Ong vs. Delos Santos

EN BANC
[A.C. No. 10179. March 4, 2014.]

(Formerly CBD 11-2985)
BENJAMIN Q. ONG, complainant, vs. ATTY. WILLIAM F. DELOS

SANTOS, respondent.
DECISION
BERSAMIN, J :
p
A lawyer's issuance of a worthless check renders him in breach of his oath to

obey the laws. To accord with the canon of professional responsibility that requires him
to uphold the Constitution, obey the laws of the land, and promote respect for the law
and legal processes, he thereby becomes administratively liable for gross misconduct.
Antecedents
In January 2008, complainant Benjamin Ong was introduced to respondent Atty.
William F. delos Santos by Sheriff Fernando Mercado of the Metropolitan Trial Court of
Manila. After several calls and personal interactions between them, Ong and Atty. Delos
Santos became friends. 1 In time, according to Ong, Atty. Delos Santos asked him to
encash his postdated check inasmuch as he was in dire need of cash. To reassure Ong
that the check would be funded upon maturity, Atty. Delos Santos bragged about his
lucrative practice and his good paying clients. Convinced of Atty. Delos Santos' financial
stability, Ong handed to Atty. Delos Santos on January 29, 2008 the amount of
P100,000.00 in exchange for the latter's Metrobank Check No. 0110268 postdated
February 29, 2008. 2 However, the check was dishonored upon presentment for the
reason that the account was closed. 3 Ong relayed the matter of the dishonor to Atty.
Delos Santos, and demanded immediate payment, but the latter just ignored
him. 4 When efforts to collect remained futile, Ong brought a criminal complaint
for estafa and for violation of Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 against Atty. Delos Santos. 5 Ong
also brought this disbarment complaint against Atty. Delos Santos in the Integrated Bar
of the Philippines (IBP), which docketed the complaint as CBD Case No. 11-2985. HCITcA
Findings and Recommendation

of the IBP Bar Commissioner
In his Commissioner's Report, 6 IBP Bar Commissioner Jose I. dela Rama, Jr. stated
that Ong had sufficiently established the existence of the dishonored check; and that
Atty. Delos Santos did not file his answer despite notice, and did not also present
contrary evidence. 7 He recommended that Atty. Delos Santos be held liable for violating
Canon 1, Rule 1.01 and Canon 7, Rule 7.03 of the Code of Professional Responsibility;
and that the penalty of suspension from the practice of law for two years, plus the
return of the amount of P100,000.00 to the complainant, 8 be meted on Atty. Delos
Santos in view of an earlier disbarment case brought against him (Lucman v. Atty. Delos
Santos, CBD Case No. 09-253).
Resolution No. XX-2013-253
On March 20, 2013, the IBP Board of Governors issued Resolution No. XX-2013-
253 adopting and approving the findings of IBP Commissioner Dela Rama, Jr., 9 to wit:
RESOLVED to ADOPT and APPROVE, as it is hereby unanimously
ADOPTED and APPROVED the Report and Recommendation of the
Investigating Commissioner in the above-entitled case, herein made part of
this Resolution as Annex "A," and finding the recommendation fully supported
by the evidence on record and the applicable laws and rules and considering
that Respondent violated Canon 1, Rule 1.01 and Canon 7, Rule 7.03 of
the Code of Professional Responsibility, Atty. William F. Delos Santos is hereby
SUSPENDED from the practice of law for three (3) years and ORDERED to
RETURN the amount of One Hundred Thousand (P100,000.00) Pesos to
complainant with legal interest within thirty days from receipt of notice.
Issue
By issuing the worthless check, did Atty. Delos Santos violate Canon 1, Rule 1.01
and Canon 7, Rule 7.03 of the Code of Professional Responsibility? HDAECI
Ruling
We agree with the findings of the IBP but modify the recommended penalty.
Every lawyer is an officer of the Court. He has the duty and responsibility to
maintain his good moral character. In this regard, good moral character is not only a
condition precedent relating to his admission into the practice of law, but is a continuing
imposition in order for him to maintain his membership in the Philippine Bar. 10 The
Court unwaveringly demands of him to remain a competent, honorable, and reliable
individual in whom the public may repose confidence. 11 Any gross misconduct that puts
his moral character in serious doubt renders him unfit to continue in the practice of
law. 12
Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 has been enacted in order to safeguard the interest of
the banking system and the legitimate public checking account users. 13 The gravamen
of the offense defined and punished by Batas Pambansa Blg. 22, according to Lozano v.
Martinez, 14 is the act of making and issuing a worthless check, or any check that is
dishonored upon its presentment for payment and putting it in circulation; the law is
designed to prohibit and altogether eliminate the deleterious and pernicious practice of
issuing checks with insufficient funds, or with no credit, because the practice is deemed
a public nuisance, a crime against public order to be abated. The Court has observed
in Lozano v. Martinez:
The effects of the issuance of a worthless check transcends the private
interests of the parties directly involved in the transaction and touches the
interests of the community at large. The mischief it creates is not only a wrong
to the payee or holder, but also an injury to the public. The harmful practice of
putting valueless commercial papers in circulation, multiplied a thousandfold,
can very well pollute the channels of trade and commerce, injure the banking
system and eventually hurt the welfare of society and the public
interest. 15 . . .
Being a lawyer, Atty. Delos Santos was well aware of the objectives and coverage
of Batas Pambansa Blg. 22. If he did not, he was nonetheless presumed to know them,
for the law was penal in character and application. His issuance of the unfunded check
involved herein knowingly violated Batas Pambansa Blg. 22, and exhibited his
indifference towards the pernicious effect of his illegal act to public interest and public
order. 16 He thereby swept aside his Lawyer's Oath that enjoined him to support the
Constitution and obey the laws. He also took for granted the express commands of
the Code of Professional Responsibility, specifically Canon 1, Rule 1.01 and Canon 7, Rule
7.03, viz.:
CANON 1 — A LAWYER SHALL UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION, OBEY THE
LAWS OF THE LAND AND PROMOTE RESPECT FOR THE LAW AND LEGAL
PROCESSES.
Rule 1.01 — A Lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonest,
immoral or deceitful conduct.
CANON 7 — A LAWYER SHALL AT ALL TIMES UPHOLD THE INTEGRITY
AND DIGNITY OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION AND SUPPORT THE ACTIVITIES OF
THE INTEGRATED BAR.
Rule 7.03 — A lawyer shall not engage in conduct that adversely
reflects on his fitness to practice law, nor shall he, whether in public or
private life, behave in a scandalous manner to the discredit of the legal
profession.
These canons, the Court has said in Agno v. Cagatan, 17 required of him as a
lawyer an enduring high sense of responsibility and good fidelity in all his dealings, thus:
The afore-cited canons emphasize the high standard of honesty and
fairness expected of a lawyer not only in the practice of the legal profession
but in his personal dealings as well. A lawyer must conduct himself with great
propriety, and his behavior should be beyond reproach anywhere and at all
times. For, as officers of the courts and keepers of the public's faith, they are
burdened with the highest degree of social responsibility and are thus
mandated to behave at all times in a manner consistent with truth and honor.
Likewise, the oath that lawyers swear to impresses upon them the duty of
exhibiting the highest degree of good faith, fairness and candor in their
relationships with others. Thus, lawyers may be disciplined for any conduct,
whether in their professional or in their private capacity, if such conduct
renders them unfit to continue to be officers of the court. 18
IDSaEA
That his act involved a private dealing with Ong did not matter. His being a lawyer
invested him — whether he was acting as such or in a non-professional capacity — with
the obligation to exhibit good faith, fairness and candor in his relationship with others.
There is no question that a lawyer could be disciplined not only for a malpractice in his
profession, but also for any misconduct committed outside of his professional
capacity. 19 His being a lawyer demanded that he conduct himself as a person of the
highest moral and professional integrity and probity in his dealings with others. 20
Moreover, in issuing the dishonored check, Atty. Delos Santos put into serious
question not only his personal integrity but also the integrity of the entire Integrated
Bar. It cannot be denied that Ong acceded to Atty. Delos Santos' request for
encashment of the check because of his complete reliance on the nobility of the Legal
Profession. The following excerpts from Ong's testimony bear this out, to wit:
COMM. DELA RAMA:
What did you feel when you were issued a bounced check by the respondent?
MR. ONG:
Actually, the reason I even loaned him money because actually he was not
even my friend. He was just referred to me. The reason why I felt at
ease to loan him money was because the sheriff told me
that abogado eto. It is his license that would be at stake that's why I
lent him the money. 21
xxx xxx xxx
COMM. DELA RAMA:
In other words, what you are saying is that you felt betrayed when the lawyer
issued a bounced check in your favor.
MR. ONG:
Yes, Commissioner.
COMM. DELA RAMA:
Why, what is your expectation of a lawyer?
MR. ONG:
They uphold the law, they know the law. He should not have issued the
check if you know it cannot be funded because actually I have many
lawyer friend[s] and I have always high regard for lawyers. 22
Atty. Delos Santos should always be mindful of his duty to uphold the law and to
be circumspect in all his dealings with the public. Any transgression of this duty on his
part would not only diminish his reputation as a lawyer but would also erode the
public's faith in the Legal Profession as a whole. His assuring Ong that he was in good
financial standing because of his lucrative law practice when the contrary was true
manifested his intent to mislead the latter into giving a substantial amount in exchange
for his worthless post-dated check. Such actuation did not speak well of him as a
member of the Bar.
Accordingly, Atty. Delos Santos was guilty of serious misconduct, warranting
appropriate administrative sanction. Noting that the criminal complaint charging him
with the violation of Batas Pambansa Blg. 22 was already dismissed, and that he already
repaid to Ong the full amount of P100,000.00, 23 both of which are treated as mitigating
circumstances in his favor, we find the recommendation of the IBP Board of Governors
to suspend him from the practice of law for a period of three years harsh. Thus, we
reduce the penalty to suspension from the practice of law to six months in order to
accord with the ruling in Philippine Amusement and Gaming Corporation v.
Carandang. 24 AHaDSI
ACCORDINGLY, the Court PRONOUNCES respondent ATTY. WILLIAM F. DELOS

SANTOS GUILTY of violating the Lawyer's Oath, and Canon 1, Rule 1.01 and Canon 7,
Rule 7.03 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, and, accordingly, SUSPENDS HIM
FROM THE PRACTICE OF LAW FOR A PERIOD OF SIX MONTHS EFFECTIVE FROM
NOTICE, with a stern warning that any similar infraction in the future will be dealt with
more severely.
Let copies of this decision be furnished to the Office of the Bar Confidant to be
appended to Atty. Delos Santos' personal record as an attorney; to the Integrated Bar of
the Philippines; and to all courts in the country for their information and guidance.
SO ORDERED.
Carpio, Acting C.J., * Velasco, Jr., Leonardo-de Castro, Brion, Peralta, Del Castillo,
Abad, Villarama, Jr., Perez, Mendoza, Reyes, Perlas-Bernabe and Leonen, JJ., concur.
Sereno, C.J., is on leave.

Footnotes
||| (Ong v. Delos Santos, A.C. No. 10179, [March 4, 2014])

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EN BANC

[A.C. No. 10179. March 4, 2014.]

BENJAMIN Q. ONG, complainant, vs. ATTY. WILLIAM F. DELOS

A lawyer's issuance of a worthless check renders him in breach of his oath to

Findings and Recommendation

ACCORDINGLY, the Court PRONOUNCES respondent ATTY. WILLIAM F. DELOS

||| (Ong v. Delos Santos, A.C. No. 10179, [March 4, 2014])

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