Philippine E-Journals

Cases of Disbarred Lawyers in the Philippines at the Turn of the Century

Kristine Punzalan

Discipline: Law

 

Abstract:

The study investigated the cases of disbarment in the Philippines from 2000 to 2009. It looked into the grounds on which their disbarment was based, in the lawyers’ capacity when the offense was committed and the other reasons considered by the Court in deciding towards disbarment. Through the aid of the SCRA Quick Index, Lawphil search engine, and the Supreme Court e-library, the study found that the grounds for disbarment or suspension of an attorney are: (1) deceit; (2) malpractice or other gross misconduct in office; (3) grossly immoral conduct; (4) conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude; (5) violation of the lawyer’s oath; (6) willful disobedience of any lawful order of a superior court; and (7) willfully appearing as an attorney for a party without authority. It also revealed that the occurence of disbarment are highest at nine for a year and around three on the average within the same period. It also showed that almost a third of the cases of disbarment were based on lawyers’ acts of deceit, and nearly half were committed in their capacity as private individuals.