PETITION FOR LEAVE TO RESUME PRACTICE OF LAW,
BENJAMIN M. DACANAY
Doctrine: The practice of law is a privilege burdened with conditions. It is so delicately affected with public interest
that it is both a power and a duty of the State (through this Court) to control and regulate it in order to protect and
promote the public welfare.
Adherence to rigid standards of mental fitness, maintenance of the highest degree of morality, faithful observance
of the rules of the legal profession, compliance with the mandatory continuing legal education requirement and
payment of membership fees to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) are the conditions required for
membership in good standing in the bar and for enjoying the privilege to practice law. Any breach by a lawyer of any
of these conditions makes him unworthy of the trust and confidence which the courts and clients repose in him for
the continued exercise of his professional privilege.
The Rules of Court mandates that an applicant for admission to the bar be a citizen of the Philippines, at least
twenty-one years of age, of good moral character and a resident of the Philippines. He must also produce before this
Court satisfactory evidence of good moral character and that no charges against him, involving moral turpitude,
have been filed or are pending in any court in the Philippines.
Moreover, admission to the bar involves various phases such as furnishing satisfactory proof of educational, moral
and other qualifications; passing the bar examinations; taking the lawyer’s oath and signing the roll of attorneys and
receiving from the clerk of court of this Court a certificate of the license to practice.
The second requisite for the practice of law ― membership in good standing ― is a continuing requirement.
FACTS:
Petitioner was admitted to the Philippine bar in March 1960. He practiced law until he migrated to Canada in
December 1998 to seek medical attention for his ailments. He subsequently applied for Canadian citizenship
to avail of Canada’s free medical aid program. His application was approved and he became a Canadian
citizen in May 2004.
In July 2006, pursuant to Republic Act (RA) 9225 (Citizenship Retention and Re-Acquisition Act of 2003),
petitioner reacquired his Philippine citizenship. On that day, he took his oath of allegiance as a Filipino
citizen before the Philippine Consulate General in Toronto, Canada. Thereafter, he returned to the
Philippines and now intends to resume his law practice.
ISSUE + RULING:
Whether petitioner may still resume practice? YES. Subject to compliance to certain conditions.
Section 2, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court provides an applicant for admission to the bar be a citizen of the
Philippines, at least twenty-one years of age, of good moral character and a resident of the Philippines.
o He must also produce before this Court satisfactory evidence of good moral character and that no
charges against him, involving moral turpitude, have been filed or are pending in any court in the
Philippines.
Since Filipino citizenship is a requirement for admission to the bar, loss thereof terminates membership in
the Philippine bar and, consequently, the privilege to engage in the practice of law. In other words, the loss
of Filipino citizenship ipso jure terminates the privilege to practice law in the Philippines. The practice of law
is a privilege denied to foreigners.
The exception is when Filipino citizenship is lost by reason of naturalization as a citizen of another country
but subsequently reacquired pursuant to RA 9225. This is because “all Philippine citizens who become
citizens of another country shall be deemed not to have lost their Philippine citizenship under the conditions
of [RA 9225].” Therefore, a Filipino lawyer who becomes a citizen of another country is deemed never to
have lost his Philippine citizenship if he reacquires it in accordance with RA 9225.
Before he can resume his law practice, he must first secure from this Court the authority to do so,
conditioned on:
1) the updating and payment of of IBP membership dues;
2) the payment of professional tax;
3) the completion of at least 36 credit hours of mandatory continuing legal education; this is specially
significant to refresh the applicant/petitioner’s knowledge of Philippine laws and update him of legal
developments and
4) the retaking of the lawyer’s oath.
DISPOSITION: Petition of Attorney Benjamin M. Dacanay is hereby GRANTED, subject to compliance with the
conditions stated above and submission of proof of such compliance to the Bar Confidant, after which he may retake
his oath as a member of the Philippine bar.
