Obles vs. Deciembre

9/28/21, 9:51 PM SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 457
VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 341

Olbes vs. Deciembre
*
AC-5365. April 27, 2005.
Spouses FRANKLIN and LOURDES OLBES,

complainants, vs. Atty. VICTOR V. DECIEMBRE,
respondent.
Legal Ethics; Attorneys; By taking the lawyer’s oath, an

attorney becomes a guardian of truth and the rule of law, and an
indispensable instrument in the fair and impartial administration
of justice.—Membership in the legal profession is a special
privilege burdened with conditions. It is bestowed upon
individuals who are not only learned in the law, but also known to
possess good moral character. “A lawyer is an oath-bound servant
of society whose conduct is clearly circumscribed by inflexible
norms of law and ethics, and whose primary duty is the
advancement of the quest for truth and justice, for which he [or
she] has sworn to be a fearless crusader.” By taking the lawyer’s
oath, an attorney becomes a guardian of truth and the rule of law,
and an indispensable instrument in the fair and impartial
administration of justice. Lawyers should act and comport
themselves with honesty and integrity in a manner beyond
reproach, in order to promote the public’s faith in the legal
profession.
Same; Same; A high standard of excellence and ethics is
expected and required of members of the bar; The oath that
lawyers swear to likewise impresses upon them the duty of
exhibiting the highest degree of good faith, fairness and candor in
their relationships with others.—A high standard of excellence
and ethics is expected and required of members of the bar. Such
conduct of nobility and uprightness should remain with them,
whether in their public or in their private lives. 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. The oath that lawyers swear to likewise impresses upon
them the duty of exhibiting the highest degree of good faith,
fairness and candor in their relationships with others. The oath is
https://central.com.ph/sfsreader/session/0000017c2caf0733339b92f9000d00d40059004a/t/?o=False 1/15
a sacred trust that must be upheld and kept inviolable at all

times. Thus, lawyers may be disciplined for any conduct, whether
in their professional or in their private capac-
_______________
* EN BANC.
342
342 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED
Olbes vs. Deciembre
ity, if such conduct renders them unfit to continue to be officers of

the court.
Same; Same; Good moral character includes at least common
honesty; Deception and other fraudulent acts are not merely
unacceptable practices that are disgraceful and dishonorable, they
reveal a basic moral flaw.—Good moral character is an essential
qualification for the privilege to enter into the practice of law. It is
equally essential to observe this norm meticulously during the
continuance of the practice and the exercise of the privilege. Good
moral character includes at least common honesty. No moral
qualification for bar membership is more important than
truthfulness and candor. The rigorous ethics of the profession
places a premium on honesty and condemns duplicitous behavior.
Lawyers must be ministers of truth. Hence, they must not
mislead the court or allow it to be misled by any artifice. In all
their dealings, they are expected to act in good faith. Deception
and other fraudulent acts are not merely unacceptable practices
that are disgraceful and dishonorable; they reveal a basic moral
flaw. The standards of the legal profession are not satisfied by
conduct that merely enables one to escape the penalties of
criminal laws.
Same; Same; The propensity of respondent lawyer for
employing deceit and misrepresentation is reprehensible—his
misuse of the filled-up checks that led to the detention of one
petitioner is loath-some.—Considering the depravity of the offense
committed by respondent, we find the penalty recommended by
the IBP of suspension for two years from the practice of law to be
too mild. His propensity for employing deceit and
misrepresentation is reprehensible. His misuse of the filled-up
checks that led to the detention of one petitioner is loathsome. In
Eustaquio v. Rimorin, the forging of a special power of attorney
(SPA) by the respondent to make it appear that he was authorized

to sell another’s property, as well as his fraudulent and malicious
inducement of Alicia Rubis to sign a Memorandum of Agreement
to give a semblance of legality to the SPA, were sanctioned with
suspension from the practice of law for five years. Here, the
conduct of herein respondent is even worse. He used falsified
checks as bases for maliciously indicting petitioners and thereby
caused the detention of one of them.
343
VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 343

Olbes vs. Deciembre
ADMINISTRATIVE CASE in the Supreme Court.

Disbarment.
The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

Victor V. Deciembre for and in his own behalf.
PANGANIBAN, J.:
Constituting a serious transgression of the Code of

Professional Responsibility was the malevolent act of
respondent, who filled up the blank checks entrusted to
him as security for a loan by writing on those checks
amounts that had not been agreed upon at all, despite his
full knowledge that the loan they were meant to secure had
already been paid.
The Case
1
Before us is a verified Petition for the disbarment of Atty.
Victor V. Deciembre, filed by Spouses Franklin and
Lourdes Olbes with the Office of the Bar Confidant of this
Court. Petitioners charged respondent with willful and
deliberate acts of dishonesty, falsification and conduct
unbecoming2
a member of the Bar. After he had filed his
Comment on the Petition, the Court referred the case to
the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for
investigation, report and recommendation.
The IBP’s Commission on Bar Discipline (CBD), through
Commissioner Caesar R. Dulay, held several hearings.
During those
3
hearings, the last of which was held on May
12, 2003, the parties were able to present their respective
witnesses and documentary evidence. After the filing of the
parties’ respective formal offers of evidence, as well as
4
4
petitioners’ Memorandum, the case was considered
submitted for resolu-
_______________
1 Rollo, pp. 1-10.

2 Id., pp. 56-61.
3 Records, Vol. IV.
4 Petitioners’ Memorandum was received by the IBP-CBD on
September 16, 2003; Records, Vol. II, pp. 182-192. Respondent did
344

Olbes vs. Deciembre
tion. Subsequently, the commissioner rendered his Report

and Recommendation dated January 30, 2004, which was
later adopted and approved by the IBP Board of Governors
in its Resolution No. XV-2003-177 dated July 30, 2004.
The Facts
In their Petition, Spouses Olbes allege that they were

government employees working at the Central Post Office,
Manila; and that Franklin was a letter carrier receiving a
monthly5 salary of P6,700, and Lourdes, a mail sorter,
P6,000.
Through respondent, Lourdes renewed on July 1, 1999
her application for a loan from Rodela Loans, Inc., in the
amount of P10,000. As security for the loan, she issued and
delivered to respondent five Philippine National Bank
(PNB) blank checks (Nos. 0046241-45), which served as
collateral for the approved loan as well
6
as any other loans
that might be obtained in the future.
On August 31, 1999, Lourdes paid respondent the
amount of P14,874.37 corresponding to the loan plus
surcharges, penalties
7
and interests, for which the latter
issued a receipt, herein quoted as follows:
“August 31, 1999
Received the amount of P14,874.37 as payment of the loan of

P10,000.00 taken earlier by Lourdes Olbes.
(Sgd.) Atty. Victor V. Deciembre
8-31-99 8
P10,000.00 PNB Check No. 46241–8/15/99”
_______________
not submit any Memorandum, but filed a Motion to Dismiss on March

4, 2004; Records, Vol. II, pp. 194-198.
5 Rollo, p. 1.
6 Id., p. 2.
7 Id., p. 3.
8 Annex “A” of Petition; Id., p. 11.
345
VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 345

Olbes vs. Deciembre
Notwithstanding the full payment of the loan, respondent

filled up four (of the five) blank PNB Checks (Nos. 0046241,
0046242, 0046243 and 0046244) for the amount of P50,000
each, with different dates of maturity—August 15, 1999,
August 20, 1999,
9
October 15, 1999 and November 15, 1999,
respectively.
On October 19, 1999, respondent filed before the
Provincial Prosecution Office of Rizal an Affidavit-
Complaint against petitioners for estafa and violation of
Batas Pambansa (BP) 22. He alleged therein that on July
15, 1999, around one-thirty in the afternoon at Cainta,
Rizal, they personally approached him and requested that
he immediately exchange with cash their postdated 10
PNB
Check Nos. 0046241 and 0046242 totaling P100,000.
Several months after, or on January 20, 2000,
respondent filed against petitioners another Affidavit-
Complaint for estafa and violation of BP 22. He stated,
among others, that on the same day, July 15, 1999, around
two o’clock in the afternoon at Quezon City, they again
approached him and requested that he exchange with cash 11
PNB Check Nos. 0046243 and 0046244 totaling P100,000.
Petitioners insisted that on the afternoon of July 15,
1999, they never went either to Cainta, Rizal, or to Quezon
City to transact business with respondent. Allegedly, they
were in their office at the time, as shown by their Daily
Time Records; so it would have been physically impossible
for them to transact business in Cainta, Rizal, and, after an
interval of only thirty minutes, in Quezon City, especially
12
considering the heavy traffic conditions in those places.
Petitioners averred that many of their office mates—
among them, Juanita Manaois, Honorata Acosta and
Eugenia Men-
_______________
9 Affidavit of Franklin Olbes, p. 3; Records, Vol. II, p. 21.

10 Rollo, p. 4.
11 Id., p. 5.
12 Id., pp. 7-8.
346

Olbes vs. Deciembre
doza—had suffered
13
the same fate in their dealings with
respondent. 14
In his Comment, respondent denied petitioners’ claims,
which he called baseless and devoid of any truth and merit.
Allegedly, petitioners were the ones who had deceived him
by not honoring their commitment regarding their July 15,
1999 transactions. Those transactions, totaling P200,000,
had allegedly been covered by their four PNB checks that
were, however, subsequently dishonored due to
“ACCOUNT CLOSED.” Thus, he filed criminal cases
against them. He claimed that the checks had already been
fully filled up when petitioners signed them in his
presence. He further claimed that he had given them the
amounts of money indicated in the checks, because his
previous satisfactory transactions with them convinced him
that they had the capacity to pay.
Moreover, respondent said that the loans were his
private and personal transactions, which were not in any
way connected with his profession as a lawyer. The
criminal cases against petitioners were allegedly private
actions intended to vindicate his rights against their
deception and violation of their obligations. He maintained
that his right to litigate should not be curtailed by this
administrative action.
Report of the Investigating Commissioner
In his Report and Recommendation, Commissioner Dulay

recommended that respondent be suspended from the
practice of law for two years for violating Rule 1.01 of the
Code of Professional Responsibility.
The commissioner said that respondent’s version of the
facts was not credible. Commissioner Dulay rendered the
following analysis and evaluation of the evidence
presented:
_______________
13 Id., p. 8.
14 Id., pp. 56-61.
347
VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 347

Olbes vs. Deciembre
“In his affidavit-complaint x x x executed to support his complaint

filed before the Provincial Prosecution Office of Rizal respondent
stated that:
2. That last July 15, 1999, in the jurisdiction of Cainta, Rizal,
both LOURDES E. OLBES and FRANKLIN A. OLBES x x x,
personally met and requested me to immediately exchange with
cash, right there and then, their postdated checks totaling
P100,000.00 then, to be immediately used by them in their
business venture.
“Again in his affidavit-complaint executed to support his
complaint filed with the Office of the City Prosecutor of Quezon
City respondent stated that:
2. That last July 15, 1999, at around 2PM, in the jurisdiction of
Quezon City, M.M., both LOURDES E. OLBES and FRANKLIN
A. OLBES x x x, personally met and requested me to immediately
exchange with cash, right there and then, their postdated checks
totaling P100,000.00 then, to be immediately used by them in
their business venture.
“The above statements executed by respondent under oath are
in direct contrast to his testimony before this Commission on
cross-examination during the May 12, 2003 hearing, thus:
ATTY PUNZALAN: (continuing)

Q. Based on these four (4) checks which you claimed the
complainant issued to you, you filed two separate
crimin al cases against them, one, in Pasig City and the
other in Quezon City, is that correct?
A. Yes, Your Honor, because the checks were deposited at
different banks.
Q. These four checks were accordingly issued to you by
thecomplainants on July 15, 1999, is that correct?
A. I will consult my records, Your Honor, because it’s quite
a long time. Yes, Your Honor, the first two checks is in
the morning and the next two checks is in the afternoon
(sic).
COMM. DULAY:
Which are the first two checks?
348

Olbes vs. Deciembre
ATTY. DECIEMBRE:
The first two checks covering check Nos. 46241 and
46242 in the morning. And Check No. 46243 and 46244
in the afternoon, Your Honor.
ATTY. PUNZALAN:
Q. Could you recall what particular time in the morning
that these two checks with number 0046241 and
0046242 x x x have been issued to you?
A. I could not remember exactly but in the middle part of
the morning around 9:30 to 10:00.
Q. This was issued to you in what particular place?
A. Here in my office at Garnet Road, Ortigas Center,
Pasig City.
Q. Is that your house?
A. No, it’s not my house?
Q. What is that, is that your law office?
A. That is my retainer client.
Q. What is the name of that retainer client of yours?
ATTY. DECIEMBRE:
Your Honor, may I object because what is the
materiality of the question?
ATTY. PUNZALAN:
That is very material. I am trying to test your
credibility because according to you these checks have
been issued in Pasig in the place of your client on a
retainer. That’s why I am asking your client . . . .
COMM. DULAY:
The name of the client is not material I think. It is
enough that he said it was issued here in Pasig. What
building?
ATTY. DECIEMBRE:
AIC Corporate Center, Your Honor.
COMM. DULAY:
What is the materiality of knowing the name of his
client’s office?
349
VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 349

Olbes vs. Deciembre
ATTY. PUNZALAN:
Because, Your Honor, the materiality is to find out
whether he is telling the truth. The place, Your Honor,
according to the respondent is his client. Now I am
asking who is that client?
COMM. DULAY:
Your answer.
ATTY. DECIEMBRE:
A. It is AIC Realty Corporation at AIC Building.
Q. And the same date likewise, the complainants in the
afternoon issued PNB Check Nos. 0046243 and
0046244, is that correct?
A. Yes.
Q. So would you want to tell this Honorable office that
there were four checks issued in the place of your client
in Pasig City, two in the morning and two in the
afternoon?
A. That is correct, sir.
“Respondent was clearly not being truthful in his narration of the

transaction with the complainants. As between his version as to
when the four checks were given, we find the story of
complainant[s] more credible. Respondent has blatantly distorted
the truth, insofar as the place where the transaction involving the
four checks took place. Such distortion on a very material fact
would seriously cast doubt on his version of the transaction with
complainants.
“Furthermore respondent’s statements as to the time when the
transactions took place are also obviously and glaringly
inconsistent and contradicts the written statements made before
the public prosecutors. Thus further adding to the lack of
credibility of respondent’s version of the transaction.
“Complainants’ version that they issued blank checks to
respondent as security for the payment of a loan of P10,000.00
plus interest, and that respondent filled up the checks in amounts
not agreed upon appears to be more credible. Complainants
herein are mere employees of the Central Post Office in Manila
who had a previous loan of P10,000.00 from respondent and which
has since been paid x x x. Respondent does not deny the said
transaction. This appears to be the only previous transaction
between the parties. In fact, complainants were even late in

paying the loan when it fell due
350

Olbes vs. Deciembre
such that they had to pay interest. That respondent would trust
them once more by giving them another P200,000.00 allegedly to
be used for a business and immediately release the amounts
under the circumstances described by respondent does not appear
credible given the background of the previous transaction and
personal circumstances of complainants. That respondent who is
a lawyer would not even bother to ask from complainants a
receipt for the money he has given, nor bother to verify and ask
them what businesses they would use the money for contributes
further to the lack of credibility of respondent’s version. These
circumstances really cast doubt as to the version of respondent
with regard to the transaction. The resolution of the public
prosecutors notwithstanding we believe respondent is clearly
lacking in honesty in dealing with the complainants. Complainant
Franklin Olbes had to be jailed as a result of respondent’s filing of
the criminal cases. Parenthetically, we note that respondent has
also filed similar cases against the co-employees of complainants
in the Central Post Office and respondent
15
is facing similar
complaints in the IBP for his actions.”
The Court’s Ruling
We agree with the findings and conclusions of

Commissioner Dulay, as approved and adopted by the IBP
Board of Governors. However, the penalty should be more
severe than what the IBP recommended.
Respondent’s Administrative Liability
Membership in the legal 16profession is a special privilege

burdened with conditions. It is bestowed upon individuals
who are not only learned in 17the law, but also known to
possess good moral character. “A lawyer is an oath-bound
ser-
_______________
15 Report and Recommendation dated January 30, 2004, pp. 10-14.
16 Lao v. Medel, 405 SCRA 228, July 1, 2003; Eustaquio v. Ri-morin,

399 SCRA 422, March 24, 2003; Sebastian v. Atty. Calis, 372 Phil. 673;
314 SCRA 1, September 9, 1999; Marcelo v. Javier, Sr., 214 SCRA 1,
September 18, 1992.
17 Ernesto L. Pineda, Legal and Judicial Ethics (1999), p. 22.
351
VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 351

Olbes vs. Deciembre
vant of society whose conduct is clearly circumscribed by

inflexible norms of law and ethics, and whose primary duty
is the advancement of the quest for truth and justice, 18
for
which he [or she] has sworn to be a fearless crusader.”
By taking the lawyer’s oath, an attorney becomes a
guardian of truth and the rule of law, and an indispensable
instrument
19
in the fair and impartial administration of
justice. Lawyers should act and comport themselves with
honesty and integrity in a manner beyond reproach, 20in
order to promote the public’s faith in the legal profession.
The Code of Professional Responsibility specifically
mandates the following:
“Canon 1. A lawyer shall uphold the constitution, obey the laws of

the land and promote respect for law and legal processes.
x x x x x x x x x
“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.
x x x x x x x x x
“Rule 7.03. A lawyer shall not engage in conduct that adversely
reflects on his fitness to practice law, nor should he, whether in
public or private life, behave in a scandalous manner to the
discredit of the legal profession.”
_______________
18 Re: Administrative Case No. 44 of the RTC, Br. IV, Tagbilaran City,
Against Atty. Samuel C. Occeña; 383 SCRA 636, 638, July 3, 2002, per
curiam.
19 Busiños v. Atty. Ricafort, 347 Phil. 687; 283 SCRA 407, December 22,
1997.
20 Malecdan v. Pekas, 421 SCRA 7, January 26, 2004; Rivera v. Corral,
384 SCRA 1, July 4, 2002; Nakpil v. Valdes, 286 SCRA 758, March 4,
1998.
352

Olbes vs. Deciembre
A high standard of excellence and 21

ethics is expected and
required of members of the bar. Such conduct of nobility
and uprightness should remain with them, whether in
their public or in their private lives. 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 22at all times in a manner consistent
with truth and honor.
The oath that lawyers swear to likewise impresses upon
them the duty of exhibiting the highest degree of good
faith, fairness and candor in their relationships with
others. The oath is a sacred trust that must be upheld and
kept inviolable at all times. Thus, lawyers may be
disciplined for any conduct, whether in their professional or
in their private capacity, if such conduct
23
renders them unfit
to continue to be officers of the court.
In the present case, the IBP commissioner gave credence
to the story of petitioners, who said that they had given five
blank personal checks to respondent at the Central Post
Office in Manila as security for the P10,000 loan they had
contracted. Found untrue and unbelievable was
respondent’s assertion that they had filled up the checks
and exchanged these with his cash at Quezon City and
Cainta, Rizal. After a careful review of the records, we find
no reason to deviate from these findings.
Under the circumstances, there is no need to stretch
one’s imagination to arrive at an inevitable conclusion.
Respondent does not deny the P10,000 loan obtained from
him by petitioners. According to Franklin Olbes’ testimony
on cross-examination, they asked respondent for the blank
checks after the loan had been paid. On the pretext that he
was not
_______________
21 Sanchez v. Somoso, 412 SCRA 569, October 3, 2003; Lao v. Medel,

405 SCRA 227, July 1, 2003; Eustaquio v. Rimorin, 399 SCRA 422, March
24, 2003.
22 Sanchez v. Somoso, supra; Sabayle v. Tandayag, 158 SCRA 497,
March 8, 1988.
23 Garcia v. Manuel, 395 SCRA 386, January 20, 2003.
353
VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 353

Olbes vs. Deciembre
24
able to bring the checks with him, he was not able to
return them. He thus committed abominable dishonesty by
abusing the confidence reposed in him by petitioners. It
was their high regard for him as a member of25 the bar that
made them trust him with their blank checks.
It is also glaringly clear that the Code of Professional
Responsibility was seriously transgressed by his
malevolent act of filling up the blank checks by indicating
amounts that had not been agreed upon at all and despite
respondent’s full knowledge that the loan supposed to be
secured by the checks had already been paid. His was a
brazen act of falsification of a commercial document,
resorted to for his material gain.
And he did not stop there. Because the checks were
dishonored upon presentment, respondent had the temerity
to initiate unfounded criminal suits against petitioners,
thereby exhibiting his vile intent to have them punished
and deprived of liberty for frustrating the criminal
duplicity he had wanted to foist on them. As a matter of
fact, one of the
26
petitioners (Franklin) was detained for
three months because of the Complaints. Respondent is
clearly guilty of serious dishonesty and professional
misconduct. He committed an act indicative of moral
depravity not expected from, and highly unbecoming, a
member of the bar.
Good moral character is an essential qualification for the
privilege to enter into the practice of law. It is equally
essential to observe this norm meticulously during the
continuance 27
of the practice and the exercise of the
privilege.28 Good moral character includes at least common
honesty. No moral quali-
_______________
24 TSN, May 20, 2002, pp. 65-66.

25 TSN, February 4, 2002, p. 18.
26 TSN, February 4, 2002, pp. 44-45.
27 Vda. de Espino v. Presquito, 432 SCRA 609, June 28, 2004; Rural
Bank of Silay, Inc. v. Pilla, 350 SCRA 138, January 24, 2001; Rayos-
Ombac v. Rayos, 349 Phil. 8; 285 SCRA 93, January 28, 1998; Villanueva
v. Sta. Ana, 315 Phil. 795; 245 SCRA 707, July 11, 1995.
28 Tan v. Sabandal, 206 SCRA 473, February 24, 1992.
354

Olbes vs. Deciembre
fication for bar membership 29

is more important than
truthfulness and candor. The rigorous ethics of the
profession places a 30premium on honesty and condemns
duplicitous behavior. Lawyers must be ministers of truth.
Hence, they must not mislead the court or allow it to be
misled by any artifice. In 31all their dealings, they are
expected to act in good faith.
Deception and other fraudulent acts are not merely
unacceptable 32 practices that are disgraceful and
dishonorable; they reveal a basic moral flaw. The
standards of the legal profession are not satisfied by
conduct that merely
33
enables one to escape the penalties of
criminal laws.
Considering the depravity of the offense committed by
respondent, we find the penalty recommended by the IBP
of suspension for two years from the practice of law to be
too mild. His propensity for employing deceit and
misrepresentation is reprehensible. His misuse of the
filled-up checks that led to the detention of one petitioner is
loathsome. 34
In Eustaquio v. Rimorin, the forging of a special power
of attorney (SPA) by the respondent to make it appear that
he was authorized to sell another’s property, as well as his
fraudulent and malicious inducement of Alicia Rubis to
sign a Memorandum of Agreement to give a semblance of
legality to the SPA, were sanctioned with suspension from
the practice of law for five years. Here, the conduct of
herein respondent is even worse. He used falsified checks
as bases for maliciously
_______________
29 Constantino v. Saludares, 228 SCRA 233, December 7, 1993; Tan v.

Sabandal, 206 SCRA 473, February 24, 1992.
30 Custodio, Sr. v. Esto, 81 SCRA 517, February 22, 1978.
31 Article 19. “Every person must in the exercise of his rights and in the
performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due, and
observe honesty and good faith.” New Civil Code.
32 Sebastian v. Atty. Calis, 372 Phil. 673; 314 SCRA 1, September 9,
1999.
33 Sabayle v. Tandayag, supra (citing In re Del Rosario, 52 Phil. 399,
December 7, 1928).
34 399 SCRA 422, March 24, 2003.
355
VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 355

Olbes vs. Deciembre
indicting petitioners and thereby caused the detention of

one of them.
WHEREFORE, Atty. Victor V. Deciembre is found guilty
of gross misconduct and violation of Rules 1.01 and 7.03 of
the Code of Professional Responsibility. He is hereby
indefinitely SUSPENDED from the practice of law effective
immediately. Let copies of this Decision be furnished all
courts as well as the Office of the Bar Confidant, which is
directed to append a copy to respondent’s personal record.
Let another copy be furnished the National Office of the
Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
SO ORDERED.
Davide, Jr. (C.J.), Puno, Quisumbing, Ynares-

Santiago, Sandoval-Gutierrez, Carpio, Austria-Martinez,
Corona, Carpio-Morales, Callejo, Sr., Azcuna, Tinga, Chico-
Nazario and Garcia, JJ., concur.
Atty. Victor V. Deciembre meted with indefinite

suspension from practice of law for gross misconduct and
violation of Rules 1.01 and 7.03 of the Code of Professional
Responsibility.
Notes.—Lawyers should not encourage groundless

administrative cases against court officers and employees.
(Ng vs. Alfaro, 238 SCRA 486 [1994])
The lawyer’s oath is a source of obligations and violation
thereof is a ground for suspension, disbarment, or other
disciplinary action. (De Guzman vs. De Dios, 350 SCRA 320
[2001])
——o0o——
356
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9/28/21, 9:51 PM SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED VOLUME 457

VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 341

Spouses FRANKLIN and LOURDES OLBES,

Legal Ethics; Attorneys; By taking the lawyer’s oath, an

a sacred trust that must be upheld and kept inviolable at all

342 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Olbes vs. Deciembre

ity, if such conduct renders them unfit to continue to be officers of

(SPA) by the respondent to make it appear that he was authorized

VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 343

ADMINISTRATIVE CASE in the Supreme Court.

The facts are stated in the opinion of the Court.

Constituting a serious transgression of the Code of

1 Rollo, pp. 1-10.

344 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

tion. Subsequently, the commissioner rendered his Report

In their Petition, Spouses Olbes allege that they were

“August 31, 1999

Received the amount of P14,874.37 as payment of the loan of

P10,000.00 PNB Check No. 46241–8/15/99”

not submit any Memorandum, but filed a Motion to Dismiss on March

VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 345

Notwithstanding the full payment of the loan, respondent

9 Affidavit of Franklin Olbes, p. 3; Records, Vol. II, p. 21.

346 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Report of the Investigating Commissioner

In his Report and Recommendation, Commissioner Dulay

VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 347

“In his affidavit-complaint x x x executed to support his complaint

ATTY PUNZALAN: (continuing)

348 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 349

“Respondent was clearly not being truthful in his narration of the

between the parties. In fact, complainants were even late in

350 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

The Court’s Ruling

We agree with the findings and conclusions of

Respondent’s Administrative Liability

Membership in the legal 16profession is a special privilege

15 Report and Recommendation dated January 30, 2004, pp. 10-14.

16 Lao v. Medel, 405 SCRA 228, July 1, 2003; Eustaquio v. Ri-morin,

VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 351

vant of society whose conduct is clearly circumscribed by

“Canon 1. A lawyer shall uphold the constitution, obey the laws of

352 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

A high standard of excellence and 21

21 Sanchez v. Somoso, 412 SCRA 569, October 3, 2003; Lao v. Medel,

VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 353

Olbes vs. Deciembre

24 TSN, May 20, 2002, pp. 65-66.

354 SUPREME COURT REPORTS ANNOTATED

Olbes vs. Deciembre

fication for bar membership 29

29 Constantino v. Saludares, 228 SCRA 233, December 7, 1993; Tan v.

VOL. 457, APRIL 27, 2005 355

indicting petitioners and thereby caused the detention of

Davide, Jr. (C.J.), Puno, Quisumbing, Ynares-

Atty. Victor V. Deciembre meted with indefinite

Notes.—Lawyers should not encourage groundless

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