TONY PETER PARTSCH v. ATTY. REYNALDO A. VITORILLO A.C. No.

10897, January 4,
2022,

Facts:

Swiss citizen Tony Peter Partsch wanted to buy a piece of oceanfront real estate in Bayabas, Cagayan de
Oro. Atty. Over 800 square meters of the aforementioned beachfront site were claimed by Reynaldo
Vitorillo. He claimed to Partsch that he already had the title to 100 square meters of the subject land.
The subject lot's remaining 700 square meters were still awaiting registration, but they will purportedly
be finished in three months. Atty. Then, Vitorillo made Partsch an offer to buy the concerned property.
Atty. received Partsch's tender. Vitorillo received a P250,000.00 partial payment for the concerned
property. Whilst Atty. A receipt for the transaction was given to Partsch by Vitorillo; no absolute sale
document was signed. Instead, Atty. Vitorillo promised Partsch to draw the deed of absolute
sale along with the land titles after three months.
The IBP Commission on Bar Discipline's (CBD) Investigating Commissioner found that Atty. Vitorillo has
been found guilty of breaking Rule 1.01 of Canon 1 and Rule 7.01 of Canon 7 of the Code of Professional
Responsibility (CPR) as a result of his actions and misrepresentations, which have developed into
purposeful, gross dishonesty, and gross misconduct. Attorney was counseled by the investigating
commissioner to do so. Vitorillo be barred from the legal profession for a period of two (2) years.

ISSUE

Whether or not Atty. Vitorillo violated the Code of Professional Responsibility.

Held:

Admission to the Bar does not in any way provide the right to ignore legal inconsistencies, control legal
proceedings, or influence the legal experts' technical judgments. When signing the Lawyer's Oath,
attorneys pledge to support the Constitution and obey the law at all times, never wavering in the face of
temptation from vices of luxury, convenience, and worldly indulgences.

Even non-attorneys should be aware of the ban on foreign ownership of private lands in the Philippines
because it is such a fundamental law. As an attorney, Atty. We assume Vitorillo is aware of this. In spite
of having this information, Atty. The concerned property was still advertised for sale by Vitorillo to
Partsch, a citizen of Switzerland. More evidence that Atty. The problematic directive Vitorillo gave to
Partsch to immediately begin fencing the subject land without any acceptable assurance from the
attorney exemplifies his unethical behavior. the title thereto of Vitorillo. Once more, Atty. This
significant accusation had not been countered by Vitorillo. He is considered to have broken Canon 1,
Rule 1.02, which forbids counseling actions that are intended to flout the law.