FIRST DIVISION

[G.R. No. L-2409. February 7, 1907. 1 ]

In re disbarment proceedings against FELIPE G. CALDERON .

Felipe G. Calderon, in his own behalf.

Attorney-General Wilfley, for the Government.

SYLLABUS

1. SUSPENSION OF ATTORNEY; ORDER OF COURT; ADMINISTRATOR. — AN order

of court authorized but did not require an administrator to deposit certain moneys in
his hands in a bank. Held, That his failure to do so was no ground for suspension from
practice of the lawyer who advised him not to make such deposit.
2. ID.; ID. — The lawyer for an administrator had been paid certain sums for
services rendered to the estate. The court in which the proceedings were pending,
thinking the payments excessive, ordered the lawyer to pay into the check's of ce
moneys in his hands which the latter claimed were his own. Held, That in attempting to
appeal from such order and in refusing to comply therewith until his rights to such
money could be ascertained, the lawyer was not guilty of conduct which required his
suspension from practice or expulsion from the bar.
3. ID.; MALPRACTICE. — The attorney for an estate bought at public auction in his
wife's name an interest in certain real property belonging to the estate. Held, That he
was guilty of malpractice in his office of attorney.

DECISION

WILLARD , J : p

On the 29th of January, 1904, one of the judges of the Court of First Instance of
Manila ordered the suspension of Felipe G. Calderon, a member of the bar, in
accordance with the provisions of section 22 of the Code of Civil Procedure, and in
accordance with the provisions of section 23 of that code the proceedings were
certified to this court.
The rst charge which the Attorney-General makes her is to the effect that the
respondent intentionally disobeyed an order of the court made on the 25th of July,
1903, in proceedings then pending in the Court of First Instance relating to the estate of
Francisca Hilario. That order was as follows:
"Se tienen por presentadas las cuentas que se acompañan las que se
ponen a disposicion de los interesados en la escribania; se autoriza al
administrador Don Jose Mas para que del saldo metalico existente entregue a los
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 herederos Rosa Domingo y herederos de Francisco Quintana, la septima parte de
dicho saldo, a cuenta de su porcion hereditaria, siempre que no exceda dicha
suma de la porcion hereditaria que les corresponda; se le autoriza asi mismo para
depositar el metalico remanente en uno de los bancos de esta capital hasta la
resolucion de estas actuaciones."
No money was deposited in accordance with this order. But an examination of it
shows that it did not order the deposit of money but simply authorized the
administrator to make such deposit if he saw it. It appears that the administrator
applied for this order, and its purpose evidently, was to relieve him from responsibility
for the loss of the money in certain cases. A failure to deposit money in accordance
with this authority can in no sense be called a disobedience of a lawful order of the
court.
The second charge relates to the refusal of the attorney to deposit certain money
claimed to be in his hands in the of ce of the clerk of the court. The rst order referring
to this matter is that of the 27th of August, 1904, in which the administrator, Jose Mas,
was required to deposit in the of ce of the clerk of the court 4,607.89 pesos. It is
claimed that this money was in the possession of the attorney, Calderon, and that he
advised the administrator not to comply with the order. The second order was made on
the 26th of September, 1904, and by its terms the administrator was directed to pay
into the clerks; of ce 10,514.14 pesos, which was in the possession of the attorney. No
money was ever paid into the clerk's office by virtue of these orders.
It appears that Francisca Hilario died testate on the 2d of January, 1898. On the
28th of January, 1901, Attorney Calderon, acting for Rosa Domingo, one of the heirs of
the deceased, commenced proceedings in the Court of First Instance for the
settlement of the estate, and on the 8th of February of the same year Jose Mas was
appointed administrator, Calderon acting as his attorney. Proceedings for the
settlement of the estate continued from that time up to the fall of 1904. Several actions
were commenced by the administrator against third persons to recover property of the
estate. At the end of every year the attorney presented to the administrator his bill for
services and disbursements and these were paid by the administrator. The attorney's
bill for 1901 amounted to 2,185.77 pesos; for 1902, to 3,583.36 pesos; and for the
1904 no bill had been presented or paid at the time these proceedings were
commenced in the court below.
In August, 1904, the court below, apparently of its own motion and believing that
the estate was being wasted by the administrator and his attorney, made an order
directing the clerk of the court to examine the record and make a report as to the
condition of the estate, and as to the amount of money which had been paid to the
attorney as fees. The clerk made this report and the court, after examining it and the
records of the case, determined that the amount of fees paid to attorney was
excessive, and that in no event should such fees exceed 5,000 pesos, and without
determining that he should be allowed even that sum, directed the administrator and
the attorney to pay into the clerk's of ce all the money in their hands in excess of 5,000
pesos.
In the several hearings which were had in the court below, the attorney always
contended that the money in his hands was his property; that it had been lawfully paid
to him by the administrator for services rendered; and that his bills thereof had been
approved by all of the heirs.
It is apparent that the real controversy in the court below related to the right of
the attorney to retain this money as counsel fees, and testimony was taken as to the
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 nature of the services rendered by the attorney, and the extent and importance of the
litigation in which he had been engaged for the estate. The decision of the court below
was in effect that the attorney was not entitled to retain the amount which had been
paid to him, and that all in excess of 5,000 pesos should be paid into the clerk's of ce.
Just what the effect of those orders of the court below were, and whether they
amounted to a nal determination of the right of the attorney to retain this money, it is
not necessary now to determine. An appeal was presented by him for every order made
by the court during these proceedings. Under the circumstances we do not think this
failure to pay the money into the court after he had appealed or attempted to appeal
from the order constituted an act for which he should be suspended or disbarred from
practice.
The third charge, according to the Attorney-General, is for malpractice or illegal
conduct, in that he was an interested party in the sale of a pottery belonging to the
estate for which he was attorney. He instigated a public sale and induced Enrique Ayllon
to buy the same, and they divided it between them. Enrique Ayllon did this, and a
partnership was formed as agreed. This fact alone, according to the Attorney-General,
is suf cient to justify the suspension ordered by the court below, because the act
constitutes a violation of the two oaths which the attorney took when admitted to the
practice of his profession, and is also an infraction of article 1459 if the Civil Code,
which applies to lawyers and solicitors and prohibits their buying even at public auction
property which is the object of litigation and in which they are interested professionally
or officially.
The attorney in his brief says:
"The Attorney-General is right in holding this to be a grave offense, for, as
he says, it not only involves mere disobedience of the orders of the court, but
more, it affects the honor and integrity of the lawyer in the practice of his
profession — all this, and much more, might be said of me if what the Attorney-
General alleges is true; if all that he alleges were true it would show in me a
degree of ignorance which would warrant the appellation of a foolish trickster and
would doubly merit, not only suspension as the Attorney-General says, but
expulsion for inability and immorality. As I have said before, it I had done that
which the Attorney-General alleges, acquiring for myself the factory in question,
there would be reason for classifying me as immoral and ignorant, since article
1459 of the Civil Code prohibits the purchase by lawyers of property which may
be in litigation and in which they are interested professionally and officially. . . . ."
By these assertions the attorney himself admits that the charge, and the grounds
upon which it is based, is a proper charge if established.
From the evidence adduced in this court, the following is found:
1. That Ayllon affirms and reiterates all that he testified to in the court below.
2. The he positively stated that it was the proposition of the attorney "that we
should made the purchase between us, each of course contributing one-half of the
capital for the purchase" (p. 12). "He informed me at rst that we could use the names
of his wife and my children . . . that is how the wife of Mr. Calderon and my children
were named as partners;" but afterwards Inocencia Macareig was named in place of
Mrs. Calderon.
3. In regard to the public sale, he said: "There were only present myself, who was
the only bidder, Jose Mas, I believe he was so called, and Mr. Calderon; at least I saw no
others there." On cross-examination, being asked if that the time of the sale anyone else
had offered a higher price than that offered by the witness, he answered, "No; if others
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 had offered a higher price, it would have gone to them . . ." (p. 15). Being cross-
examined as to whether the document had been rewritten, he said "yes," and that he had
manifested surprise to Calderon that Inocencia Macareig should appear therein and
that he did not know who she was, but that afterwards he learned that she was an old
woman who lived in the house of Calderon, and that she appeared to be a servant of the
house, for which reason he said to Calderon that he was unwilling that his children
should appear therein with a servant, and for this reason the document was rewritten
and Josefa Amurao, wife of Calderon, was substituted therefor.

At the examination held by the Attorney-General for the purpose of investigating

how the sale of the pottery was held, Mas, administrator of the estate, as well as
Attorney Calderon, testi ed that other persons were present, but they were unable to
establish the fact that there was any bidding or reservation at the sale, Mas saying that
the persons present were unknown to him, except Ayllon and Calderon, and that the one
who had bid highest was repeatedly referred to in the evidence as the client of
Calderon, with whom, according to both, the idea of the purchase and of the company
started, each of them stating the same, although in different manners. The accused,
Calderon, being asked, "Were there other bidders than Sr. Ayllon?" replied, "Yes sir; and
you have the proof of that in the fact that the price went above that of the xed
minimum." "Do you remember who were the other bidders besides Sr. Ayllon?" "I believe
that one of them was the agent of the Chino Francisco and I know him because he was
a camarin which is next to mine in San Felipe Neri." In his brief he had said before:
"There were no other bidders except Sr. Ayllon and in my desire to increase somewhat
the minimum, I looked up various persons who might bid, but without result, and the
property was turned over to Enrique Ayllon at an increase over the minimum value xed"
(pp. 6, 7).
Up to the 7th of August, 1903, no bill of sale of the pottery was executed in favor
of Enrique Ayllon (Exhibit H of the defense), nor up to the 20th of the same month had
the company composed of Enrique Ayllon and Inocencia Macareig been formed
(Exhibit G of the defense). But Exhibit 1 of the Government, dated the 22d of July, 1903,
is literally as follows: "Received from Doña Victoria and from Doña Maria Ayllon,
unmarried women of legal age, the sum of two thousand one hundred and sixty-three
pesos, Mexican currency ($2,163, Mex.), one-half of the price of the factory for the
making of title situated in the barrio of Sapa of the district of Santa Ana of this city,
bought by us in public auction and for the exploitation of which we have formed a
company, one-half belonging to these women and the other half to the undersigned. —
Manila, July 22, 1903. — P.P. de Doña Josefa Amurao de G. Calderon by Felipe G.
Calderon (attorney in fact). $2,163, Mex."
The context of this document, admitted by the accused, corroborates the
testimony of Enrique Ayllon.
It appearing that the partnership evidence by the instrument of the 20th of
August, 1903, was entered into between Enrique Ayllon and Inocencia Macareig, the
scal extended his inquiry as to the manner in which the former had entered into this
partnership with the latter. The defendant states in his brief: "Ayllon proposed to me to
ask her to become a partner with him in the camarin deal, to which I paid no attention.
Ayllon, in view of my refusal to interfere in the purchase of the camarin, went to my
clerk, Isidro Mutyangpili, a relative of Inocencia Macareig, and asked him to persuade
the woman to enter into this partnership with him, the said Mutyangpili to represent the
said woman" (p. 6). This was said on November 20, 1905. On the 16th of April, 1906,
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 having been asked by the scal whether he had taken any steps of Ayllon, he said that
"as Ayllon was looking for a partner and Inocencia Macareig desired to invest her
money received from the estate of her deceased husband in some business, I put her in
communication with Sr. Ayllon." (p. 42).
Two months after this, according to Ayllon, or three or four months thereafter,
according to Calderon, the wife of Calderon was substituted for Mrs. Macareig in said
partnership, until later on when she made herself absolute owner of the pottery by
purchasing Ayllon's interest therein.
If, according to the defendant, he had refused to interfere in the purchase, one of
his clerks having made the arrangements to the effect that Ayllon and Mrs. Macareig
should from a partnership, the clerk representing the latter in the transaction, we find no
explanation of the following letter (Exhibit 6 of the Government), dated August 21,
1903, the day following the execution of the articles of partnership: "Mr. Enrique Ayllon
Dear friend: I send you a bill of accounts of the camarin of Sapa, paid up to date, calling
your attention to the fact that Tano did not bring the bill for Saturday last nor that for to-
morrow. According to this bill, there exists a balance of $913.75, to which the sum of
$40, the value of the partnership's articles, should be added, making a total value of
$953.75; that is to say, $456.87 for each one of us; out of this sum you have paid $225,
leaving a balance against you of $233.87 ½ . . . I am also sending you the document of
purchase and the articles of partnership, as well as the list of expenses. Yours very
affectionately. Felipe G. Calderon." And of this tenor is all the correspondence which
passed between Ayllon and Calderon presented as evidence by the Government. All
these document corroborate the testimony given by Ayllon, a witness for the
prosecution.
In view of the evidence brought out by the letter of July 22, 1903, wherein it is
clearly said that the camarin had been adjudged by auction to us, speaking of Attorney
Calderon, who signed it in the name of his wife, the said Calderon at the nal hearing
attempted to explain this facts as follows: "In this doubt of whether Doña Inocencia
Macareig was or was not going to buy the said part, and as, on the other hand, there
was pending between us (between Doña Inocencia Macareig and my wife) the question
of partition . . ., and with the circumstance on the other hand that Doña Inocencia
Macareig did not know how to read or write and left everything regarding the purchase
of the camarin to the care of Doña Josefa Amurao, my wife, that is the person why I
signed said receipt as agent of my wife" (p. 78). This was said on April 26, 1906. But in
his brief state of the things and the partnership being agreed upon between Doña
Inocencia Macareig and Sr. Ayllon's daughters and Cayetano de Jesus as industrial
member thereof, Sr. Ayllon went to the auction . . ." (p. 6). And some lines above there
was written: "Said Doña Inocencia Macareig was living in my house . . .; she is a country
woman, who, although she did not know how to write, was acquainted with business
transactions better than many others, and like almost all of our old and rich country
women looks like a beggar. She was at that time taking care of my children and was
helping us in our domestic labors."
It is impossible, therefore, not to appreciate the relevant and strongly supported
testimony of the witnesses for the prosecution, Ayllon, which was reaf rmed by him in
this court, and which was objected to by the defendant in his brief.
The judgment must incline toward the side of this accumulated evidence, which
becomes conclusive by the facts on which the fiscal bases his conclusion.
This court does not consider this case as a violation of article 1459 of the Civil
Code but, according to the argument of the Attorney-General, as a grave offense which
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 involves malpractice or serious illegal conduct on the part of a lawyer in the practice of
his profession, constituting a violation of his oath. The defendant himself has said that
"If I had done that which the Attorney-General alleges, there would be reason not only
for suspending me from practice but for classifying me as immoral and ignorant."
(Brief, p. 4.) And the witness Ayllon had stated: "But later on I heard 'so and so,' that it
was 'chanchulleria' (malpractice) of Mr. Calderon, but as for me I was cheated, and from
that time I tried to separate myself from that business" (p. 14).
The defendant was suspended from the practice of his profession on December
29, 1904, and the penalty which we now impose is the suspension from such practice
which he has already suffered, the publication of the judgment in this proceeding
terminating such suspension. So ordered.
Arellano, C.J., and Torres, J., concur.
Carson and Tracey, JJ., concur in the result.

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