A.C. No. 5379 - Young vs. Batuegas

On December 29, 2000, Atty. Walter T. Young filed a Verified Affidavit-Complaint for the disbarment of Attys. Ceasar G. Batuegas, Miguelito Nazareno V. Llantino, and Franklin Q. Susa.
The complaint was based on the allegation that the respondent attorneys committed deliberate falsehood in court and violated the lawyer's oath.

Complainant Walter T. Young was serving as the private prosecutor in Criminal Case No. 00-187627 for Murder (People of the Philippines versus Crisanto Arana, Jr.), pending before the RTC of Manila, Branch 27.
In connection with this case, respondents Batuegas and Llantino, acting as counsel for the accused, filed a Manifestation with Motion for Bail on December 13, 2000.

The Motion for Bail alleged that the accused had voluntarily surrendered and was under detention, despite evidence suggesting otherwise.
A Certificate of Detention from the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) indicated that the accused actually surrendered on December 14, 2000, thereby contradicting the allegation in the motion.
The motion was also marked by several formal defects:

Lack of proper notice of hearing to the private prosecutor.
Violation of the three-day notice rule, which is a procedural requisite.
Failure to attach the Certificate of Detention referenced in the motion as Annex "1."

Batuegas and Llantino maintained that upon learning of a warrant of arrest, they promptly filed the motion and then immediately fetched the accused from Cavite to facilitate a voluntary surrender. They contended that:

The delay in the surrender (resulting in the Certificate of Detention dated December 14, 2000) was due to heavy traffic and logistical issues.
There was no unethical conduct in their pleading since their client was indeed in custody at the NBI during the hearing on December 15, 2000.

They also argued that the complainant, as a private prosecutor, was not entitled to notice of hearing, although copies of the motion had been furnished to both the State and City prosecutors.
Respondent Franklin Q. Susa, the Branch Clerk of the RTC, submitted that:

He had calendared the motion on December 15, 2000 following the presiding judge’s explicit instruction to accept the motion subject to presentation of the Certificate of Detention before the hearing.
His action was a faithful performance of his ministerial duties, as he was no longer in court when the filing occurred.

On August 13, 2001, the case was referred to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for investigation, reporting, and recommendation.
The Investigating Commissioner, Rebecca Villanueva-Maala, submitted a report on December 7, 2001, with the following recommendations:

Suspension of Attys. Ceasar G. Batuegas and Miguelito Nazareno V. Llantino from the practice of law for six (6) months.
Dismissal of the complaint against Atty. Franklin Q. Susa for lack of merit.

The IBP-Commission on Bar Discipline later adopted these recommendations in Resolution No. XV-2002-400, affirming the suspensions and dismissing the complaint against Susa.

Whether the respondents committed deliberate falsehood by alleging that the accused had voluntarily surrendered and was in the custody of the NBI on December 13, 2000, contrary to evidence showing that the surrender occurred on December 14, 2000.
Whether the filing of the Manifestation with Motion for Bail, with its accompanying procedural defects (non-observance of the three-day notice rule and exclusion of the necessary Certificate of Detention), constitutes unethical conduct warranting disbarment.
Whether the actions of respondent Susa, in calendaring the motion on the court’s schedule following the presiding judge’s instruction, absolve him from any administrative liability for the defects present in the motion.