A.C. No. 7035 - PEDRO SALAZAR, COMPLAINANT, VS. ATTY. ARMAND DURAN.R E S O L U T I O N - Supreme Court E-Library

Ruling

Accordingly, the IBP reprimanded him for unethical conduct. However, the IBP modified the penalty to suspension for three months after taking into consideration the new allegations of complainant in his motion for reconsideration. Complainant alleged that Atty. Duran previously defrauded another client and that he initiated lawsuits for personal gain. We modify the recommendation of the IBP. In all his dealings with his client and with the courts, every lawyer is expected to be honest, imbued with integrity, and trustworthy. [33] Every lawyer is enjoined to obey the laws of the land, to refrain from doing any falsehood in or out of court or from consenting to the doing of any in court, and to conduct himself according to the best of his knowledge and discretion with all good fidelity to the courts and to his clients. [34] These expectations, though high and demanding, are basic professional and ethical burdens of every member of the Philippine Bar, for they have been given full expression in the Lawyer's Oath that every lawyer of this country has taken upon admission as a bona fide member of the Law Profession. [35] Canon 10, Rule 10.01 of the CPR echoes the Lawyer's Oath, viz .: CANON 10 A LAWYER OWES CANDOR, FAIRNESS AND GOOD FAITH TO THE COURT. Rule 10.01 A lawyer shall not do any falsehood, nor consent to the doing of any in Court; nor shall he mislead, or allow the Court to be misled by any artifice. Indeed, to all lawyers, honesty and trustworthiness have the highest value. In Young v. Batuegas , [36] we explained: A lawyer must be a disciple of truth. He swore upon his admission to the Bar that he will "do no falsehood nor consent to the doing of any in court" and he shall "conduct himself as a lawyer according to the best of his knowledge and discretion with all good fidelity as well to the courts as to his clients." He should bear in mind that as an officer of the court his high vocation is to correctly inform the court upon the law and the facts of the case and to aid it in doing justice and arriving at correct conclusion. The courts, on the other hand, are entitled to expect only complete honesty from lawyers appearing and pleading before them. While a lawyer has the solemn duty to defend his client's rights and is expected to display the utmost zeal in defense of his client's cause, his conduct must never be at the expense of truth. Thus, we penalized lawyers for withholding the true facts of the case with intent to mislead the court. In Molina v. Atty. Magat , [37] we suspended the respondent lawyer for six months for making untruthful statements on the existence of a similar case to mislead the court into dismissing the case due to double jeopardy. [38] Similarly, in Coloma v. Ulep , [39] we imposed the penalty of suspension from the practice of law for six months against the erring government lawyer who falsely testified in court. Meanwhile, in Maligaya v. Atty. Doronilla, Jr. , [40] the respondent lawyer stated untruthfully in