G.R. No. A.C. No. 8789, March 11, 2020
Atty. Honesto Ancheta Cabarroguis, Complainant, v. Atty. Danilo A. Basa, Respondent.

FACTS

Complainant Atty. Honesto Ancheta Cabarroguis filed a disbarment complaint against respondent Atty. Danilo A. Basa for alleged violations of the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR). Atty. Cabarroguis was the retained counsel for Godofredo V. Cirineo, Jr. in an estafa case against Erlinda Basa-Cirineo, who was represented by her brother, Atty. Basa. Atty. Cabarroguis accused Atty. Basa of employing dilatory tactics, including moving for the inhibition of the presiding judge after eight years of trial, leading to successive inhibitions by other judges. Atty. Cabarroguis also alleged that Atty. Basa exhibited immaturity by misspelling his first name as “HONESTo” in an omnibus motion and as “Honest” in a demand letter in a separate civil case involving clients Raul and Evelyn Molabola. Further, Atty. Cabarroguis claimed that Atty. Basa retaliated against him for prosecuting the estafa case by filing numerous administrative, civil, and criminal cases against him, which Atty. Cabarroguis characterized as malicious and unfounded. Atty. Cabarroguis also objected to Atty. Basa’s use of extensive court records about him as evidence in a malicious prosecution case, alleging a violation of the Writ of Habeas Data.
In his Comment, Atty. Basa clarified that several of the administrative cases against Atty. Cabarroguis had resulted in sanctions, including an admonition and a one-year suspension from the practice of law. He asserted that many criminal cases were filed by his clients, not personally by him, and that his actions were in defense of his sister and clients. He maintained that the disbarment complaint was itself retaliatory.
The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Investigating Commissioner initially recommended a one-year suspension for Atty. Basa, finding he breached ethical duties by using harassing tactics, abusing judicial processes, and belittling a fellow lawyer. The IBP Board of Governors (IBP-BOG) initially adopted this recommendation but later reversed itself upon Atty. Basa’s motion for reconsideration, finding no showing of bad faith in his filing of the cases.

ISSUE

Whether Atty. Danilo A. Basa violated the Code of Professional Responsibility, warranting disciplinary action.

RULING

The Supreme Court dismissed the complaint for lack of merit. The Court held that the filing of multiple cases, by itself, does not constitute a violation of the CPR unless done in bad faith or to harass. Atty. Basa’s actions were within his right to defend his sister and clients vigorously. The Court found no evidence that Atty. Basa filed cases with a corrupt motive or to unduly delay proceedings. Regarding the misspelling of Atty. Cabarroguis’s name, the Court considered it a trivial matter that did not rise to the level of professional misconduct. The Court emphasized that lawyers owe duties to their clients and the court, and Atty. Basa’s conduct, while zealous, did not exceed the bounds of lawful advocacy. The IBP-BOG’s reversal, which found no bad faith, was sustained. The complaint was dismissed.