G.R. No.

L-12426

February 16, 1959

PHILIPPINE LAWYER'S ASS !IA"I N, petitioner, vs. !ELE# NI AGRA$A, %& '%( )a*a)%+y a( #%re)+or o, +'e P'%-%**%&e( Pa+e&+ ,,%)e, respondent. . N"E.AY R, J./ FA!"S/ This is the petition filed by the Philippine Lawyer's Association for prohibition and injunction against Celedonio Agrava, in his capacity as Director of the Philippines Patent ffice. Director Agrava issued a circular announcing that he had scheduled an e!a"ination for the purpose of deter"ining who are #ualified to practice as patent attorneys before the Philippines Patent ffice, the said e!a"ination to cover patent law and jurisprudence and the rules of practice before said office. According to the circular, "e"bers of the Philippine $ar are #ualified to ta%e the said e!a"ination. &t would appear that heretofore, respondent Director has been holding si"ilar e!a"inations. &t is the contention of the petitioner Philippine Lawyer's Association that one who has passed the bar e!a"inations and is licensed by the 'upre"e Court to practice law in the Philippines and who is in good standing, is duly #ualified to practice before the Philippines Patent ffice, and that conse#uently, the cat of the respondent Director re#uiring "e"bers of the Philippine $ar in good standing to ta%e and pass an e!a"ination given by the Patent ffice as a condition precedent to their being allowed to practice before said office. &n his answer, respondent Director "aintains that the prosecution of patent cases (does not involve entirely or purely the practice of law but includes the application of scientific and technical %nowledge and training, so "uch so that, as a "atter of actual practice, the prosecution of patent cases "ay be handled not only by lawyers, but also engineers and other persons with sufficient scientific and technical training who pass the prescribed e!a"inations as given by the Patent ffice) . . . that the *ules of Court do not prohibit the Patent ffice, or any other #uasi+judicial body fro" re#uiring further condition or #ualification fro" those who would wish to handle cases before the Patent ffice which. The 'upre"e Court has the e!clusive and constitutional power with respect to ad"ission to the practice of law in the Philippines and to any "e"ber of the Philippine $ar in good standing "ay practice law anywhere and before any entity, whether judicial or #uasi+judicial or ad"inistrative ISS0E/ ,-. whether or not appearance before the patent ffice and the preparation and the prosecution of patent applications, etc., constitutes or is included in the practice of law. ,/. Another aspect of the #uestion involves the consideration of the nature of the functions and acts of the 0ead of the Patent ffice.

HEL#/ ,-. The practice of law is not limited to the conduct of cases or litigation in court) it e"braces the preparation of pleadings and other papers incident to actions and social proceedings, the "anage"ent of such actions and proceedings on behalf of clients before judges and courts, and in addition, conveying. &n general, alladvice to clients, and all action ta%en for the" in "atters connected with the law corporation services, assess"ent and conde"nation services conte"plating an appearance before a judicial body, the foreclosure of a "ortgage, enforce"ent of a creditor's clai" in ban%ruptcy and insolvency proceedings, and conducting proceedings in attach"ent, and in "atters of estate and guardianship have been held to constitute law practice as do the preparation and drafting of legal instru"ents, where the work done involves the determination by the trained legal mind of the legal effect of facts and conditions . ,1 A". 2ur. p. /3/, /34.. ,5"phasis supplied.. the practice of law includes such appearance before the Patent ffice, the representation of applicants, oppositors, and other persons, and the prosecution of their applications for patent, their oppositions thereto, or the enforce"ent of their rights in patent cases. &n the first place, although the transaction of business in the Patent ffice involves the use and application of technical and scientific %nowledge and training, still, all such business has to be rendered in accordance with the Patent Law, as well as other laws, including the *ules and *egulations pro"ulgated by the Patent ffice in accordance with law. 6ot only this, but practice before the Patent ffice involves the interpretation and application of other laws and legal principles, as well as the e!istence of facts to be established in accordance with the law of evidence and procedure. &n support of the proposition that "uch of the business and "any of the act, orders and decisions of the Patent Director involve #uestions of law or a reasonable and correct evaluation of facts, the very Patent Law, *epublic Act 6o. -31, 'ection 3-, provides that7 . . . . The applicant for a patent or for the registration of a design, any party to a proceeding to cancel a patent or to obtain a co"pulsory license, and any party to any other proceeding in the ffice "ay appeal to the 'upre"e Court fro" any final order or decision of the director. ,/. 'ection 11- of the *evised Ad"inistrative Code authori8es every chief of bureau to prescribe for"s and "a%e regulations or general orders not inconsistent with law, to secure the har"onious and efficient ad"inistration of his branch of the service and to carry into full effect the laws relating to "atters within the jurisdiction of his bureau. 'ection 39: of *epublic Act -;4<, %nown as the Tariff and Custo"s Code of the Philippines, provides that the Co""issioner of Custo"s shall, subject to the approval of the Depart"ent 0ead, "a%es all rules and regulations necessary to enforce the provisions of said code. 'ection 44: of the 6ational &nternal *evenue Code, Co""onwealth Act 6o. =33 as a"ended, states that the

'ecretary of >inance, upon reco""endation of the Collector of &nternal *evenue, shall pro"ulgate all needful rules and regulations for the effective enforce"ent of the provisions of the code. ?e understand that rules and regulations have been pro"ulgated not only for the $ureau of Custo"s and &nternal *evenue, but also for other bureaus of the @overn"ent, to govern the transaction of business in and to enforce the law for said bureaus. ?ere we to allow the Patent ffice, in the absence of an e!press and clear provision of law giving the necessary sanction, to re#uire lawyers to sub"it to and pass on e!a"ination prescribed by it before they are allowed to practice before said Patent ffice, then there would be no reason why other bureaus specially the $ureau of &nternal *evenue and Custo"s, where the business in the sa"e area are "ore or less co"plicated, such as the presentation of boo%s of accounts, balance sheets, etc., assess"ents e!e"ptions, depreciation, these as regards the $ureau of &nternal *evenue, and the classification of goods, i"position of custo"s duties, sei8ures, confiscation, etc., as regards the $ureau of Custo"s, "ay not also re#uire that any lawyer practising before the" or otherwise transacting business with the" on behalf of clients, shall first pass an e!a"ination to #ualify. &n conclusion, we hold that under the present law, "e"bers of the Philippine $ar authori8ed by this Tribunal to practice law, and in good standing, "ay practice their profession before the Patent ffice, for the reason that "uch of the business in said office involves the interpretation and deter"ination of the scope and application of the Patent Law and other laws applicable, as well as the presentation of evidence to establish facts involved) that part of the functions of the Patent director are judicial or #uasi+judicial, so "uch so that appeals fro" his orders and decisions are, under the law, ta%en to the 'upre"e Court.

Bar Matter No. 1222. February 4, 2004

Jona Mendo/a &onachristinelli0gmail'com ,how details

Re: 2003 BAR EXAMINATIONS

FACTS: The day following the 2003 bar examination in Mercantile Law, Justice itug, !hairman of the "ar #xaminations !ommittee, was a$$rised of a rumored lea%age in the examination on the sub&ect' (fter ma%ing his own in)uiries, he re$orted the matter to the other members of the !ourt, recommending that the bar examination on the sub&ect be nullified and that an in*estigation be conducted' +n 23 ,e$tember 2003, the !ourt ado$ted the recommendation of Justice itug, and resol*ed to nullify the examination in Mercantile Law and to hold another examination on 04 +ctober 2003' Following the issuance of the resolution, the !ourt recei*ed numerous $etitions from *arious grou$s ex$ressing agreement to the nullification the said sub&ect but disagreeing the holding of another examination on that sub&ect' -n a resolution, dated 2. ,e$tember 2003, the !ourt, cancelled the scheduled examination

and allocated 123 $oints among the 4 bar examination sub&ects' -n the same resolution, the !ourt resol*ed to create a !ommittee com$osed of three retired members of the !ourt that would conduct a thorough in*estigation of the incident sub&ect of the 23 ,e$tember 2003 resolution' The !ourt designated the following retired (ssociate Justices to com$ose the -n*estigating !ommittee ha*ing Justice 5ri6o7()uino as !hairman, Justice Melo and Mendo/a as members' +n 12 January 2004, the -n*estigating !ommittee submitted its re$ort and recommendation to the !ourt finding that the lea%age came from (tty' 8e 5u/man who accessed the com$uter of (tty' Marcial "algos, who was the examiner of !ommercial Law' 8uring the in*estigation (tty' "algos admitted that he does not %now how to o$erate a com$uter exce$t to ty$e on it' 9e does not %now how to o$en and close his own com$uter which has a $assword for that $ur$ose' -n fact, he did not %now, as he still does, the $assword' -t is his secretary, !heryl :alma, who o$ened and closed his com$uter for him' 9e was sur$rised to disco*er, when re$orts of the bar lea%age bro%e out, that his com$uter was in fact interconnected with the com$uters of his . assistant attorneys' 9e )uestioned these . $eo$le and found that (ttorney 8anilo 8e 5u/man, a member of the "eta ,igma Lambda fraternity, F#; cha$ter, downloaded the test )uestions from (ttorney "algos< com$uter and faxed a co$y to a fraternity brother 5ar*ida' 9e ad*ised 5ar*ida to share the )uestions with other ="etan< examinees' -n turn, >onan 5ar*ida faxed the test )uestions to "etans >andy -6igo and James "ugain' >andy -6igo $assed a co$y or co$ies of the same )uestions to another "etan, (lan 5uia$al, who ga*e a co$y to the ML?;7"eta ,igma @Lambda<sA Most -llustrious "rother, >onald F' !ollado, who ordered the $rinting and distribution of 30 co$ies to the ML?;<s 30 bar candidates' 9e li%ewise faxed it to (rlan and #rwin Tan' ISSUEB Chether or not 8e 5u/man abetted cheating or dishonesty *iolating >ule 1'01 of !anon 1 and 4 of the !ode of :rofessional >es$onsibility' RULINGB The !ourt ruled in the affirmati*e and ado$ted the re$ort of the -n*estigating !ommittee' The !ourt disbarred (tty' 8e 5u/man and re$rimanded (tty' "algos 8-,#DT-TL# him from recei*ing any honorarium as an #xaminer in Mercantile Law' "y transmitting and distributing the stolen test )uestions to some members of the "eta ,igma Lambda Fraternity, $ossibly for $ecuniary $rofit and to gi*en them undue ad*antage o*er the other examiners in the mercantile law examination, 8e 5u/man abetted

cheating or dishonesty by his fraternity brothers in the examination, which is *iolati*e of >ule 1'01 of !anon 1, as well as !anon 4 of the !ode of :rofessional >es$onsibility for members of the "ar, which $ro*ide >ule 1'01 7 ( lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct !anon 4 7 ( L(CE#> ,9(LL (T (LL T-M#, ;:9+L8 T9# -DT#5>-TE (D8 8-5D-TE +F T9# L#5(L :>+F#,,-+D (D8 ,;::+>T T9# (!T- -T-#, +F T9# -DT#5>(T#8 "(>' 8e 5u/man was guilty of gra*e misconduct unbecoming a member of the "ar' 9e *iolated the law instead of $romoting res$ect for it and degraded the noble $rofession of law instead of u$holding its dignity and integrity' 9is actuations im$aired $ublic res$ect for the !ourt, and damaged the integrity of the bar examinations as the final measure of a law graduate<s academic $re$aredness to embar% u$on the $ractice of law' This 9onorable court in the case of "urbe *' Magulta, ('!' Do' 2413, June 10, 2002, 3F3 ,!>( 24G, $ronounced the following reminder for lawyersB =Members of the bar must do nothing that may tend to lessen in any degree the confidence of the $ublic in the fidelity, the honesty and integrity of the $rofession'< -n another case, it li%ewise intonedB =Ce cannot o*er stress the duty of a lawyer to at all times u$hold the integrity and dignity of the legal $rofession' 9e can do this by faithfully $erforming his duties to society, to the bar, to the courts, and to his clients'< H>eyes *' Ja*ier, ('!' Do' 2244, February 2, 2002, 342 ,!>( 23FI' -t goes without saying that a lawyer who *iolates this $rece$t of the $rofession by committing a gross misconduct which dishonors and diminishes the $ublic<s res$ect for the legal $rofession, should be disci$lined'The !ourt, certainly will not countenance any act or conduct that can im$air not only the integrity of the "ar #xaminations but the trust re$osed on the !ourt' +n the other hand, the !ommittee finds that the theft of the test )uestions from (tty' "algos< com$uter could ha*e been a*oided if (tty' "algos had exercised due diligence in safeguarding the secrecy of the test )uestions which he $re$ared' For, if he had ta%en those sim$le $recautions to $rotect the secrecy of his $a$ers, nobody could ha*e stolen them and co$ied and circulated them' The integrity of the bar examinations would not ha*e been sullied by the scandal' 9e admitted that =Mali siguro a%o, but that was

what ha$$ened<

J+n the other hand, the !ommittee finds that the theft of the test )uestions from (tty' "algos< com$uter could ha*e been a*oided if (tty' "algos had exercised due diligence in safeguarding the secrecy of the test )uestions which he $re$ared' (s the com$uter is a $owerful modern machine which he admittedly is not fairly familiar with, he should not ha*e trusted it to dee$ secret the test )uestions that he stored in its hard dis%' 9e admittedly did not %now the $assword of his com$uter' 9e relied on his secretary to use the $assword to o$en and close his com$uter' 9e %e$t his com$uter in a room to which other $ersons had access' ;nfamiliar with the use of the machine whose $otential for mischief he could not ha*e been totally unaware of, he should ha*e a*oided its use for so sensiti*e an underta%ing as ty$ing the )uestions in the bar examination' (fter all he %new how to use the ty$ewriter in the use of which he is )uite $roficient' (tty' "algos should therefore ha*e $re$ared the test )uestions in his trusty ty$ewriter, in the $ri*acy of his home, Hinstead of his law officeI, where they would ha*e been safe from the $rying eyes of secretaries and assistant attorneys' (tty' "algos< negligence in the $re$aration and safe%ee$ing of his $ro$osed test )uestions for the bar examination in mercantile law, was not the $roximate cause of the =bar lea%ageK< it was, in fact, the root cause' For, if he had ta%en those sim$le $recautions to $rotect the secrecy of his $a$ers, nobody could ha*e stolen them and co$ied and circulated them' The integrity of the bar examinations would not ha*e been sullied by the scandal' 9e admitted that =Mali siguro a%o, but that was what ha$$ened< H43 tsn, +ct' 24, 2003I'

JThis 9onorable court in the case of "urbe *' Magulta, ('!' Do' 2413, June 10, 2002, 3F3 ,!>( 24G, $ronounced the following

reminder for lawyersB =Members of the bar must do nothing that may tend to lessen in any degree the confidence of the $ublic in the fidelity, the honesty and integrity of the $rofession'< -n another case, it li%ewise intonedB =Ce cannot o*erstress the duty of a lawyer to at all times u$hold the integrity and dignity of the legal $rofession' 9e can do this by faithfully $erforming his duties to society, to the bar, to the courts, and to his clients'< H>eyes *' Ja*ier, ('!' Do' 2244, February 2, 2002, 342 ,!>( 23FI' -t goes without saying that a lawyer who *iolates this $rece$t of the $rofession by committing a gross misconduct which dishonors and diminishes the $ublic<s res$ect for the legal $rofession, should be disci$lined' J JCith regard to recommending measures to safeguard the integrity of the bar examinations and $re*ent a re$etition of future lea%age in the said examinations, inasmuch as this matter is at $resent under study by the !ourt<s !ommittee on Legal #ducation and "ar Matters, as an as$ect of $ro$osals for bar reforms, the -n*estigating !ommittee belie*es it would be well7ad*ised to refrain from including in this re$ort what may turn out to be du$licati*e, if not contrary, recommendations on the matter'L@3A