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VOL. 395, JANUARY 22, 2003 569

Abaqueta vs. Florido

*
A.C. No. 5948. January 22, 2003.
(Formerly A.M. No. CBD-354)

GAMALIEL ABAQUETA, complainant, vs. ATTY.

BERNARDITO A. FLORIDO, respondent.

Legal Ethics; Attorneys; Conflict of Interest; There is a conflict

of interest if there is an inconsistency in the interests of two or
more opposing parties, and the test is whether or not in behalf of
one client, it is the lawyer’s duty to fight for an issue or claim but it
is his duty to oppose it for the other client.—There is a conflict of
interest if there is an inconsistency in the interests of two or more
opposing parties. The test is whether or not in behalf of one client,
it is the lawyer’s duty to fight for an issue or claim but it is his
duty to oppose it for the other client. In short, if he argues for one
client, this argument will be opposed by him when he argues for
the other client. There is a representation of conflicting interests
if the acceptance of the new retainer will require the attorney to
do anything which will injuriously affect his first client in any
matter in which he represents him and also whether he will be
called upon in his new relation, to use against his first client any
knowledge acquired through their connection.

_______________

* EN BANC.

570

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Abaqueta vs. Florido

Same; Same; Same; While it is axiomatic that no lawyer is

obliged to act either as adviser or advocate for every person who
may wish to become his client, once he agrees to take up the cause

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of the client, the lawyer owes fidelity to such cause and must
always be mindful of the trust and confidence reposed in him.—It
is axiomatic that no lawyer is obliged to act either as adviser or
advocate for every person who may wish to become his client. He
has the right to decline such employment, subject, however, to
Canon 14 of the Code of Professional Responsibility. Once he
agrees to take up the cause of the client, the lawyer owes fidelity
to such cause and must always be mindful of the trust and
confidence reposed in him. He must serve the client with
competence and diligence and champion the latter’s cause with
wholehearted fidelity, care and devotion.
Same; Same; Same; A lawyer may not, without being guilty of
professional misconduct, act as counsel for a person whose interest
conflicts with that of his former client.—A lawyer may not,
without being guilty of professional misconduct, act as counsel for
a person whose interest conflicts with that of his former client.
The reason for the prohibition is found in the relation of attorney
and client which is one of trust and confidence of the highest
degree. Indeed, as we stated in Sibulo v. Cabrera, “The relation of
attorney and client is based on trust, so that double dealing,
which could sometimes lead to treachery, should be avoided.”
Same; Same; Lawyers do not have knowledge of the personal
circumstances of a party in a case and usually rely on the
information supplied by their clients.—Credence cannot, however,
be given to the charge that respondent fraudulently and
maliciously falsified the true and correct address of the
complainant notwithstanding respondent’s knowledge thereof.
Lawyers normally do not have knowledge of the personal
circumstances of a party in a case and usually rely on the
information supplied by their clients. The fact that respondent
sent a letter to complainant at the latter’s correct address sixteen
months before the filing of Civil Case No. CEB-11453 does not by
itself prove malice on the part of respondent. A new address was
furnished by Milagros Yap Abaqueta days before the complaint
was filed. Respondent had no reason to doubt the correctness of
the address of the complainant given to him by Milagros Yap
Abaqueta considering that she was complainant’s wife.

ADMINISTRATIVE MATTER in the Supreme Court.

Representing Conflicting Interest.

The facts are stated in the resolution of the Court.

     Errol Wilfred J. Zshornack for complainant.

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Abaqueta vs. Florido
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RESOLUTION

YNARES-SANTIAGO, J.:
1
This is an administrative complaint against Atty.
Bernardito A. Florido filed with the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines (IBP) Commission on Bar Discipline, praying
that appropriate sanctions be imposed on respondent for
representing conflicting interests. Complainant is a
Filipino by birth who had acquired American citizenship.
He resides at 15856 N. 15th Way, Phoenix, Arizona 85022,
U.S.A. Respondent is a practicing lawyer based in Cebu
City.
On November 28, 1983, complainant engaged the
professional services of respondent through his attorney-in-
fact, Mrs. Charito Y. Baclig, to represent him in Special
Proceedings No. 3971-R, entitled, “In the Matter 2
of the
Intestate Estate of Deceased Bonifacia Abaqueta, Susana
Uy Trazo,
3
petitioner” before the Regional Trial Court of
Cebu.
Accordingly, respondent entered his appearance in
Special Proceedings
4
No. 3971-R as counsel for herein
complainant. Subsequently, he filed complainant’s
“Objections and Comments to Inventory and Accounting,”
registering complainant’s objection—

. . . to the inclusion of the properties under Items 1 to 5 contained

in the inventory of the administratrix dated November 9, 1983.
These properties are the sole and exclusive properties of the
oppositor per the latest tax declarations already marked as
Exhibits “2”, “3”, “4”, “5” and “6” in the Formal Offer of Exhibits
by oppositor
5
in writing dated August 17, 1983
x x x.

Several years later, Milagros Yap Abaqueta filed an action

for sum of money against complainant, docketed as Civil
Case No. CEB-11453 and entitled, “Milagros Yap
6
Abaqueta
vs. Gamaliel Abaqueta and Casiano Gerona.” Respondent
signed the Complaint

_______________

1 Record, Vol. 1, p. 1.
2 Mother of complainant.
3 Record, Vol. 1, p. 8.
4 Ibid., p. 9.

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5 Id., p. 10.
6 Id., p. 14.

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Abaqueta vs. Florido

as counsel for plaintiff Milagros Yap Abaqueta, averring,

inter alia, that:

Plaintiff and defendant Gamaliel Abaqueta are the conjugal

owners of those certain parcels of land, more particularly as
follows . . .

The “parcels of land” referred to as conjugal property of

complainant and Milagros Yap-Abaqueta are the very same
parcels of land in Special Proceedings No. 3971-R which
respondent, as lawyer of complainant, alleged as the “sole
and exclusive properties” of complainant. In short,
respondent lawyer made allegations in Civil Case No. CEB-
11453 which were contrary to and in direct conflict with his
averments as counsel for complainant in Special
Proceedings No. 3971-R.
Complainant further averred that respondent admitted
he was never authorized by the former to appear as counsel
for complainant’s ex-wife in Civil Case No. CEB-11453;
that respondent failed to indicate in the Complaint the true
and correct address of herein complainant, which
respondent knew as far back as August 2, 1990, when he7
wrote a letter to the complainant at the said address.
Consequently, complainant failed to receive summons and
was declared in default in Civil Case No. CEB-11453.
While the order of default was eventually set aside,
complainant incurred expenses to travel to the Philippines,
which were conservatively estimated at $10,000.00. He
argues that respondent’s conduct constitute professional
misconduct and malpractice as well as trifling with court
processes. 8
In his defense, respondent claims in his Answer that he
always acted in good faith in his professional relationship
with complainant in spite of the fact that they have not
personally met. He based the matters he wrote in the
Complaint on information and documents supplied by Mrs.
Charito Y. Baclig, complainant’s sister-in-law and attorney-
in-fact, indicating that he was sole and exclusive owner of
the properties. This was sometime in November 1983. No
affidavit of adjudication was ever furnished respondent by

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complainant and this was apparently suppressed because it

would show that the properties formed part of the estate.

_______________

7 Id., p. 68.
8 Id., pp. 18-25.

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Abaqueta vs. Florido

Eight years later, in November 1991, long after Special

Proceedings No. 3971-R was settled and the attorney-client
relationship between complainant and respondent was
terminated, Mrs. Milagros Abaqueta through Mrs. Baclig,
engaged his services to file Civil Case No. CEB-11453. Mrs.
Baclig presented
9
to him a deed of absolute sale dated July
7, 1975, showing that the properties subject hereof were
not complainant’s exclusive property but his conjugal
property with his wife, the same having been acquired
during the subsistence of their marriage. Thus, in all good
faith, respondent alleged in the complaint that said
properties were conjugal assets of the spouses.
Respondent further pointed out that his law firm
handles on the average eighty new court cases annually
and personally interviews four or five clients, prospective
clients and/or witnesses daily except Saturdays and
Sundays. It regularly closes to the public at 7:00 p.m., but
work continues sometimes until 8:30 p.m. This has been
going on for the last twenty-five years out of respondent’s
thirty-three years of private practice. The absence of
personal contact with complainant and the lapse of eight
years resulted in the oversight and/or lapse of respondent’s
memory that complainant was a former client.
Furthermore, the caption of the Special Proceeding was not
in the name of complainant but was entitled, “In the Matter
of the Intestate Estate of Bonifacia Payahay Abaqueta.”
Respondent expressed regret over the oversight and
averred that immediately after discovering that he
formerly represented complainant in Special Proceeding
No. 3971-R, he filed a motion to withdraw as10counsel for
plaintiff, which was granted by the trial court. He denied
any malice in his acts and alleged that it is not in his
character to do malice or falsehood particularly in the
exercise of his profession.

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In his
11
Comments/Observations on Respondent’s
Answer, complainant averred that respondent’s conduct
was geared towards insuring a court victory for Milagros
Yap in Civil Case No. CEB-11453, wherein he deliberately
stated that complainant’s address was 9203 Riverside
Lodge Drive, Houston, Texas, 77083, U.S.A., when he knew
fully well that complainant’s true and correct ad-

_______________

9 Id., p. 29.
10 Id., pp. 31-32.
11 Id., pp. 33-35.

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Abaqueta vs. Florido

dress was c/o V.A. Hospital, 7th Street & Italian School
Road, Phoenix, Arizona, 85013, U.S.A. By falsely stating
and concealing his true and correct address, respondent
eventually succeeded in obtaining a default judgment in
favor of his client.
During the pendency of these proceedings before the
IBP, it appeared that respondent’s son got married to the
daughter of IBP National President Arthur D. Lim. Thus,
Atty. Lim inhibited himself
12
from participating in the
resolution of the case. Subsequently, a Resolution was
issued requiring the IBP to elevate the13 entire records the
case within thirty (30) days from notice.
The main issue to be resolved in the case at bar is
whether or not respondent violated Rule 15.03 of the Code
of Professional Responsibility. The investigating
commissioner found that respondent clearly violated the
prohibition against representing conflicting interests and
recommended that he be suspended from the practice of
law for a period of three (3) months.
We find the recommendation well-taken.
Rule 15.03 of the Code of Professional Responsibility
explicitly provides that—

RULE 15.03.—A lawyer shall not represent conflicting interests

except by written consent of all concerned given after a full
disclosure of the facts.

There is a conflict of interest if there is an inconsistency in

the interests of two or more opposing parties. The test is

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whether or not in behalf of one client, it is the lawyer’s duty

to fight for an issue 14or claim but it is his duty to oppose it
for the other client. In short, if he argues for one client,
this argument will
15
be opposed by him when he argues for
the other client.
There is a representation of conflicting interests if the
acceptance of the new retainer will require the attorney to
do anything which will injuriously affect his first client in
any matter in which he represents him and also whether
he will be called upon in his

_______________

12 Record, Vol. II, p. 2.

13 Ibid., p. 10.
14 Pineda, Legal and Judicial Ethics, 1999 ed., p. 199.
15 Ibid.

575

VOL. 395, JANUARY 22, 2003 575

Abaqueta vs. Florido

new relation, to use against his first

16
client any knowledge
acquired through their connection.
As pointed out by the investigating commissioner,
respondent does not deny that he represented complainant
in Special Proceedings No. 3971-R. He also does not deny
that he is the lawyer of Milagros Yap Abaqueta in Civil
Case No. CEB-11453, filed against complainant and
involving the same properties which were litigated in
Special Proceedings No. 3971-R. Respondent also admitted
that he did not secure the consent of complainant before he
agreed to act as Milagros Yap Abaqueta’s lawyer in Civil
Case No. CEB-11453.
The reasons proffered by respondent are hardly
persuasive to excuse his clear representation of conflicting
interests in this case. First, the investigating commissioner
observed that the name “Gamaliel Abaqueta” is not a
common name. Once heard, it will. surely ring a bell in
one’s mind if he came across the name again. In this case,
respondent actively prosecuted the cause of complainant in
Special Proceedings No. 3971-R, such that it would be
impossible for respondent not to have recalled his name.
Second, assuming arguendo that respondent’s memory
was indeed faulty, still it is incredible that he could not
recall that complainant was his client, considering that
Mrs. Charito Baclig, who was complainant’s attorney-in-
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fact and the go-between of complainant and respondent in

Special Proceedings No. 3971-R, was the same person who
brought Milagros Yap Abaqueta to him. Even a person of
average intelligence would have made the connection
between Mrs. Baclig and complainant under such
circumstances.
Lastly, the fact that the subject matter of Civil Case No.
CEB-11453 and Special Proceedings No. 3971-R are the
same properties could not have escaped the attention of
respondent. With such an abundance of circumstances to
aid respondent’s memory, it simply strains credulity for
him to have conveniently forgotten his past engagement as
complainant’s lawyer. What rather appears, given the
prevailing facts of this case, is that he chose to ignore them
on the assumption that the long period of time spanning
his past and present engagement would effectively blur the
memories of the parties to such a discrepancy.

_______________

16 Id., citing Pierce v. Palmer, 31 R.I. 432.

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Abaqueta vs. Florido

It is axiomatic that no lawyer is obliged to act either as

adviser or advocate for every person who may wish to
become his 17client. He has the right to decline such
employment, subject, however, 18
to Canon 14 of the Code of
Professional Responsibility. Once he agrees to take up the
cause of the client, the lawyer owes fidelity to such cause
and must always 19
be mindful of the trust and confidence
reposed in him. 20
He must serve the client with competence
and diligence and champion the latter’s 21
cause with
wholehearted fidelity, care and devotion.
A lawyer may not, without being guilty of professional
misconduct, act as counsel for a person 22
whose interest
conflicts with that of his former client. The reason for the
prohibition is found in the relation of attorney and client 23
which is one of trust and confidence of the24highest degree.
Indeed, as we stated in Sibulo v. Cabrera, “The relation of
attorney and client is based on trust, so that double
dealing, which
25
could sometimes lead to treachery, should
be avoided.”
Credence cannot, however, be given to the charge that
respondent fraudulently and maliciously falsified the true
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and correct address of the complainant notwithstanding

respondent’s knowledge thereof. Lawyers normally do not
have knowledge of the personal circumstances of a party in
a case and usually rely on the information supplied by their
clients. The fact that respondent sent 26
a letter to
complainant at the latter’s correct address sixteen months
before the filing of Civil Case No. CEB-11453 does not by
itself prove malice on the part of respondent. A new
address was furnished by Milagros Yap Abaqueta days
before the complaint was filed. Respondent had no reason
to doubt the correctness of the

_______________

17 Canon 31, Code of Professional Responsibility.

18 Canon 14, A lawyer shall not refuse his services to the needy.
19 Canon 17, Code of Professional Responsibility.
20 Canon 18, Code of Professional Responsibility.
21 Santiago v. Fojas, 248 SCRA 68, 73 [1995], citing Vda. de Alisbo v.
Jalandoon, 199 SCRA 321 [1991].
22 Cruz v. Jacinto, 328 SCRA 636, 642 [2000].
23 Maturan v. Gonzales, 287 SCRA 943 [1998].
24 336 SCRA 237, 240 [2000].
25 Citing Hilado v. David, 84 Phil. 569 [1941].
26 Exhibit “2”.

577

VOL. 395, JANUARY 22, 2003 577

Abaqueta vs. Florido

address of the complainant given to him by Milagros Yap

Abaqueta considering that she was complainant’s wife.
WHEREFORE, Atty. Bernardito A. Florido is
SUSPENDED from the practice of law for Three (3)
months. He is further ADMONISHED to exercise greater
care and diligence in the performance of his duties towards
his clients and the court. He is warned that a repetition of
the same or similar offense will be dealt with more
severely.
SO ORDERED.

          Puno, Vitug, Mendoza, Panganiban, Quisumbing,

Sandoval-Gutierrez, Carpio, Austria-Martinez, Corona,
Carpio-Morales, Callejo, Sr. and Azcuna, JJ., concur.
          Davide, Jr. (C.J.), No part, due to closeness to a
party.
     Bellosillo, J., On leave.
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Respondent suspended from practice of law for three (3)

months and admonished to exercise greater care and
diligence in performance of duties, with warning against
repetition of similar offense.

Note.—A lawyer who has agreed to represent a

defendant and later on agrees to represent the plaintiff in
the same case can no longer serve either of his clients
faithfully, as his duty to the plaintiff necessarily conflicts
with his duty to the defendant. (Sibulo vs. Cabrera, 336
SCRA 237 [2000])
Where a lawyer was retained by a person to form a
corporation and appeared as counsel in behalf of said
person but said lawyer was subsequently shown to be in
collusion with the board of directors of the corporation
against the said client, there is a clear case of conflict of
interest. (De Guzman vs. De Dios, 350 SCRA 320 [2001])

——o0o——

578

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