Case Digest (B.M. No. 139)
Facts:
Elmo S. Abad, 1978 Successful Bar Examinee, BM No. 139, March 28, 1983, the Supreme Court En Banc, Abad Santos, J., writing for the Court.The complainant was Atty. Procopio S. Beltran, Jr., then president of the Philippine Trial Lawyers Association, Inc.; the respondent was Elmo S. Abad. Beltran charged Abad with practicing law despite not having been duly admitted to the Philippine Bar. Abad admitted that he had practiced but offered an explanation of events and documentary proofs (receipts for bar admission fee, certification fee, Integrated Bar membership dues, Professional Tax Receipts, and certificates of membership and good standing in the IBP Quezon City Chapter) to show his belief that he had been admitted.
Abad recounted that on July 26, 1979 he was included by then Clerk of Court Atty. Romeo Mendoza among those taking the lawyer’s oath; while waiting, he signed a lawyer’s oath at the Office of the Bar Confidant at the instruction of a clerk and was told by Mendoza that Chief Justice Enrique M. Fernando wanted him to answer a pending reply in SBC No. 607 (Jorge Q. Uy v. Elmo S. Abad), so the taking of his oath was suspended. He filed a reply in the underlying SBC matter and later paid IBP dues and other assessments, was listed as a qualified voter for IBP elections, and maintained membership certificates — all of which he said bolstered his good-faith belief that he was a member of the Bar.
The Court noted ancillary proceedings: SBC No. 607 (Jorge Q. Uy v. Elmo S. Abad) was dismissed on November 25, 1982 due to the death of the complainant Jorge Uy; BM No. 136 (Esperanza T. Sistoso, et al. v. Elmo S. Abad) for qualified theft remained pending and Abad had been ordered to file an answer on October 26, 1982.
The Supreme Court En Banc, acting in its original bar‑matter and disciplinary...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Did Elmo S. Abad become a member of the Philippine Bar by the acts he described (payments, signing an oath at the clerk’s office, being included among those to take the oath, payment of IBP dues, and related acts)?
- If not, did Abad’s practice of law while not admitted constitute contempt of cou...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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