Case Digest (SBC Case No. 519)
Facts:
Patricia Figueroa v. Simeon Barranco, Jr., SBC Case No. 519, July 31, 1997, Supreme Court En Banc, Romero, J., writing for the Court.In 1971 Patricia Figueroa filed a complaint seeking to bar Simeon Barranco, Jr. from admission to the bar. Barranco had passed the 1970 bar examination on his fourth attempt (after failed tries in 1966, 1967 and 1968) but, before taking his oath, Figueroa alleged gross immorality: that they had been sweethearts since the 1950s, that their consensual intimacy produced an illegitimate son (Rafael Barranco, born December 11, 1964), and that respondent repeatedly promised to marry her but ultimately married another woman.
Hearings before Investigator Victor F. Sevilla were held in June and July 1971, and the Court authorized the taking of testimony by deposition in 1972. Respondent repeatedly moved to dismiss the case — motions noted and denied in 1974, again denied in 1980, and further motions recorded in 1982 and 1988. In his pleadings respondent cited the length of the proceedings, his public service (election to the Sangguniang Bayan of Janiuay, Iloilo, 1980–1986), civic participation, and community standing as reasons to allow him to take the oath.
On September 29, 1988 the Court resolved to dismiss the complaint for failure to prosecute and to allow Barranco to take the oath, but on November 17, 1988 it cancelled the scheduled oath-taking in response to complainant’s opposition. On June 1, 1993 the Court referred the case to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for investigation, report and recommendation. The IBP report dated May 17,...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Should the complaint against Simeon Barranco, Jr. be dismissed for failure to prosecute and the long pendency of the proceedings (procedural laches)?
- Do the facts alleged—consensual premarital sexual relations resulting in an illegitimate child and unfulfilled promises to marry—constitute gross immorality that warrants permanent exclusion...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Ratio:
- (Subscriber-Only)
Doctrine:
- (Subscriber-Only)