SC disbars military lawyer for faking court order nullifying marriage

The Supreme Court has ordered the disbarment of a legal officer of the Armed Forces of the Philippines for coming out with a fake decision in a nullity of marriage case in order to convince his client to pay the balance of their agreed amount representing his professional and filing fees and other expenses.

In a 10-page en banc decision, the SC unanimously upheld the recommendation of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, which found lawyer Edgardo Abad guilty of gross misconduct, malpractice, and deceit.

Court records showed that Abad misrepresented to Maria Felicisima Gonzaga, his colleague in the AFP and the complainant in the case, that he filed a petition for nullity of marriage on the ground of psychological incapacity before the Regional Trial Court of Pasig City on her behalf.

Abad, then a legal officer of the AFP’s Office of the Ethical Standard and Public Accountability (AFP-OESPA), offered to act as Gonzaga’s counsel after being told by the complainant that she was having marital problems with her husband.

Abad also received an initial payment from Gonzaga representing the professional and filing fees as well as the expenses for psychological evaluation amounting to P37,000.

The SC also noted that Abad assured Gonzaga that there would be no court hearings, suggesting that he can influence the trial court judge handling the case.

On February 5, 2010, the SC said the complainant received a text message from the respondent informing her that the judge has nullified her marriage and the decree of nullity must be recorded.

The lawyer also asked for P50,000 to register the decision with the local civil registrar.

In June 2010, Abad handed to Gonzaga a photocopy of the decision of the Regional Trial Court Branch 261 of Pasig City dated April 12, 2010 signed by Agnes Reyes-Carpio, as well a copy of the entry of judgment certified by lawyer Reynaldo Bautista as clerk of court.

However, in October 2010 Abad explained to Gonzaga that the decision could not be recorded unless she paid the balance of the agreed P80,000 fee.

The complainant insisted that she will give the complete payment after the decision is registered.

Abad then recommended filing a similar case in another province where it is easier to record a decree of nullity of marriage but Gonzaga got suspicious and turned down the suggestion.

Afterwards, she consulted a different lawyer who verified with the clerk of court of Pasig RTC Branch 261 that there was no petition for declaration of nullity of marriage filed on her behalf.

She also discovered that Judge Reyes-Carpio was already promoted to the Court of Appeals in November 2009 or before the purported decision was rendered and that Bautista who certified the supposed entry of judgment is a clerk of court of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Pasig City and not of the RTC Branch 261.

This prompted Gonzaga to file a criminal case for estafa through falsification and an administrative complaint before the AFP and a disbarment complaint against Abad before the IBP.

In ordering Abad’s disbarment, the SC noted that the respondent failed to substantiate how the spurious documents came into his possession.

“Absent satisfactory explanation, a person in possession or control of a falsified document and who makes use of it is presumed to be the author of the forgery,” the high court ruled.

“Verily, the presumption of authorship against Atty. Abad is warranted because he benefited from the use of simulated court issuances. In these circumstances, the Court concludes that Atty. Abad authored the fake decision and places his personal interest above integrity of the judiciary and its processes,” the SC said.

The SC said Abad’s illegal action did not only tarnish the “noble image of the legal profession, but also tainted the faith of the people in the courts, casting serious doubt as to their ability to effectively administer justice.’

“For these reasons, Atty. Edgardo H. Abad is disbarred from the practice of law and his name is ordered stricken from the Roll of Attorneys,” the SC ordered.