or a succession of acts. Thus, we stated in the case of
x x x
People v. Villanueva (14 SCRA 109
[1965]):chanroblesvirtualawlibrary
x x x kind. In other words, it is a habitual exercise (People v. Villanueva,

14 SCRA log citing State v. Cotner, 127, p. 1, 87 Kan, 864)."
(Rollo, p. 115).
". . . Practice is more than an isolated appearance, for it consists
in frequent or customary actions, a succession of acts of the same x x x
kind. In other words, it is frequent habitual exercise (State v.

Cotner, 127, p. 1, 87 Kan. 864, 42 LRA, M.S. 768). Practice of
law to fall within the prohibition of statute has been interpreted While the career as a businessman of respondent Monsod may
as customarily or habitually holding one’s self out to the public, as have profited from his legal knowledge, the use of such legal
a lawyer and demanding payment for such services. . . ." (at p. knowledge is incidental and consists of isolated activities which do
112) not fall under the denomination of practice of law. Admission to

the practice of law was not required for membership in the
It is to be noted that the Commission on Appointment itself Constitutional Commission or in the Fact-Finding Commission on
recognizes habituality as a required component of the meaning of the 1989 Coup Attempt. Any specific legal activities which may
practice of law in a Memorandum prepared and issued by it, to have been assigned to Mr. Monsod while a member may be likened
wit:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph to isolated transactions of foreign corporations in the Philippines

which do not categorize the foreign corporations as doing business
"1. Habituality. The term ‘practice of law’ implies customarily or in the Philippines. As in the practice of law, doing business also
habitually holding one’s self out to the public as a lawyer (People v. should be active and continuous. Isolated business transactions or
Villanueva, 14 SCRA 109 citing State v. Bryan, 4 S.E. 522, 98 occasional, incidental and casual transactions are not within the
N.C. 644) such as when one sends a circular announcing the context of doing business. This was our ruling in the case of Antam
establishment of a law office for the general practice of law (U S. Consolidated, Inc. v. Court of Appeals, 143 SCRA 288 [1986]).
v. Noy Bosque, 8 Phil. 146), or when one takes the oath of office
as a lawyer before a notary public, and files a manifestation with Respondent Monsod, corporate executive, civic leader, and
the Supreme Court informing it of his intention to practice law in member of the Constitutional Commission may possess the
all courts in the country (People v. De Luna, 102 Phil. 968). background, competence, integrity, and dedication, to qualify for
such high offices as President, Vice-President, Senator,
Practice is more than an isolated appearance, for it consists in Congressman or Governor but the Constitution in prescribing the
frequent or customary action, a succession of acts of the same specific qualification of having engaged in the practice of law for
at least ten (10) years for the position of COMELEC Chairman has Camaligan on 8 September 1991. The death of Raul Camaligan
ordered that he may not be confirmed for that office. The stemmed from the infliction of severe physical injuries upon him
Constitution charges the public respondents no less than this in the course of "hazing" conducted as part of university fraternity
Court to obey its mandate. initiation rites. Mr. Argosino and his co-accused then entered into
plea bargaining with the prosecution and as a result of such
I, therefore, believe that the Commission on Appointments bargaining, pleaded guilty to the lesser offense of homicide
committed grave abuse of discretion in confirming the nomination through reckless imprudence. This plea was accepted by the trial
of respondent Monsod as Chairman of the COMELEC. court. In a judgment dated 11 February 1993, each of the
fourteen (14) accused individuals was sentenced to suffer
I vote to GRANT the petition. imprisonment for a period ranging from two (2) years, four (4)
months and one (1) day to four (4) years.
Bidin, J., dissents.
Eleven (11) days later, Mr. Argosino and his colleagues filed an
application for probation with the lower court. The application for
B.M. No. 712 July 13, 1995 probation was granted in an Order dated 18 June 1993 issued
by Regional Trial Court Judge Pedro T. Santiago. The period of
IN THE MATTER OF THE ADMISSION TO THE BAR AND OATH- probation was set at two (2) years, counted from the
TAKING OF SUCCESSFUL BAR APPLICANT AL C. probationer's initial report to the probation officer assigned to
ARGOSINO, petitioner. supervise him.
R ES OLUT IO N Less than a month later, on 13 July 1993, Mr. Argosino filed a
Petition for Admission to Take the 1993 Bar Examinations. In
this Petition, he disclosed the fact of his criminal conviction and
his then probation status. He was allowed to take the 1993 Bar
FELICIANO, J.: Examinations in this Court's En Banc Resolution dated 14 August
1993.1 He passed the Bar Examination. He was not, however,
A criminal information was filed on 4 February 1992 with the
allowed to take the lawyer's oath of office.
Regional Trial Court of Quezon City, Branch 101, charging Mr.
A.C. Argosino along with thirteen (13) other individuals, with the
crime of homicide in connection with the death of one Raul
On 15 April 1994, Mr. Argosino filed a Petition with this Court is something more than an absence of bad
to allow him to take the attorney's oath of office and to admit character. It is the good name which the applicant
him to the practice of law, averring that Judge Pedro T. Santiago has acquired, or should have acquired, through
had terminated his probation period by virtue of an Order dated association with his fellows. It means that he must
11 April 1994. We note that his probation period did not last for have conducted himself as a man of upright
more than ten (10) months from the time of the Order of Judge character ordinarily would, or should, or
Santiago granting him probation dated 18 June 1993. Since then, does. Such character expresses itself, not in
Mr. Argosino has filed three (3) Motions for Early Resolution of his negatives nor in following the line of least
Petition for Admission to the Bar. resistance, but quite often, in the will to do the
unpleasant thing if it is right, and the resolve not
The practice of law is not a natural, absolute or constitutional to do the pleasant thing if it is wrong. . . .
right to be granted to everyone who demands it. Rather, it is a
high personal privilege limited to citizens of good moral character, xxx xxx xxx
with special educational qualifications, duly ascertained and
certified.2 The essentiality of good moral character in those who And we may pause to say that this requirement of
would be lawyers is stressed in the following excerpts which we the statute is eminently proper. Consider for a
quote with approval and which we regard as having persuasive moment the duties of a lawyer. He is sought as
effect: counsellor, and his advice comes home, in its
ultimate effect, to every man's fireside. Vast
In Re Farmer: 3
interests are committed to his care; he is the
recipient of unbounded trust and confidence; he
xxx xxx xxx deals with is client's property, reputation, his
life, his all. An attorney at law is a sworn officer of
This "upright character" prescribed by the statute, the Court, whose chief concern, as such, is to aid
as a condition precedent to the applicant's right to the administration of justice. . . .
receive a license to practice law in North Carolina,
and of which he must, in addition to other xxx xxx xxx4
requisites, satisfy the court, includes all the
elements necessary to make up such a character. It
In Re Application of Kaufman,5 citing Re Law The right to practice law is not one of the
Examination of 1926 (1926) 191 Wis 359, 210 inherent rights of every citizen, as in the right to
NW 710: carry on an ordinary trade or business. It is
a peculiar privilege granted and continued only to
It can also be truthfully said that there exists those who demonstrate special fitness in
nowhere greater temptations to deviate from the intellectual attainment and in moral character. All
straight and narrow path than in the multiplicity may aspire to it on an absolutely equal basis, but
of circumstances that arise in the practice of not all will attain it. Elaborate machinery has been
profession. For these reasons the wisdom of set up to test applicants by standards fair to all
requiring an applicant for admission to the bar to and to separate the fit from the unfit. Only those
possess a high moral standard therefore becomes who pass the test are allowed to enter the
clearly apparent, and the board of bar examiners profession, and only those who maintain the
as an arm of the court, is required to cause a standards are allowed to remain in it.
minute examination to be made of the moral
standard of each candidate for admission to Re Rouss:7
practice. . . . It needs no further argument,
therefore, to arrive at the conclusion that the Membership in the bar is a privilege burdened
highest degree of scrutiny must be exercised as to with conditions, and a fair private and
the moral character of a candidate who presents professional character is one of them; to refuse
himself for admission to the bar. The evil must, if admission to an unworthy applicant is not to
possible, be successfully met at its very source, and punish him for past offense: an examination into
prevented, for, after a lawyer has once been character, like the examination into learning, is
admitted, and has pursued his profession, and has merely a test of fitness.
established himself therein, a far more difficult
situation is presented to the court when Cobb vs. Judge of Superior Court:8
proceedings are instituted for disbarment and for

Attorney's are licensed because of their learning
the recalling and annulment of his license.
and ability, so that they may not only protect the
In Re Keenan:6 rights and interests of their clients, but be able to

assist court in the trial of the cause. Yet what than legal learning. Legal learning
protection to clients or assistance to courts could may be acquired in after years,
such agents give? They are required to be of good but if the applicant passes the
moral character, so that the agents and officers of threshold of the bar with a bad
the court, which they are, may not bring discredit moral character the chances are
upon the due administration of the law, and it is that his character will remain
of the highest possible consequence that both those bad, and that he will become a
who have not such qualifications in the first disgrace instead of an ornament to
instance, or who, having had them, have fallen his great calling — a curse instead
therefrom, shall not be permitted to appear in of a benefit to his community — a
courts to aid in the administration of justice. Quirk, a Gammon or a Snap,
instead of a Davis, a Smith or a
It has also been stressed that the requirement of good moral Ruffin.9
character is, in fact, of greater importance so far as the general
public and the proper administration of justice are concerned, All aspects of moral character and behavior may be inquired into
than the possession of legal learning: in respect of those seeking admission to the Bar. The scope of such
inquiry is, indeed, said to be properly broader than inquiry into
. . . (In re Applicants for License, 55 S.E. 635, the moral proceedings for disbarment:
143 N.C. 1, 10 L.R.A. [N.S.] 288, 10 Ann./Cas.
187): Re Stepsay: 10
The public policy of our state has The inquiry as to the moral character of an
always been to admit no person to attorney in a proceeding for his admission to
the practice of the law unless he practice is broader in scope than in a disbarment
covered an upright moral proceeding.
character. The possession of this by
the attorney is more important, if Re Wells: 11
anything, to the public and to the

proper administration of justice . . . that an applicant's contention that upon
application for admission to the California Bar the
court cannot reject him for want of good moral inflicted such injuries. Mr. Argosino and his co-accused had failed
character unless it appears that he has been guilty to discharge their moral duty to protect the life and well-being of
of acts which would be cause for his disbarment or a "neophyte" who had, by seeking admission to the fraternity
suspension, could not be sustained; that the involved, reposed trust and confidence in all of them that, at the
inquiry is broader in its scope than that in a very least, he would not be beaten and kicked to death like a
disbarment proceeding, and the court may useless stray dog. Thus, participation in the prolonged and
receive any evidence which tends to show the mindless physical beatings inflicted upon Raul Camaligan
applicant's character as respects honesty, integrity, constituted evident rejection of that moral duty and was totally
and general morality, and may no doubt refuse irresponsible behavior, which makes impossible a finding that the
admission upon proofs that might not establish his participant was then possessed of good moral character.
guilt of any of the acts declared to be causes for
disbarment. Now that the original period of probation granted by the trial
court has expired, the Court is prepared to consider de novo the
The requirement of good moral character to be satisfied by those question of whether applicant A.C. Argosino has purged himself of
who would seek admission to the bar must of necessity be more the obvious deficiency in moral character referred to above. We
stringent than the norm of conduct expected from members of stress that good moral character is a requirement possession of
the general public. There is a very real need to prevent a general which must be demonstrated not only at the time of application
perception that entry into the legal profession is open to for permission to take the bar examinations but also, and more
individuals with inadequate moral qualifications. The growth of importantly, at the time of application for admission to the bar
such a perception would signal the progressive destruction of our and to take the attorney's oath of office.
people's confidence in their courts of law and in our legal system
as we know it.12 Mr. Argosino must, therefore, submit to this Court, for its
examination and consideration, evidence that he may be now
Mr. Argosino's participation in the deplorable "hazing" activities regarded as complying with the requirement of good moral
certainly fell far short of the required standard of good moral character imposed upon those seeking admission to the bar. His
character. The deliberate (rather than merely accidental or evidence may consist, inter alia, of sworn certifications from
inadvertent) infliction of severe physical injuries which proximately responsible members of the community who have a good
led to the death of the unfortunate Raul Camaligan, certainly reputation for truth and who have actually known Mr. Argosino
indicated serious character flaws on the part of those who for a significant period of time, particularly since the judgment of
conviction was rendered by Judge Santiago. He should show to the ARTEMIO VILLAREAL, Petitioner,
Court how he has tried to make up for the senseless killing of a vs.
helpless student to the family of the deceased student and to the PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.
community at large. Mr. Argosino must, in other words, submit
relevant evidence to show that he is a different person now, that x--- --- ---------- --- ----x
he has become morally fit for admission to the ancient and
learned profession of the law. G.R. No. 154954
Finally, Mr. Argosino is hereby DIRECTED to inform this Court, by PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Petitioner,
appropriate written manifestation, of the names and addresses of vs.
the father and mother (in default thereof, brothers and sisters, if THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS, ANTONIO MARIANO
any, of Raul Camaligan), within ten (10) day from notice hereof. ALMEDA, DALMACIO LIM, JR., JUNEL ANTHONY AMA,
Let a copy of this Resolution be furnished to the parents or ERNESTO JOSE MONTECILLO, VINCENT TECSON, ANTONIO
brothers and sisters, if any, of Raul Camaligan. GENERAL, SANTIAGO RANADA III, NELSON VICTORINO, JAIME
MARIA FLORES II, ZOSIMO MENDOZA, MICHAEL MUSNGI,
Narvasa, C.J., Padilla, Regalado, Davide, Jr., Romero and Melo, VICENTE VERDADERO, ETIENNE GUERRERO, JUDE FERNANDEZ,
JJ., concur. AMANTE PURISIMA II, EULOGIO SABBAN, PERCIVAL D.
BRIGOLA, PAUL ANGELO SANTOS, JONAS KARL B. PEREZ,
Bellosillo, J. is on leave. RENATO BANTUG, JR., ADEL ABAS, JOSEPH LLEDO, and
RONAN DE GUZMAN, Respondents.
x--- --- ---------- --- ----x

Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT G.R. No. 155101
Manila
FIDELITO DIZON, Petitioner,
SPECIAL SECOND DIVISION vs.
PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.
G.R. No. 151258 December 1, 2014
x--- --- ---------- --- ----x
G.R. Nos. 178057 & 178080 (collectively, Tecson et al.) concerning the Decision of this Court
dated 1 February 2012.1 The Court modified the assailed
GERARDA H. VILLA, Petitioner, judgments 2
of the Court of Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CR No.
vs. 15520 and found respondents Fidelito Dizon (Dizon), Almeda,
MANUEL LORENZO ESCALONA II, MARCUS JOEL CAPELLAN Ama, Bantug, and Tecson guilty beyond reasonable doubt of the
RAMOS, CRISANTO CRUZ SARUCA, JR., and ANSELMO crime of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide. The
ADRIANO, Respondents. modification had the effect of lowering the criminal liability of
Dizon from the crime of homicide, while aggravating the verdict
R ES OLUT IO N against Tecson et al. from slight physical injuries. The CA Decision
itself had modified the Decision of the Caloocan City Regional Trial
SERENO, CJ:
Court (RTC) Branch 121 finding all of the accused therein guilty
of the crime of homicide.3
We are asked to revisit our Decision in the case involving the
death of Leonardo "Lenny" Villa due to fraternity hazing. While
Also, we upheld another CA Decision4 in a separate but related
there is nothing new in the arguments raised by the parties in
case docketed as CA-G.R. S.P. Nos. 89060 & 90153 and ruled
their respective Motions for Clarification or Reconsideration, we
that the CA did not commit grave abuse of discretion when it
find a few remaining matters needing to be clarified and resobed.
dismissed the criminal case against Manuel Escalona II (Escalona),
Sorne oJ' these matters include the effect of our Decision on the
Marcus Joel Ramos (Ramos), Crisanto Saruca, Jr. (Saruca), and
finality of the Court of Appeals judgments insofar as respondents
Anselmo Adriano (Adriano) on the ground that their right to
Antonio Mariano A!meda (Almeda), June] Anthony D. Arna
speedy trial was violated. Reproduced below is the dispositive
(Arna), Renato Bantug, Jr. (Bantug), and Vincent Tecson (Tecson)
portion of our Decision:5
are concerned; the question of who are eligible to seek probation;
and the issue of the validity of the probation proceedings and the WHEREFORE, the appealed Judgmentin G.R. No. 155101 finding
concomitant orders of a court that allegedly had no jurisdiction petitioner Fidelito Dizon guilty of homicide is hereby MODIFIED
over the case. and SET ASIDE IN PART. The appealed Judgment in G.R. No.
154954 – finding Antonio Mariano Almeda, Junel Anthony Ama,
Before the Court are the respective Motions for Reconsideration or
Renato Bantug, Jr., and Vincent Tecson guilty of the crime of
Clarification filed by petitioners People of the Philippines, through
slight physical injuries – is also MODIFIED and SET ASIDE IN
the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), and Gerarda H. Villa
PART. Instead, Fidelito Dizon, Antonio Mariano Almeda, Junel
(Villa); and by respondents Almeda, Ama, Bantug, and Tecson
Anthony Ama, Renato Bantug, Jr., and Vincent Tecson are found SO ORDERED.
GUILTY beyond reasonable doubt of reckless imprudence resulting
in homicide defined and penalized under Article 365 in relation To refresh our memories, we quote the factual antecedents
to Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code. They are hereby surrounding the present case:6
sentenced to suffer an indeterminate prison term of four (4)
months and one (1) day of arresto mayor, as minimum, to four In February 1991, seven freshmen law students of the Ateneo de
(4) years and two (2) months of prision correccional, as Manila University School of Law signified their intention to join
maximum. In addition, accused are ORDERED jointly and the Aquila Legis Juris Fraternity (Aquila Fraternity). They were
severally to pay the heirs of Lenny Villa civil indemnity ex delicto Caesar "Bogs" Asuncion, Samuel "Sam" Belleza, Bienvenido "Bien"
in the amount of 50,000, and moral damages in the amount of Marquez III, Roberto Francis "Bert" Navera, Geronimo "Randy"
1,000,000, plus legal interest on all damages awarded at the Recinto, Felix Sy, Jr., and Leonardo "Lenny" Villa (neophytes).
rate of 12% from the date of the finality of this Decision until
On the night of 8 February 1991, the neophytes were met by
satisfaction. Costs de oficio.
some members of the Aquila Fraternity (Aquilans) at the lobby of
The appealed Judgment in G.R. No. 154954, acquitting Victorino the Ateneo Law School. They all proceeded to Rufo’s Restaurant to
et al., is hereby AFFIRMED. The appealed Judgments in G.R. Nos. have dinner. Afterwards, they went to the house of Michael
178057 & 178080, dismissing the criminal case filed against Musngi, also an Aquilan, who briefed the neophytes on what to
Escalona, Ramos, Saruca, and Adriano, are likewise AFFIRMED. expect during the initiation rites. The latter were informed that
Finally, pursuant to Article 89(1) of the Revised Penal Code, the there would be physical beatings, and that they could quit at any
Petition in G.R. No. 151258 is hereby dismissed, and the criminal time. Their initiation rites were scheduled to last for three days.
case against Artemio Villareal deemed CLOSED and TERMINATED. After their "briefing," they were brought to the Almeda
Compound in Caloocan City for the commencement of their
Let copies of this Decision be furnished to the Senate President initiation.
and the Speaker of the House of Representatives for possible
consideration of the amendment of the Anti-Hazing Law to Even before the neophytes got off the van, they had already
include the fact of intoxication and the presence of non-resident received threats and insults from the Aquilans. As soon as the
or alumni fraternity members during hazing as aggravating neophytes alighted from the van and walked towards the pelota
circumstances that would increase the applicable penalties. court of the Almeda compound, some of the Aquilans delivered
physical blows to them. The neophytes were then subjected to
traditional forms of Aquilan "initiation rites." These rites included that the rites be reopened. The head of initiation rites, Nelson
the "Indian Run," which required the neophytes to run a gauntlet Victorino (Victorino), initially refused. Upon the insistence of Dizon
of two parallel rows of Aquilans, each row delivering blows to the and Villareal, however, he reopened the initiation rites. The
neophytes; the "Bicol Express," which obliged the neophytes to sit fraternity members, including Dizon and Villareal, then subjected
on the floor with their backs against the wall and their legs the neophytes to "paddling" and to additional rounds of physical
outstretched while the Aquilans walked, jumped, or ran over their pain. Lenny received several paddle blows, one of which was so
legs; the "Rounds," in which the neophytes were held at the back strong it sent him sprawling to the ground. The neophytes heard
of their pants by the "auxiliaries" (the Aquilans charged with the him complaining of intense pain and difficulty in breathing. After
duty of lending assistance to neophytes during initiation rites), their last session of physical beatings, Lenny could no longer walk.
while the latter were being hit with fist blows on their arms or He had to be carried by the auxiliaries to the carport. Again, the
withknee blows on their thighs by two Aquilans; and the "Auxies’ initiation for the day was officially ended, and the neophytes
Privilege Round," in which the auxiliaries were given the started eating dinner. They then slept at the carport.
opportunity to inflict physical pain on the neophytes. During this
time, the neophytes were also indoctrinated with the fraternity After an hour of sleep, the neophytes were suddenly roused by
principles. They survived their first day of initiation. Lenny’s shivering and incoherent mumblings.1avvphi1 Initially,
Villareal and Dizon dismissed these rumblings, as they thought he
On the morning of their second day – 9 February 1991 – the was just overacting. When they realized, though, that Lenny was
neophytes were made to present comic plays and to play rough really feeling cold, some of the Aquilans started helping him. They
basketball. They were also required to memorize and recite the removed his clothes and helped him through a sleeping bag to
Aquila Fraternity’s principles. Whenever they would give a wrong keep him warm. When his condition worsened, the Aquilans
answer, they would be hit on their arms or legs. Late in the rushed him to the hospital. Lenny was pronounced dead on arrival.
afternoon, the Aquilans revived the initiation rites proper and
proceeded to torment them physically and psychologically. The Consequently, a criminal case for homicide was filed against the
neophytes were subjected to the same manner of hazing that they following 35 Aquilans:
endured on the first day of initiation. After a few hours, the
initiation for the day officially ended. In Criminal Case No. C-38340(91)
After a while, accused non-resident or alumni fraternity members 1. Fidelito Dizon (Dizon)
Fidelito Dizon (Dizon) and Artemio Villareal (Villareal) demanded

2. Artemio Villareal (Villareal)
3. Efren de Leon (De Leon) 19. Ernesto Jose Montecillo (Montecillo)
4. Vincent Tecson (Tecson) 20. Santiago Ranada III (Ranada)
5. Junel Anthony Ama (Ama) 21. Zosimo Mendoza (Mendoza)
6. Antonio Mariano Almeda (Almeda) 22. Vicente Verdadero (Verdadero)
7. Renato Bantug, Jr. (Bantug) 23. Amante Purisima II (Purisima)
8. Nelson Victorino (Victorino) 24. Jude Fernandez (J. Fernandez)
9. Eulogio Sabban (Sabban) 25. Adel Abas (Abas)
10. Joseph Lledo (Lledo) 26. Percival Brigola (Brigola)
11. Etienne Guerrero (Guerrero) In Criminal Case No. C-38340
12. Michael Musngi (Musngi) 1. Manuel Escalona II (Escalona)
13. Jonas Karl Perez (Perez) 2. Crisanto Saruca, Jr. (Saruca)
14. Paul Angelo Santos (Santos) 3. Anselmo Adriano (Adriano)
15. Ronan de Guzman (De Guzman) 4. Marcus Joel Ramos (Ramos)
16. Antonio General (General) 5. Reynaldo Concepcion (Concepcion)
17. Jaime Maria Flores II (Flores) 6. Florentino Ampil (Ampil)
18. Dalmacio Lim, Jr. (Lim) 7. Enrico de Vera III (De Vera)
8. Stanley Fernandez (S. Fernandez) (Victorino et al.) – were acquitted,as their individual guilt
was not established by proof beyond reasonable doubt.
9. Noel Cabangon (Cabangon)
2. Four of the accused-appellants– Vincent Tecson, Junel
Twenty-six of the accused Aquilans in Criminal Case No. C- Anthony Ama, Antonio Mariano Almeda, and Renato
38340(91) were jointly tried. On the other hand, the trial Bantug, Jr. (Tecson et al.) – were found guilty of the
against the remaining nine accused in Criminal Case No. C- crime of slight physical injuriesand sentenced to 20 days
38340 was held in abeyance due to certain matters that had to of arresto menor. They were also ordered to jointly pay
be resolved first. the heirs of the victim the sum of ₱30,000 as indemnity.
On 8 November 1993, the trial court rendered judgment in 3. Two of the accused-appellants– Fidelito Dizonand
Criminal Case No. C-38340(91), holding the 26 accused guilty Artemio Villareal– were found guilty beyond reasonable
beyond reasonable doubt of the crime of homicide, penalized with doubt of the crime of homicide under Article 249 of the
reclusion temporal under Article 249 of the Revised Penal Code. A Revised Penal Code. Having found no mitigating or
few weeks after the trial court rendered its judgment, or on 29 aggravating circumstance, the CA sentenced them to an
November 1993, Criminal Case No. C-38340 against the indeterminate sentence of 10 years of prision mayor to
remaining nine accused commenced anew. 17 years of reclusion temporal. They were also ordered to
indemnify, jointly and severally, the heirs of Lenny Villa in
On 10 January 2002, the CAin (CA-G.R. No. 15520) set aside the sum of ₱50,000 and to pay the additional amount of
the finding of conspiracy by the trial court in Criminal Case No. ₱1,000,000 by way of moral damages.
C-38340(91) and modified the criminal liability of each of the
accused according to individual participation. Accused De Leon On 5 August 2002, the trial court in Criminal Case No. 38340
had by then passed away, so the following Decision applied only to dismissed the charge against accused Concepcion on the ground of
the remaining 25 accused, viz: violation of his right to speedy trial. Meanwhile, on different dates
between the years 2003 and 2005, the trial court denied the
1. Nineteen of the accused-appellants– Victorino, Sabban, respective Motions to Dismiss of accused Escalona, Ramos, Saruca,
Lledo, Guerrero, Musngi, Perez, De Guzman, Santos, and Adriano. On 25 October 2006, the CA in CA-G.R. SP Nos.
General, Flores, Lim, Montecillo, Ranada, Mendoza, 89060 & 90153 reversed the trial court’s Orders and dismissed
Verdadero, Purisima, Fernandez, Abas, and Brigola
the criminal case against Escalona, Ramos, Saruca, and Adriano Motion for Reconsideration filed by the OSG
on the basis of violation of their right to speedy trial.
The OSG, in its Motion for Reconsideration9 of G.R. Nos. 155101
From the aforementioned Decisions, the five (5) consolidated (Dizon v. People) and 154954 (People v. Court of Appeals), agrees
Petitions were individually brought before this Court. (Citations with the findings of this Court that accused Dizon and Tecson et
omitted) al. had neither the felonious intent to kill (animus interficendi) nor
the felonious intent to injure (animus iniuriandi) Lenny Villa. In
Motion for Partial Reconsideration fact, it concedes that the mode in which the accused committed
filed by Petitioner Gerarda H. Villa the crime was through fault (culpa). However, it contends that
the penalty imposed should have been equivalent to that for deceit
Petitioner Villa filed the present Motion for Partial (dolo) pursuant to Article 249 (Homicide) of the Revised Penal
Reconsideration7 in connection with G.R. Nos. 178057 & 178080 Code. It argues that the nature and gravity of the imprudence or
(Villa v. Escalona) asserting that the CA committed grave abuse of negligence attributable to the accused was so gross that it
discretion when it dismissed the criminal case against Escalona, shattered the fine distinction between dolo and culpaby
Ramos,Saruca, and Adriano (collectively, Escalona et al.) in its considering the act as one committed with malicious intent. It
assailed Decision and Resolution.8 Villa reiterates her previous maintains that the accused conducted the initiation rites in such a
arguments that the right to speedy trial of the accused was not malevolent and merciless manner that it clearly endangered the
violated, since they had failed to assert that right within a lives of the initiates and was thus equivalent to malice
reasonable period of time. She stresses that, unlike their co- aforethought.
accused Reynaldo Concepcion, respondents Escalona et al.did not
timely invoke their right to speedy trial during the time that the With respect to the 19 other accused, or Victorino et al., the OSG
original records and pieces of evidence were unavailable. She again asserts that their acquittal may also be reversed despite the rule
emphasizes that the prosecution cannot be faulted entirely for the on double jeopardy, as the CA also committed grave abuse of
lapse of 12 years from the arraignment until the initial trial, as discretion in issuing its assailed Decision (CA-G.R. No. 15520). The
there were a number of incidents attributable to the accused OSG insists that Victorino et al. should have been similarly
themselves that caused the delay of the proceedings. She then convicted like their other co-accused Dizon, Almeda, Ama, Bantug,
insists that we apply the balancing test in determining whether and Tecson, since the former also participated in the hazing of
the right to speedy trial of the accused was violated. Lenny Villa, and their actions contributed to his death.
Motions for Clarification or Reconsideration of Tecson et al. 15520 had already lapsed into finality, insofar as they were
concerned, whenthey waived their right to appeal and applied for
10
Respondents Tecson et al., filed their respective motions probation.
pertaining to G.R. No. 154954 (People v. Court of Appeals). They
essentially seek a clarification as to the effect of our Decision ISSUES
insofar as their criminal liability and service of sentence are
concerned. According to respondents, they immediately applied I. Whether the CA committed grave abuse of discretion
for probation after the CA rendered its Decision (CAG.R. No. amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction when it
15520) lowering their criminal liability from the crime of dismissed the case against Escalona, Ramos, Saruca, and
homicide, which carries a non-probationable sentence, to slight Adriano for violation of their right to speedy trial
physical injuries, which carries a probationable sentence. Tecson et
al.contend that, as a result, they have already been discharged II. Whether the penalty imposed on Tecson et al. should
from their criminal liability and the cases against them closed and have corresponded to that for intentional felonies
terminated. This outcome was supposedly by virtue of their

III. Whether the completion by Tecson et al. of the terms
Applications for Probation on various dates in January
and conditions of their probation discharged them from
200211 pursuant to Presidential Decree No. 968, as amended,
their criminal liability, and closed and terminated the
otherwise known as the Probation Law. They argue that Branch
cases against them DISCUSSION
130 of Caloocan City Regional Trial Court (RTC) had already
granted their respective Applications for Probation on 11 October
Findings on the Motion for Partial Reconsideration of
200212 and, upon their completion of the terms and conditions
Petitioner Gerarda H. Villa
thereof, discharged them from probation and declared the
criminal case against them terminated on various dates in April
As regards the first issue, we take note that the factual
2003.13
circumstances and legal assertions raised by petitioner Villa in her
Motion for Partial Reconsideration concerning G.R. Nos. 178057
To support their claims, respondents attached14 certified true
& 178080 have already been thoroughly considered and passed
copies of their respective Applications for Probation and the RTC
uponin our deliberations, which led to our Decision dated 1
Orders granting these applications, discharging them from
February 2012. We emphasize that in light of the finding of
probation, and declaring the criminal case against them
violation of the right of Escalona et al. to speedy trial, the CA’s
terminated. Thus, they maintain that the Decision in CA-G.R. No.
dismissal of the criminal case against them amounted to an
acquittal,15 and that any appeal or reconsideration thereof would and 154954 (People v. Court of Appeals). Many of the arguments
result in a violation of their right against double raised therein are essentially a mere rehash of the earlier grounds
16
jeopardy. Though we have recognized that the acquittal of the alleged in its original Petition for Certiorari.
accused may be challenged where there has been a grave abuse of
discretion,17 certiorari would lie if it is convincingly established Furthermore, we cannot subscribe to the OSG’s theory that even if
that the CA’s Decision dismissing the case was attended by a the act complained of was born of imprudence or negligence,
whimsical or capricious exercise of judgment equivalent to lack of malicious intent can still be appreciated on account of the gravity
jurisdiction. It must be shown that the assailed judgment of the actions of the accused. We emphasize that the finding of a
constitutes "a patent and gross abuse of discretion amounting to felony committed by means of culpa is legally inconsistent with
an evasion of a positive duty or to a virtual refusal to perform a that committed by means of dolo. Culpable felonies involve those
duty imposed by law or toact in contemplation of law; an exercise wrongs done as a result of an act performed without malice or
of power in an arbitrary and despotic manner by reason of criminal design. The Revised Penal Code expresses thusly:
passion and hostility; or a blatant abuse of authority to a point so
grave and so severe as to deprive the court of its very power to ARTICLE 365. Imprudence and Negligence. — Any person who,
dispense justice."18 Thus, grave abuse of discretion cannot be by reckless imprudence, shall commit any act which, had it been
attributed to a court simply because it allegedly misappreciated intentional, would constitute a grave felony, shall suffer the
the facts and the evidence.19 penalty of arresto mayorin its maximum period toprisión
correccional in its medium period; if it would have constituted a
We have taken a second look at the court records, the CA Decision, less grave felony, the penalty of arresto mayor in its minimum
and petitioner’s arguments and found no basis to rule that the CA and medium periods shall be imposed.
gravely abused its discretion in concluding that the right to speedy
trial of the accused was violated. Its findings were sufficiently Any person who, by simple imprudence or negligence, shall
supported by the records of the case and grounded in law. Thus, commit an act which would otherwise constitute a grave felony,
we deny the motion of petitioner Villa with finality. shall suffer the penalty of arresto mayorin its medium and
maximum periods; if it would have constituted a less serious felony,
Ruling on the Motion for Reconsideration filed by the OSG the penalty of arresto mayor in its minimum period shall be
imposed.
We likewise deny with finality the Motion for Reconsideration filed
by the OSG with respect to G.R. Nos. 155101 (Dizon v. People) xxx x
Reckless imprudence consists in voluntary, but without malice, While motive is the "moving power" that impels one to action for
doing or falling to do an act from which material damage results a definite result, intent is the "purpose" of using a particular
by reason of inexcusable lack of precaution on the part of the means to produce the result. On the other hand, the term
person performing or failing to perform suchact, taking into "felonious"means, inter alia, malicious, villainous, and/or
consideration his employment or occupation, degree of intelligence, proceeding from an evil heart or purpose.With these elements
physical condition and other circumstances regarding persons, taken together, the requirement of intent in intentional felony
time and place. must refer to malicious intent, which is a vicious and malevolent
state of mind accompanying a forbidden act. Stated otherwise,
Simple imprudence consists in the lack of precaution displayed in intentional felony requires the existence of dolus malus– that the
those cases in which the damage impending to be caused is not act or omission be done "willfully," "maliciously," "with deliberate
immediate nor the danger clearly manifest. (Emphases supplied) evil intent," and "with malice aforethought." The maxim is actus
non facit reum, nisi mens sit rea– a crime is not committed if the
On the other hand, intentional felonies concern those wrongs in mind of the person performing the act complained of is innocent.
which a deliberate malicious intent to do an unlawful act is As is required of the other elements of a felony, the existence of
present. Below is our exhaustive discussion on the matter:20 Our malicious intent must be proven beyond reasonable doubt.
Revised Penal Code belongs tothe classical school of thought. x x x
The identity of mens rea– defined as a guilty mind, a guilty or xxx x
wrongful purpose or criminal intent – is the predominant
consideration. Thus, it is not enough to do what the law prohibits. The presence of an initial malicious intent to commit a felony is
In order for an intentional felony to exist, it is necessary that the thus a vital ingredient in establishing the commission of the
act be committed by means of doloor "malice." intentional felony of homicide. Being mala in se, the felony of
homicide requires the existence of malice or dolo immediately
The term "dolo" or "malice" is a complex idea involving the before or simultaneously with the infliction of injuries. Intent to
elements of freedom, intelligence, and intent. x x x x The element kill – or animus interficendi– cannot and should not be inferred,
of intent – on which this Court shall focus – is described as the unless there is proof beyond reasonable doubt of such intent.
state of mind accompanying an act, especially a forbidden act. It Furthermore, the victim’s death must not have been the product
refers to the purpose of the mind and the resolve with which a of accident, natural cause, or suicide. If death resulted from an
person proceeds.It does not refer to mere will, for the latter act executed without malice or criminal intent – but with lack of
pertains to the act, while intentconcerns the result of the act.
foresight, carelessness, or negligence – the act must be qualified as devoid of criminal liability. The Revised Penal Code also punishes
reckless or simple negligence or imprudence resulting in homicide. felonies that are committed by means of fault (culpa). According
to Article 3 thereof, there is fault when the wrongful act results
xxx x from imprudence, negligence, lack of foresight, or lack of skill.
In order to be found guilty ofany of the felonious acts under Reckless imprudence or negligence consists of a voluntary act done
Articles 262 to 266 of the Revised Penal Code, the employment without malice, from which an immediate personal harm, injury
of physical injuries must be coupled with dolus malus. As an act or material damage results by reason of an inexcusable lack of
that is mala in se, the existence of malicious intent is fundamental, precaution or advertence on the part of the person committing it.
since injury arises from the mental state of the wrongdoer – In this case, the danger is visible and consciously appreciated by
iniuria ex affectu facientis consistat. If there is no criminal intent, the actor. In contrast, simple imprudence or negligence comprises
the accused cannot be found guilty of an intentional felony. Thus, an act done without grave fault, from which an injury or material
incase of physical injuries under the Revised Penal Code, there damage ensues by reason of a mere lack of foresight or skill. Here,
must be a specific animus iniuriandi or malicious intention to do the threatened harm is not immediate, and the danger is not
wrong against the physical integrity or wellbeing of a person, so openly visible.
as to incapacitate and deprive the victim of certain bodily
functions. Without proof beyond reasonable doubt of the required The test for determining whether or not a person is negligent in
animus iniuriandi, the overt act of inflicting physical injuries per doing an act is as follows: Would a prudent man in the position of
semerely satisfies the elements of freedom and intelligence in an the person to whom negligence is attributed foresee harm to the
intentional felony. The commission of the act does not, in itself, person injured as a reasonable consequence of the course about to
make a man guilty unless his intentions are. be pursued? If so, the law imposes on the doer the duty to take
precaution against the mischievous resultsof the act. Failure to do
Thus, we have ruled in a number of instances that the mere so constitutes negligence.
infliction of physical injuries, absentmalicious intent, does not
make a person automatically liable for an intentional felony.x x x. As we held in Gaid v. People, for a person to avoid being charged
with recklessness, the degree of precaution and diligence required
xxx x varies with the degree of the danger involved. If, on account of a
certain line of conduct, the danger of causing harm to another
The absence of malicious intent does not automatically mean, person is great, the individual who chooses to follow that
however, that the accused fraternity members are ultimately
particular course of conduct is bound to be very careful, inorder act accompanied by a malicious intent. These imposable penalties
to prevent or avoid damage or injury. In contrast, if the danger is are statutory, mandatory, and not subjectto the discretion of the
minor, not much care is required. It is thus possible that there are court. We have already resolved – and the OSG agrees – that the
countless degrees of precaution or diligence that may be required accused Dizon and Tecson et al. had neither animus interficendi
of an individual, "from a transitory glance of care to the most nor animus iniuriandi in inflicting physical pain on Lenny Villa.
vigilant effort." The duty of the person to employ more or less Hence, we rule that the imposable penalty is what is applicable to
degree of care will depend upon the circumstances of each the crime of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide as defined
particular case. (Emphases supplied, citations omitted) and penalized under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code.
We thus reiterate that the law requires proof beyond reasonable Ruling on the Motions for Clarification or Reconsideration
doubt of the existence of malicious intent or dolus malus before an
accused can be adjudged liable for committing an intentional filed by Tecson et al.
felony.
We clarify, however, the effect of our Decision in light of the
Since the accused were found to have committed a felony by motions of respondents Tecson et al. vis-à-vis G.R. No. 154954
means of culpa, we cannot agree with the argument of the OSG. (People v. Court of Appeals).
It contends that the imposable penalty for intentional felony can
also be applied to the present case on the ground that the nature The finality of a CA decision will not
of the imprudence or negligence of the accused was so gross that bar the state from seeking the
the felony already amounted to malice. The Revised Penal Code annulment of the judgment via a
has carefully delineated the imposable penalties as regards felonies Rule 65 petition.
committed by means of culpaon the one hand and felonies

In their separate motions,21 respondents insist that the previous
committed by means of doloon the other in the context of the
verdict of the CA finding them guilty of slight physical injuries has
distinctions it has drawn between them. The penalties provided in
already lapsed into finality as a result of their respective
Article 365 (Imprudence and Negligence) are mandatorily applied
availments of the probation program and their ultimate discharge
if the death of a person occurs as a result of the imprudence or
therefrom. Hence, they argue that they can no longer be
negligence of another. Alternatively, the penalties outlined in
convicted of the heavier offense of reckless imprudence resulting in
Articles 246 to 261 (Destruction of Life) are automatically
homicide.22 Respondents allude to our Decision in Tan v.
invoked if the death was a result of the commission of a forbidden
People23 to support their contention that the CA judgment can no jeopardy of punishment for the same offense. It is beyond
longer be reversed or annulled even by this Court. contention that the accused would be exposed to double jeopardy
if the state appeals the criminal judgment in order to reverse an
24
The OSG counters that the CA judgment could not have acquittal or even to increase criminal liability. Thus, the accused’s
attained finality, as the former had timely filed with this Court a waiver of the right to appeal – as when applying for probation –
petition for certiorari. It argues that a Rule 65 petition is makes the criminal judgment immediately final and executory.
analogous to an appeal, or a motion for new trial or Our explanation in People v. Nazareno is worth reiterating:28
reconsideration, in that a petition for certiorarialso prevents the
case from becoming final and executory until after the matter is Further prosecution via an appeal from a judgment of acquittal is
ultimately resolved. likewise barred because the government has already been afforded
a complete opportunity to prove the criminal defendant’s
Indeed, Rule 120 of the Rules of Court speaks of the finality of a culpability; after failing to persuade the court to enter a final
criminal judgment once the accused applies for probation, viz: judgment of conviction, the underlying reasons supporting the
constitutional ban on multiple trials applies and becomes
SECTION 7. Modification of judgment. — A judgment of compelling. The reason is not only the defendant’s already
convictionmay, upon motion of the accused, be modified or set established innocence at the first trial where he had been placed
aside before it becomes final or before appeal is perfected. Except in peril of conviction, but also the same untoward and prejudicial
where the death penalty is imposed, a judgment becomes consequences of a second trial initiated by a government who has
finalafter the lapse of the period for perfecting an appeal, or at its disposal all the powers and resources of the State.
whenthe sentence has been partially or totally satisfied or served,
or when the accusedhas waived in writing his right to appeal, or Unfairness and prejudice would necessarily result, as the
has applied for probation. (7a) (Emphases supplied) government would then be allowed another opportunity to
persuade a second trier of the defendant’s guilt while
Coupled with Section 7 of Rule 11725 and Section 1 of Rule strengthening any weaknesses that had attended the first trial, all
122,26 it can be culled from the foregoing provisions that only the in a process where the government’s power and resources are
accused may appeal the criminal aspect of a criminal case, once again employed against the defendant’s individual means.
especially if the relief being sought is the correction or review of That the second opportunity comesvia an appeal does not make
the judgment therein. This rule was instituted in order to give life the effects any less prejudicial by the standards of reason, justice
to the constitutional edict27 against putting a person twice in and conscience. (Emphases supplied, citations omitted)
It must be clarified, however, that the finality of judgment accused applies for probation, we point out that what the state
evinced in Section 7 of Rule 120 does not confer blanket filed therein was a mere motion for the modification of the
invincibility on criminal judgments. We have already explained in penalty, and not a Rule 65 petition. A petition for certiorari is a
our Decision that the rule on double jeopardy is not absolute, and special civil action that is distinct and separate from the main
that this rule is inapplicable to cases in which the state assails the case. While in the main case, the core issue is whether the accused
very jurisdiction of the court that issued the criminal is innocent or guilty of the crime charged, the crux of a Rule 65
29
judgment. The reasoning behind the exception is articulated in petition is whether the court acted (a) without or in excess of its
30
Nazareno, from which we quote: jurisdiction; or (b) with grave abuse of discretion amounting to
lack or excess of jurisdiction. Hence, strictly speaking, there is
In such instance, however, no review of facts and law on the nomodification of judgment in a petition for certiorari, whose
merits, in the manner done in an appeal, actually takes place; the resolution does not call for a re-evaluation of the merits of the
focus of the review is on whether the judgment is per sevoid on case in order to determine the ultimate criminal responsibility of
jurisdictional grounds, i.e., whether the verdict was rendered by a the accused. In a Rule 65 petition, any resulting annulment of a
court that had no jurisdiction; or where the court has appropriate criminal judgment is but a consequence of the finding of lack of
jurisdiction, whether it acted with grave abuse of discretion jurisdiction.
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. In other words, the
review is on the question of whether there has been a validly In view thereof, we find that the proper interpretation of Section
rendered decision, not on the question of the decision’s error or 7 of Rule 120 must be that it is inapplicable and irrelevant where
correctness. Under the exceptional nature of a Rule 65 petition, the court’s jurisdiction is being assailed through a Rule 65 petition.
the burden — a very heavy one — is on the shoulders of the party Section 7 of Rule 120 bars the modification of a criminal
asking for the review to show the presence of a whimsical or judgment only if the appeal brought before the court is in the
capricious exercise of judgment equivalent to lack of jurisdiction; nature of a regular appeal under Rule 41, or an appeal by
or of a patent and gross abuse of discretion amounting to an certiorari under Rule 45, and if that appeal would put the
evasion of a positive duty or a virtual refusal to perform a duty accused in double jeopardy. As it is, we find no irregularity in the
imposed by law or to act in contemplation of law; or to an partial annulment of the CA Decision in CA-G.R. No. 15520 in
exercise of power in an arbitrary and despotic manner by reason spite of its finality, as the judgment therein was issued with grave
of passion and hostility. (Emphases supplied, citations omitted) abuse of discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction.
While this Court’s Decision in Tan may have created an impression
of the unassailability of a criminal judgment as soon as the
The orders of Caloocan City RTC period and upon such terms and conditions as it may deem best;
Branch 130 have no legal effect, as Provided, That no application for probation shall be entertained
they were issued without jurisdiction. or granted if the defendant has perfected the appeal from the
judgment of conviction. x x x x (Emphases supplied)
First, Tecson et al. filed their Applications for Probation with the
wrong court. Part and parcel of our criminal justice system is the It is obvious from the foregoing provision that the law requires
authority or jurisdiction of the court to adjudicate and decide the that an application for probation be filed withthe trial court that
case before it. Jurisdiction refers to the power and capacity of the convicted and sentenced the defendant, meaning the court of
tribunal to hear, try, and decide a particular case or matter origin. Here, the trial court that originally convicted and
before it. 31
That power and capacity includes the competence to sentenced Tecson et al.of the crime of homicide was Branch 121
32
pronounce a judgment, impose a punishment, and enforce or – not Branch 130 – of the Caloocan City RTC.35 Neither the
suspend33 the execution of a sentencein accordance with law. judge of Branch 130 in his Orders nor Tecson et al.in their
pleadings have presented any explanation or shown any special
The OSG questions34 the entire proceedings involving the authority that would clarify why the Applications for Probation
probation applications of Tecson et al. before Caloocan City RTC had not been filed with or taken cognizance of by Caloocan City
Branch 130. Allegedly, the trial court did not have competence to RTC Branch 121. While we take note that in a previous case, the
take cognizance of the applications, considering that it was not CA issued a Decision ordering the inhibition of Branch 121 Judge
the court of origin of the criminal case. The OSG points out that Adoracion G. Angeles from hearing and deciding Criminal Case No.
the trial court that originally rendered the Decision in Criminal C-38340(91), the ruling was made specifically applicable to the
Case No. C-38340(91) was Branch 121 of the Caloocan City RTC. trial of petitioners therein, i.e. accused Concepcion, Ampil,
36
Adriano, and S. Fernandez.
The pertinent provision of the Probation Law is hereby quoted for
reference: Tecson et al. thus committed a fatal error when they filed their
probation applications with Caloocan City RTC Branch 130, and
SEC. 4. Grant of Probation. — Subject to the provisions of this not with Branch 121. We stress that applicants are not at liberty
Decree, the trial court may, after it shall have convicted and to choose the forum in which they may seek probation, as the
sentenced a defendant, and upon application by said defendant requirement under Section 4 of the Probation law is substantive
within the period for perfecting an appeal, suspend the execution and not merely procedural. Considering, therefore, that the
of the sentence and place the defendant on probation for such probation proceedings were premised on an unwarranted exercise
of authority, we find that Caloocan City RTC Branch 130 never perfecting an appeal; when the accused waives the right to appeal;
acquired jurisdiction over the case. upon the grant of a withdrawal ofan appeal; when the sentence
has already been partially or totally satisfied or served; or when
Second, the records of the casewere still with the CA when the accused applies for probation. When the decision attains
Caloocan City RTC Branch 130 granted the probation finality, the judgment or final order is entered in the book of
applications. Jurisdiction over a case is lodged with the court in entries of judgments.43 If the case was previously appealed to the
which the criminal action has been properly instituted.37 If a CA, a certified true copy of the judgment or final order must be
party appeals the trial court’s judgment or final attached to the original record, which shall then be remanded to
order, 38
jurisdiction is transferred to the appellate court. The the clerk of the court from which the appeal was taken.44 The
execution of the decision is thus stayed insofar as the appealing court of origin then reacquires jurisdiction over the case for
39
party is concerned. The court of origin then loses jurisdiction appropriate action. It is during this time that the court of origin
over the entire case the moment the other party’s time to appeal may settle the matter of the execution of penalty or the
has expired. 40
Any residual jurisdiction of the court of origin shall suspension of the execution thereof,45 including the convicts’
cease – including the authority to order execution pending appeal applications for probation.46
– the moment the complete records of the case are transmitted
to the appellate court.41 Consequently, it is the appellate court A perusal of the case records reveals that the CA had not yet
that shall have the authority to wield the power to hear, try, and relinquished its jurisdiction over the case when Caloocan City RTC
decide the case before it, as well as to enforce its decisions and Branch 130 took cognizance of the Applications for Probation of
resolutions appurtenant thereto. That power and authority shall Tecson et al. It shows that the accused filed their respective
remain with the appellate court until it finally disposes of the case. applications47 while a motion for reconsideration was still pending
Jurisdiction cannot be ousted by any subsequent event, even if the before the CA48 and the records were still with that court.49 The
nature of the incident would have prevented jurisdiction from CA settled the motion only upon issuing the Resolution dated 30
attaching in the first place. August 2002 denying it, or about seven months after Tecson et al.
had filed their applications with the trial court.50 In September
According to Article 78 of the Revised Penal Code, "[n]o penalty 2002, or almost a month before the promulgation of the RTC
shall be executed except by virtue of a final judgment." A Order dated 11 October 2002 granting the probation
judgment of a court convicting or acquitting the accused of the 51
applications, the OSG had filed Manifestations of Intent to File
offense charged becomes final under any of the following Petition for Certiorari with the CA52 and this Court.53 Ultimately,
conditions among others:42 after the lapse of the period for the OSG assailed the CA judgments by filing before this Court a
Petition for Certiorari on 25 November 2002.54 We noted the It must be reiterated that probation is not a right enjoyed by the
petition and then required respondents to file a comment accused. Rather, it is an act of grace orclemency conferred by the
55
thereon. After their submission of further pleadings and motions, state. In Francisco v. Court of Appeals,59 this Court explained thus:
we eventually required all parties to file their consolidated
memoranda.56 The records of the case remained with the CA until It is a special prerogative granted by law to a person or group of
they were elevated to this Court in 2008. 57 persons not enjoyed by others or by all. Accordingly, the grant of
probation rests solely upon the discretion of the court which is to
For the foregoing reasons, we find that RTC Branch 130 had no be exercised primarily for the benefit of organized society, and
jurisdiction to act on the probation applications of Tecson et al. It only incidentally for the benefit of the accused. The Probation Law
had neither the power nor the authority to suspend their sentence, should not therefore be permitted to divest the state or its
place them on probation, order their final discharge, and government of any of the latter’s prerogatives, rights or remedies,
eventually declare the case against them terminated. This glaring unless the intention of the legislature to this end is clearly
jurisdictional faux pasis a clear evidence of either gross ignorance expressed, and no person should benefit from the terms of the law
of the law oran underhanded one-upmanship on the part of RTC who is not clearly within them. (Emphases supplied)
Branch 130 or Tecson et al., or both – to which this Court
cannot give a judicial imprimatur. The OSG questions the validity of the grant of the probation
applications of Tecson et al.60 It points out that when they
In any event, Tecson et al. were ineligible to seek probation at the appealed to the CA their homicide conviction by the RTC, they
58
time they applied for it. Probation is a special privilege granted thereby made themselves ineligible to seek probation pursuant to
by the state to penitent qualified offenders who immediately Section 4 of Presidential Decree No. 968 (the Probation Law).
admit their liability and thus renounce their right to appeal. In
view of their acceptance of their fate and willingness to be We refer again to the full text ofSection 4 of the Probation Law as
reformed, the state affords them a chance to avoid the stigma of follows:
an incarceration recordby making them undergo rehabilitation
outside of prison. Some of the major purposes of the law are to SEC. 4. Grant of Probation. — Subject to the provisions of this
help offenders to eventually develop themselves into law-abiding Decree, the trial court may, after it shall have convicted and
and self respecting individuals, as well as to assist them in their sentenced a defendant, and upon application by said defendant
reintegration with the community. within the period for perfecting an appeal, suspend the execution
of the sentence and place the defendant on probation for such
period and upon such terms and conditions as it may deem best; Section 4 of the Probation Law offers no ambiguity and does not
Provided, That no application for probation shall be entertained provide for any distinction, qualification, or exception. What is
or granted if the defendant has perfected the appeal from the clearis that all offenders who previously appealed their cases,
judgment of conviction. regardless of their reason for appealing, are disqualified by the law
from seeking probation. Accordingly, this Court enunciated in
Probation may be granted whether the sentence imposes a term Lagrosathat the accused are disallowed from availing themselves
of imprisonment or a fine only. An application for probation shall of the benefits of probation if they obtain a genuine opportunity
be filed with the trial court. The filing of the application shall be to apply for probation only on appeal as a result of the
deemed a waiver of the right to appeal. downgrading of their sentence from non-probationable to
probationable.
An order granting or denying probation shall not be appealable.
(Emphases supplied) While Lagrosa was promulgated three months after Caloocan City
RTC Branch 130 issued its various Orders discharging Tecson et al.
Indeed, one of the legal prerequisites of probation is that the from probation, the ruling in Lagrosa, however, was a mere
offender must not have appealed the conviction.61 In the 2003 reiteration of the reasoning of this Court since the 1989 case
case Lagrosa v. Court of Appeals, 62
this Court was faced with the Llamado v. Court of Appeals63 and Francisco. The Applications for
issue of whether a convict may still apply for probation even after Probation of Tecson et al., therefore, should not have been
the trial court has imposed a non probationable verdict, provided granted by RTC Branch 130, as they had appealed their
that the CA later on lowers the original penalty to a sentence conviction to the CA. We recall that respondents were originally
within the probationable limit. In that case, the trial court found guilty of homicide and sentenced to suffer 14 years, 8
sentenced the accused to a maximum term of eight years of months, and 1 day of reclusion temporal as maximum.
prisión mayor, which was beyond the coverage of the Probation Accordingly, even if the CA later downgraded their conviction to
Law. They only became eligible for probation after the CA reduced slight physical injuries and sentenced them to 20 days of arresto
the maximum term of the penalty imposed to 1 year, 8 months menor, which made the sentence fall within probationable limits
and 21 days of prisión correccional. for the first time, the RTC should have nonetheless found them
ineligible for probation at the time.
In deciding the case, this Court invoked the reasoning in Francisco
and ruled that the accused was ineligiblefor probation, since they The actions of the trial court must thus be adjudged as an
had filed an appeal with the CA. In Francisco, we emphasized that arbitrary and despotic use of authority, so gross that it divested
the court of its very power to dispense justice. As a consequence, ARTICLE 89. How Criminal Liability is Totally Extinguished. —
the RTC Orders granting the Applications for Probation of Tecson Criminal liability is totally extinguished:
et al. and thereafter discharging them from their criminal liability
must be deemed to have been issued with grave abuse of 1. By the death of the convict, as to the personal penalties;
discretion amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction. and as to pecuniary penalties, liability therefor is
extinguished only when the death of the offender occurs
Whether for lack of jurisdiction orfor grave abuse of discretion, before final judgment.
amounting to lack or excess of jurisdiction, we declare all orders,
resolutions, and judgments of Caloocan City RTC Branch 130 in 2. By service of the sentence.
relation to the probation applications of Tecson et al. null and void
for having been issued without jurisdiction. We find our 3. By amnesty, which completely extinguishes the penalty
pronouncement in Galman v. Sandiganbayan64 applicable, viz: and all its effects.
A void judgment is, in legal effect, no judgment at all. By it no 4. By absolute pardon.
rights are divested. Through it, no rights can be attained. Being

5. By prescription of the crime.
worthless, all proceedings founded upon it are equally worthless. It
neither binds nor bars anyone. All acts performed under it and all
6. By prescription of the penalty.
claims flowing out of it are void. (Emphasis supplied)
7. By the marriage of the offended woman, as provided in

The ultimate discharge of Tecson et
article 344 of this Code. (Emphasis supplied)
al. from probation did not totally
extinguish their criminal liability.
As previously discussed, a void judgment cannot be the source of
legal rights; legally speaking, it is as if no judgment had been
Accused Bantug asserts65 that, in any event, their criminal
rendered at all. Considering our annulment of the Orders of
liability has already been extinguished as a result of their discharge
Caloocan City RTC Branch 130 in relation to the probation
from probation and the eventual termination of the criminal case
proceedings, respondents cannot claim benefits that technically do
against them by Caloocan City RTC Branch 130. To support his
not exist.
argument, he cites the following provision of the Revised Penal
Code:
In any event, Tecson et al.cannot invoke Article89 of the Revised Secondly, it is true that under the probation law the accused who
Penal Code, as we find it inapplicable to this case. One of the appeals "from the judgment of conviction" is disqualified from
hallmarks of the Probation Law is precisely to "suspend the availing himself of the benefits of probation. But, as it happens,
66
execution of the sentence," and not to replace the original two judgments of conviction have been meted out to Arnel: one, a
sentence with another, as we pointed out in our discussion in conviction for frustrated homicide by the regional trial court,now
67
Baclayon v. Mutia: set aside; and, two, a conviction for attempted homicide by the
Supreme Court.
An order placing defendant on "probation" is not a "sentence" but
is rather in effect a suspension of the imposition of sentence. It is If the Court chooses to go by the dissenting opinion’s hard position,
not a final judgment but is rather an "interlocutory judgment"in it will apply the probation law on Arnel based on the trial court’s
the nature of a conditional order placing the convicted defendant annulled judgment against him. He will not be entitled to
under the supervision of the court for his reformation, to be probation because of the severe penalty that such judgment
followed by a final judgment of discharge, if the conditions of the imposed on him. More, the Supreme Court’s judgment of
probation are complied with, or by a final judgment of sentence if conviction for a lesser offense and a lighter penalty will also have
the conditions are violated. (Emphases supplied) to bend over to the trial court’s judgment — even if this has been
found in error. And, worse, Arnel will now also be made to pay
Correspondingly, the criminal liability of Tecson et al.remains. for the trial court’s erroneous judgment with the forfeiture of his
In light of our recent Decision in right to apply for probation. Ang kabayo ang nagkasala, ang
Colinares v. People, Tecson et al. hagupit ay sa kalabaw(the horse errs, the carabao gets the whip).
may now reapply for probation. Where is justice there?
Very recently, in Colinares v. People,68 we revisited our ruling in The dissenting opinion also expresses apprehension that allowing
Franciscoand modified our pronouncements insofar as the Arnel to apply for probation would dilute the ruling of this Court
eligibility for probation of those who appeal their conviction is in Francisco v. Court of Appealsthat the probation law requires
concerned. Through a majority vote of 9-6, the Court En Bancin that an accused must not have appealed his conviction before he
effect abandoned Lagrosaand settled the following once and for can avail himself of probation. But there is a huge difference
all:69 between Franciscoand this case.
xxx x
Here, however, Arnel did not appeal from a judgment that would the teaching in many cases that the Probation Law should be
have allowed him to apply for probation. He did not have a choice applied in favor of the accused not because it is a criminal law but
between appeal and probation. Hewas not in a position to say, "By to achieve its beneficent purpose.
taking this appeal, I choose not to apply for probation." The stiff
penalty that the trial court imposed on him denied him that xxx x
choice. Thus, a ruling that would allow Arnel to now seek
probation under this Court’s greatly diminished penalty will not At any rate, what is clear is that, had the RTC done what was
dilute the sound ruling in Francisco. It remains that those who will right and imposed on Arnel the correct penalty of two years and
appeal from judgments of conviction, when they have the option four months maximum, he would havehad the right to apply for
to try for probation, forfeit their right to apply for that privilege. probation. No one could say with certainty that he would have
availed himself of the right had the RTC doneright by him. The
xxx x idea may not even have crossed his mind precisely since the
penalty he got was not probationable.
In a real sense, the Court’s finding that Arnel was guilty, not of
frustrated homicide, but only of attempted homicide, is an The question in this case is ultimately one of fairness.1âwphi1 Is it
original conviction that for the first time imposes on him a fair to deny Arnel the right to apply for probation when the new
probationable penalty. Had the RTC done him right from the start, penalty that the Court imposes on him is, unlike the one
it would have found him guilty of the correct offense and imposed erroneously imposed by the trial court, subject to probation?
on him the right penalty of two years and four months maximum. (Emphases supplied)
This would have afforded Arnel the right to apply for probation.
In our Decision, we set aside the RTC and the CA judgments and
The Probation Law never intended to deny an accused his right to found Tecson et al.ultimately liable for the crime of reckless
probation through no fault of his. The underlying philosophy of imprudence resulting in homicide. Pursuant to Article 365 of the
probation is one of liberality towards the accused. Such philosophy Revised Penal Code, the offense is punishable by arresto mayor in
is not served by a harsh and stringent interpretation of the its maximum period (from 4 months and 1 day to 6 months) to
statutory provisions. As Justice Vicente V. Mendoza said in his prisión correccional in its medium period (from 2 years, 4 months,
dissent in Francisco, the Probation Law must not be regarded as a and 1 day to 4 years and 2 months). Considering that the new
mere privilege to be given to the accused only where it clearly ruling in Colinares is more favorable to Tecson et al., we rule that
appears he comes within its letter; to do so would be to disregard they are now eligible to apply for probation. Since Fidelito Dizon
(Dizon) was convicted of the same crime, we hereby clarify that Penal Code for the offense of reckless imprudence resulting in
Dizon is also eligible for probation. homicide, in accordance with the Indeterminate Sentence Law
(ISL),70 the phrase "and one (1) day," which had been
While we cannot recognize the validityof the Orders of RTC inadvertently added, must be removed. Consequently, in the first
Branch 130, which granted the Applications for Probation, we paragraph of the dispositive portion, the fourth sentence should
cannot disregard the fact that Tecson et al. have fulfilled the now read as follows:
terms and conditions of their previous probation program and
have eventually been discharged therefrom. Thus, should they They are hereby sentenced to suffer anindeterminate prison term
reapply for probation, the trial court may, at its discretion, of four (4) months of arresto mayor, as minimum, to four (4)
consider their antecedent probation service in resolving whether years and two (2) months of prisión correccional, as maximum. In
to place them under probation at this time and in determining this instance, we further find it important to clarify the accessory
the terms, conditions, and period thereof. penalties inherent to the principal penalty imposed on Dizon and
Tecson et al.
Final clarificatory matters
By operation of Articles 40 to 45 and 73 of the Revised Penal
We now take this opportunity to correct an unintentional Code, a corresponding accessory penalty automatically attaches
typographical error in the minimum term of the penalty imposed every time a court lays down a principal penalty outlined in
on the accused Dizon and Tecson et al. While this issue was not Articles 25 and 27 thereof.71 The applicable accessory penalty is
raised by any of the parties before us, this Court deems it proper determined by using as reference the principal penaltyimposed by
to discuss the matter ex proprio motuin the interest of justice. In the court before the prison sentence is computed in accordance
the first paragraph of the dispositive portion of our Decision dated with the ISL.72 This determination is made in spite of the two
1 February 2012, the fourth sentence reads as follows: classes ofpenalties mentioned in an indeterminate sentence. It
must be emphasized that the provisions on the inclusion of
They are hereby sentenced to suffer anindeterminate prison term accessory penalties specifically allude to the actual
of four (4) months and one (1) day of arresto mayor, as "penalty" 73
imposed, not to the "prison sentence" 74
set by a court.
minimum, to four (4) years and two (2) months of prisión We believe that the ISL did not intend to have the effect of
correccional, as maximum. imposing on the convict two distinct sets of accessory penalties for
the same offense.75 The two penalties are only relevant insofar as
As we had intended to impose on the accused the maximum term
setting the minimum imprisonment period is concerned, after
of the "penalty next lower" than that prescribed by the Revised
which the convict may apply for parole and eventually seek the with law. Their suspension takes effect immediately, once the
76
shortening of the prison term. judgment of conviction becomes final.82
Under Article 365 of the Revised Penal Code, the prescribed We further point out that if the length of their imprisonment
penalty for the crime of reckless imprudence resulting in homicide exceeds 18 months, they shall furthermore suffer a perpetual
is arresto mayor in its maximum period to prisión correccionalin special disqualification from the right of suffrage. Under Article 32
its medium period. As this provision grants courts the discretion of the RevisedPenal Code, if this accessory penalty attaches, it
tolay down a penalty without regard to the presence of shall forever deprive them of the exercise of their right (a) to vote
mitigating and aggravating circumstances, the imposable in any popular election for any public office; (b) to be elected to
penaltymust also be within the aforementioned range. 77
Hence, that office; and (c) to hold any public office.83 Any public office
before applying the ISL, we ultimately imposed on Dizon and that they may be holding becomes vacant upon finality of the
Tecson et al. the actual (straight) penalty 78
of four years and two judgment.84 The aforementioned accessory penalties can only be
months of prisión correccional.79 Pursuant to Article 43 of the wiped out if expressly remitted in a pardon.85
Revised Penal Code, the penalty of prisión correccional
automatically carries with it80 the following accessory penalties: Of course, the aforementioned accessory penalties are without
ARTICLE 43. Prisión Correccional— Its accessory penalties. — The prejudice to a grant of probation, shouldthe trial court find them
penalty of prisión correccional shall carry with it that of eligible therefor. As we explained in Baclayon,86 the grant of
suspension from public office, from the right tofollow a profession probation suspends the execution of the principal penalty of
or calling, and that of perpetual special disqualification from the imprisonment, as well as that of the accessory penalties. We have
right of suffrage, if the duration of said imprisonment shall exceed reiterated this point in Moreno v. Commission on Elections:87
eighteen months. The offender shall suffer the disqualification
provided in this article although pardoned as to the principal In Baclayon v. Mutia, the Court declared that an order placing
penalty, unless the same shall have been expressly remitted in the defendant on probation is not a sentence but is rather, in effect, a
pardon. suspension of the imposition of sentence. We held that the grant

of probation to petitioner suspended the imposition of the
The duration of their suspension shall be the same as that of their principal penalty of imprisonment, as well as the accessory
principal penalty sans the ISL; that is, for four years and two penalties of suspension from public office and from the right to
months81 or until they have served their sentence in accordance follow a profession or calling, and that of perpetual special
disqualification from the right of suffrage. We thus deleted from
the order granting probation the paragraph which required that without or in excess of its jurisdiction in taking cognizance of the
petitioner refrain from continuing with her teaching profession. aforementioned Applications for Probation, we hereby ANNUL the
entire probation proceedings and SET ASIDE all orders,
Applying this doctrine to the instant case, the accessory penalties resolutions, or judgments issued in connection thereto. We,
of suspension from public office, from the right to follow a however, CLARIFY that Antonio Mariano Almeda, Junel Anthony
profession or calling, and that of perpetual special disqualification D. Arna, Renato Bantug, Jr., Vincent Tecson, and Fidelito Dizon
from the right of suffrage, attendant to the penalty of arresto are eligible to apply or reapply for probation in view of our recent
mayor in its maximum period to prision correccional in its ruling in Colinares v. People of the Philippines,88 without prejudice
minimum period imposed upon Moreno were similarly suspended to their remaining civil liability, if any.
upon the grant of probation.
Furthermore, we issue a CORRECTION of the dispositive portion of
It appears then that during the period of probation, the our Decision dated 1 February 2012 and hereby delete the phrase
probationer is not even disqualified from running for a public "and one (1) day" located in the fourth sentence of the first
office because the accessory penalty of suspension from public paragraph thereof. The sentence shall now read as follows: "They
office is put on hold for the duration of the probation. x x x x. are hereby sentenced to suffer an indeterminate prison term of
During the period of probation, the probationer does not serve the four (4) months of arresto mayor, as minimum, to four (4) years
penalty imposed upon him by the court but is merely required to and two (2) months of prisi6n correccional, as maximum."
comply with all the conditions prescribed in the probation order.
SO ORDERED.
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Motion for Partial
Reconsideration of petitioner Gerarda H. Villa in connection with MARIA LOURDES P.A. SERENO
G.R. Nos. 178057 & 178080 is hereby DENIED. The Motion for Chief Justice
Reconsideration filed by the Office of the Solicitor General
concerning G.R. Nos. 155101 and 154954 is also DENIED. WE CONCUR:
The respective Motions for Clarification or Reconsideration of ANTONIO T. CARPIO

Antonio Mariano Almeda, Junel Anthony D. Arna, Renato Bantug, Senior Associate Justice
Jr., and Vincent Tecson are likewise DENIED. In light of the Chairperson
finding that Caloocan City Regional Trial Court Branch 130 acted
MARTIN S. VILLARAMA, JR.* JOSE PORTUGAL PEREZ

Associate Justice Associate Justice
BIENVENIDO L. REYES
Associate Justice
CER T IF IC AT IO N
Pursuant to Section 13, Article VIII of the Constitution, I certify

that the conclusions in the above Resolution had been reached in
consultation before the case was assigned to the writer of the
opinion of the Court's Division.
MARIA LOURDES P.A. SERENO

Chief Justice

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LEGAL ETHICS 2019 ASSIGNMENT #1

to pursue his own education.

It was rumored that Thomas married her because he wanted a

During his tenure as Lord Chancellor, More prosecuted those

On April 13, 1534, More was ordered to take an oath,

London. he was "the king's good servant, but God's first."

However, he had no defense against treachery, and several

1948, Delhi), Indian lawyer, politician, social activist, and writer

DIED  Before taking a vow of celibacy, Mahatma Gandhi had

 Indian National Congress English and Latin by taking the University of

The Honourable In office

Preceded by Alejo Mabanag

Succeeded by Juan Liwag

Chairman of the Presidential Committee on Human

Detail of the Wall of Remembrance at the Bantayog ng In office

Born February 26, 1922

Early life and education[edit]

Famous quotes[edit] power, the United States of America. There is no

1950 1,316 893 26

that it was intended to make the college diploma

responsibility for a good and efficient administration of justice and

This is a revised Bar bill to meet the objections of the

(Sgd.) PABLO ANGELES DAVID

LABRADOR, J., concurring and dissenting:

To say that the admission of the bar candidates benefited under

The 1987 Constitution provides in Section 1(1), Article IX-

"There shall be a Commission on Elections composed of a

Illinois), 1986], p. 15]).

effective managerial procedures and to understand relationships of

exercise or pursue an employment or profession actively,

he do so HABITUALLY FOR AT LEAST TEN (10) YEARS prior to

COMELEC chairman but also for appointment to the Supreme there?

7. 1986-1987: Philippine Constitutional Commission — Member e. Graphic Atelier

8. 1989-1991: The Fact-Finding Commission on the December f. Manila Electric Company

a. ACE Container Philippines, Inc. i. Tarlac Reforestation and Environment Enterprises

b. Dataprep, Philippines j. Tolong Aquaculture Corporation

c. Philippine SUN systems Products, Inc. k. Visayan Aquaculture Corporation

d. Semirara Coal Corporation l. Guimaras Aquaculture Corporation"

e. CBL Timber Corporation (Rollo, pp. 21-22)

"The practice of law involves not only appearance in court in

x x x kind. In other words, it is a habitual exercise (People v. Villanueva,

kind. In other words, it is frequent habitual exercise (State v.

112) not fall under the denomination of practice of law. Admission to

wit:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph to isolated transactions of foreign corporations in the Philippines

proceedings are instituted for disbarment and for

In Re Keenan:6 rights and interests of their clients, but be able to

anything, to the public and to the

appropriate written manifestation, of the names and addresses of vs.

x--- --- ---------- --- ----x

Fidelito Dizon (Dizon) and Artemio Villareal (Villareal) demanded

3. Efren de Leon (De Leon) 19. Ernesto Jose Montecillo (Montecillo)

4. Vincent Tecson (Tecson) 20. Santiago Ranada III (Ranada)

5. Junel Anthony Ama (Ama) 21. Zosimo Mendoza (Mendoza)

6. Antonio Mariano Almeda (Almeda) 22. Vicente Verdadero (Verdadero)

7. Renato Bantug, Jr. (Bantug) 23. Amante Purisima II (Purisima)

8. Nelson Victorino (Victorino) 24. Jude Fernandez (J. Fernandez)

9. Eulogio Sabban (Sabban) 25. Adel Abas (Abas)

10. Joseph Lledo (Lledo) 26. Percival Brigola (Brigola)

11. Etienne Guerrero (Guerrero) In Criminal Case No. C-38340

12. Michael Musngi (Musngi) 1. Manuel Escalona II (Escalona)

13. Jonas Karl Perez (Perez) 2. Crisanto Saruca, Jr. (Saruca)

14. Paul Angelo Santos (Santos) 3. Anselmo Adriano (Adriano)

15. Ronan de Guzman (De Guzman) 4. Marcus Joel Ramos (Ramos)