Title
Zafra III vs. Pagatpatan
Case
A.C. No. 12457
Decision Date
Apr 2, 2019
Atty. Pagatpatan disbarred for unauthorized law practice post-suspension and fined for unethical letter to Bishop pressuring Fr. Zafra in estafa case.
lawyer
simple misconduct
fine

Case Summary (A.C. No. 12457)

Factual Background

Fr. Zafra filed a criminal complaint for estafa against Buniel and Guirnalda. While that criminal case remained pending, Atty. Pagatpatan—who was the counsel on record for Buniel and Guirnalda—wrote a letter to the Bishop of the Diocese of Tandag requesting an investigation of Fr. Zafra. The letter alleged that Fr. Zafra was concocting stories against Atty. Pagatpatan’s clients and characterized Fr. Zafra’s alleged conduct as not only a sin but a “MORTAL SIN.”

Fr. Zafra claimed that he was embarrassed because of the “malicious” letter and that he was eventually investigated by the Board of Consultors with the Bishop, after which he was able to clear his name. Fr. Zafra then filed an administrative complaint against Atty. Pagatpatan with the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP).

In his complaint, Fr. Zafra asserted that Atty. Pagatpatan violated Rule 1.02 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, arguing that rather than defending his clients’ case in court, Atty. Pagatpatan allegedly instigated them to stir controversies through libelous and untruthful accusations. Fr. Zafra maintained that Atty. Pagatpatan’s act of writing and sending the letter to the Bishop was not motivated by duty but by personal vendetta and animosity, particularly because his clients had been arrested for the estafa Fr. Zafra filed. He further argued that Atty. Pagatpatan failed to act as a mediator for concord and compromise.

Fr. Zafra also alleged unauthorized practice of law. He stated that in 2005 the Supreme Court had suspended Atty. Pagatpatan from practice of law for two years in Daniel Mortera, et al. v. Atty. Renato B. Pagatpatan with A.C. No. 4562. Fr. Zafra claimed that the order of suspension had not been lifted, yet Atty. Pagatpatan continued to represent parties in other cases before several branches of the RTC in Davao City.

Administrative Proceedings Before the IBP

For his part, Atty. Pagatpatan denied unethical conduct. He argued that writing a letter to request an investigation of Fr. Zafra was not unethical. He maintained that, as counsel, he merely aided his clients in bringing to the Bishop’s attention the alleged actuations of Fr. Zafra in connection with the estafa complaint. He further claimed the letter sought to persuade Fr. Zafra to settle “silently” and to refrain from proceeding to a full trial.

Although Atty. Pagatpatan did not deny continuing to practice law despite the Supreme Court’s suspension order, he justified his conduct by citing the need to work to support his family, noting that his wife had been ill and later died on December 12, 2010. He also manifested that he had no intention to defy the suspension order and that he withdrew his appearances in cases he was handling, including the estafa case involving his clients.

The IBP proceedings culminated in a Report and Recommendation dated June 13, 2018 by the investigating commissioner. The IBP did not find Atty. Pagatpatan administratively liable for writing the letter-request. The investigating commissioner reasoned that lawyers were not prohibited from writing letters to the Bishop concerning priests within the Bishop’s jurisdiction, including matters pending before the Office of the Provincial Prosecutors or the courts, because the letter was merely requesting investigation of Fr. Zafra’s conduct. The commissioner also found no basis to attribute malice or bad faith from the act of sending the letter-complaint.

On the separate issue of Atty. Pagatpatan’s continued practice of law despite his suspension, the IBP held that he had no discretion to disregard the suspension order. Relying on Section 27, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court, the IBP noted that the suspension had been ordered on June 15, 2005, that there was no order lifting it, and that Atty. Pagatpatan had nevertheless continued practicing law for over thirteen (13) years. The IBP thus concluded this amounted to willful disobedience. It recommended a penalty of suspension from the practice of law for three (3) years, with a warning that repetition would warrant a more severe penalty.

The Board of Governors of the IBP, in a resolution dated July 12, 2018, modified the recommended penalty to suspension for three (3) years, after service of the previous two-year suspension.

Ruling of the Court on the Letter and the Suspension Evasion

On review, the Supreme Court rejected Atty. Pagatpatan’s characterization that he merely espoused his clients’ cause in the letter-request. The Court noted that Atty. Pagatpatan admitted writing the letter to resolve the estafa case, as settlement proceedings with the regular courts had proved futile. The Court concluded that the letter-request was not driven by a sincere purpose to discipline Fr. Zafra for his actions. Instead, it was meant “to bring threat to Fr. Zafra and force him to settle” the estafa case filed against the clients, and Atty. Pagatpatan did not want the criminal case to proceed to a full-blown trial.

The Supreme Court reiterated that lawyers must abstain from offensive personality and must not advance facts prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless required by the justice of the cause with which a person is charged. The Court considered it of no consequence that the letter was filed with the Bishop. In the Court’s view, as an oath-bound servant of the law, Atty. Pagatpatan’s first duty was not to his client but to the administration of justice, and his conduct had to remain scrupulously observant of law and ethics. The Court found that Atty. Pagatpatan acted with malice in writing the letter.

While the Court found malice and unethical behavior concerning the letter, it refused to impose the extreme penalty of disbarment solely on that ground. It treated the misconduct as simple misconduct, not warranting disbarment by reason of the letter alone. Accordingly, the Court imposed a fine of PHP 5,000.00 for the unethical behavior in writing the letter against Fr. Zafra.

More decisive in the Court’s disposition, however, was the fact that Atty. Pagatpatan had continued practicing law despite a Supreme Court suspension order issued on June 15, 2005. The Court observed that there was no showing in the records that Atty. Pagatpatan served the suspension or moved to lift the order. The Court held that Atty. Pagatpatan’s continued legal practice from 2005 onward constituted willful disobedience and gross misconduct under Section 27, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court.

The Court emphasized the specific statutory language: a member of the bar may be disbarred or suspended for willful disobedience of any lawful order of a superior court, and for other enumerated grounds including gross misconduct. The Court further underscored that practice of law is not a right but a privilege subject to the Supreme Court’s inherent regulatory power, and when an attorney no longer deserves the trust and confidence of clients and the public, it becomes the Court’s duty to withdraw that privilege. The Court characterized Atty. Pagatpatan’s conduct as an utter disrespect for the Court and the legal profession, stating that he had defied the suspension for over eleven (11) years and would have continued to disregard the suspension order but for the instant complaint.

Legal Basis and Reasoning

The Court anchored its findings on two complementary lines of reasoning.

First, on the letter-request to the Bishop, the Court applied the ethical expectations governing lawyers’ conduct, including the requirement to avoid offensive personality and prejudicial factual assertions. It held that Atty. Pagatpatan’s letter was not a legitimate, good-faith disciplinary approach. It was instead used as leverage to threaten and force settlement, and this undermined the lawyer’s duty to advance justice through lawful and ethical means. The Court held that the filing with the Bishop did not immunize Atty. Pagatpatan from ethical scrutiny.

Second, on unauthorized practic

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