Zenhashy's Place

PETITION FOR LEAVE TO RESUME PRACTICE OF LAW, BENJAMIN M. DACANAY, PETITIONER 540 SCRA 424 Facts: 1.     Petitioner was admitted to the Philippine bar in March 1960. 2.     He practiced law until he migrated to Canada in December 1998 to seek medical attention for his ailments. 3.     He subsequently applied for Canadian citizenship to avail of Canada's free medical aid program. 4.     Became a Canadian citizen in May 2004 5.     On July 14, 2006, pursuant to RA 9225, petitioner reacquired his Philippine citizenship. 6.     He took his oath of allegiance as a Filipino citizen before the Philippine consulate general in Toronto, Canada 7.     Thereafter, he returned to the Philippines and now intends to resume his law practice Issue: Whether petitioner lost his membership in the Philippine bar when he gave up his Philippine citizenship in May 2004 Ruling: ...

FIRST DIVISION [ A.C. No. 9116, March 12, 2014 ] NESTOR B. FIGUERAS AND BIENVENIDO VICTORIA, JR., COMPLAINANTS, VS. ATTY. DIOSDADO B. JIMENEZ, RESPONDENT. Facts : Congressional Village Homeowner’s Association, Inc. is the entity in charge of the affairs of the homeowners of Congressional Village in Quezon City. The Spouses Federico and Victoria Santander filed a civil suit for damages against the Association and Ely Mabanag before the RTC for building a concrete wall which abutted their property and denied them of their right of way. The spouses Santander likewise alleged that said concrete wall was built in violation of Quezon City Ordinance which prohibits the closing, obstructing, preventing or otherwise refusing to the public or vehicular traffic the use of or free access to any subdivision or community street. The Law Firm of Gonzalez Sinense Jimenez and Associates was the legal counsel for the Association, with respondent as the counsel of record and handling lawyer. After trial ...

THIRD DIVISION [ A.C. No. 10185, March 12, 2014 ] LICERIO DIZON, COMPLAINANT, VS. ATTY. MARCELINO CABUCANA, JR., RESPONDENT. Facts: complainant alleged that he was one of the would-be-buyers of a parcel of land owned by the heirs of the late Florentino Callangan, who were parties in Civil Case filed before the Municipal Trial Court; that, a compromise agreement was executed by the parties in the said case and notarized before Atty. Cabucana on the same date it was signed at the MTCC; that at the hearing conducted regarding the due execution and the veracity of the compromise agreement, the signatories therein testified that they signed the instrument in the court room of MTCC but not in the presence of Atty. Cabucana as Notary Public; that because of the irregularity in the due execution of the Compromise Agreement, there was undue delay in the resolution/decision of Civil Case which caused damage and injury to complainant; that Atty. Cabucana violated the Notarial Law in notarizing th...

THIRD DIVISION [ A.C. No. 5359, March 10, 2014 ] ERMELINDA LAD VDA. DE DOMINGUEZ, REPRESENTED BY HER ATTORNEY-IN-FACT, VICENTE A. PICHON, COMPLAINANT, VS. ATTY. ARNULFO M. AGLERON, SR., RESPONDENT. Facts : Complainant Ermelinda Lad Vda. De Dominguez (complainant) was the widow of the late Felipe Domiguez who died in a vehicular accident in Caraga, Davao Oriental, on October 18, 1995, involving a dump truck owned by the Municipality of Caraga. Aggrieved, complainant decided to file charges against the Municipality of Caraga and engaged the services of respondent Atty. Arnulfo M. Agleron, Sr. (Atty. Agleron). On three (3) occasions, Atty. Agleron requested and received from complainant the following amounts for the payment of filing fees and sheriff’s fees, to wit: (1) June 3, 1996 – P3,000.00; (2) June 7, 1996 – P1,800.00; and September 2, 1996 – P5,250.00 or a total of P10,050.00. After the lapse of four (4) years, however, no complaint was filed by Atty. Agleron against the...

THIRD DIVISION [ A.C. No. 10164, March 10, 2014 ] STEPHAN BRUNET AND VIRGINIA ROMANILLOS BRUNET, COMPLAINANTS,  VS. ATTY. RONALD L. GUAREN, RESPONDENT. Facts: Complainants alleged that  they engaged the services of Atty. Guaren for the titling of a residential lot they acquired in Bonbon, Nueva Caseres; that Atty. Guaren asked for a fee of Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00) including expenses relative to its proceeding; that it was agreed that full payment of the fee shall be made after the delivery of the title; that Atty. Guaren asked for an advance fee of One Thousand Pesos (P1,000.00) which they gave; that Atty. Guaren took all the pertinent documents relative to the titling of their lot-certified true copy of the tax declaration, original copy of the deed of exchange, sketch plan, deed of donation, survey plan, and original copy of the waiver; that on March 10, 1997, Atty. Guaren asked for additional payment of Six Thousand Pesos (P6,000.00) which they dutifully gave; that f...

EN BANC [ A.C. No. 10179 (Formerly CBD 11-2985), March 04, 2014 ] BENJAMIN Q. ONG, COMPLAINANT,  VS. ATTY. WILLIAM F. DELOS SANTOS, RESPONDENT. Facts: In January 2008, complainant Benjamin Ong was introduced to respondent Atty. William F. Delos Santos by Sheriff Fernando Mercado of the Metropolitan Trial Court of Manila. After several calls and personal interactions between them, Ong and Atty. Delos Santos became friends. In time, according to Ong, Atty. Delos Santos asked him to encash his postdated check inasmuch as he was in dire need of cash. To reassure Ong that the check would be funded upon maturity, Atty. Delos Santos bragged about his lucrative practice and his good paying clients. Convinced of Atty. Delos Santos’ financial stability, Ong handed to Atty. Delos Santos on January 29, 2008 the amount of P100,000.00 in exchange for the latter’s Metrobank Check No. 0110268 postdated February 29, 2008.   However, the check was dishonored upon presentment for the reason tha...