(Part 14) EN BANC Hernando J., VILLAMOR VS. ATTY. JUMAO-AS
[ A.C. No. 8111. February 15, 2022 ]
ADELITA S. VILLAMOR, COMPLAINANT, VS. ATTY. ELY GALLAND A. JUMAO-AS, RESPONDENT.
HERNANDO, J.
On December 9, 2020, the Court suspended Atty. Jumao-as from the practice of law for two years for violating Canon 15, Rule 15.03 of the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR), which provides:
Canon 15 — A lawyer shall observe candor, fairness and loyalty in all his dealings and transactions with his client.
x x x x
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.
Atty. Jumao-as now moves to reduce his penalty, either to a stern warning or a two-month suspension. Humbly admitting to his faults, he prays that this Court consider the reasons quoted hereunder for the mitigation of his administrative punishment:
1. I was a new lawyer at that time and I fall short of my professional judgment;
2. Long before the promulgation of this case, I already realized my mistake during the mediation stage of my case x x x. I quickly offered to pay the debts of [Villamor] and I paid her debt [to Yu] x x x I also brokered the reconciliation of complainant with [her] general manager;
3. Even though the Affidavit of Desistance cannot dismiss the administrative case, I pray that it will be considered as a mitigating factor x x x;
4. The bounced checks of the complainant did not reach to court because I personally settled her obligations;
5. In the spirit of compassion especially during this time of pandemic where the means of living is difficult to meet, I plead for consideration to shorten my suspension.
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The Court turns to a case factually-similar to the one at hand for guidance.
In Legaspi v. Atty. Gonzales, complainant therein consulted respondent attorney how to eject an illegal settler who refuses to leave their land. While she never formally engaged respondent's legal services in her personal capacity, complainant still relayed to respondent the details of her quandary. Later, complainant discovered that respondent had become the counsel defending the same illegal settler in an unlawful detainer case filed by complainant's realty development company. The unlawful detainer case ended in an amicable settlement – the illegal settler received money from complainant's company and a parcel of land owned by complainant. Respondent even had a share in the settlement money from the illegal settler. Determining his administrative culpability for advocating conflicting interests, the Court sanctioned the erring lawyer with a year-long suspension from the practice of law.
All told, the Court finds good reason in jurisprudence and in fact to reconsider its previous administrative sentence of suspension for two years upon Atty. Jumao-as. He shall remain suspended from the practice of law, but for the shorter period of one year.
ACCORDINGLY, respondent Atty. Ely Galland A. Jumao-as' Motion to Reduce Penalty is TREATED as a Motion for Reconsideration and the same is GRANTED IN PART. The Court's December 9, 2020 Decision in this case is MODIFIED, in that respondent is SUSPENDED from the practice of law for the reduced period of one year and WARNED that a repetition of the same or similar acts will be dealt with more severely.
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