Source: http://lawlibrary.chanrobles.com/index.php?option=com_content&amp;view=article&amp;id=50596:am-p-07-2403-2008&amp;catid=1502&amp;Itemid=566
Timestamp: 2019-04-22 02:58:10+00:00

Document:
RE: REGIDOR R. TOLEDO, RONALDO TOLEDO, AND JOEFFREY TOLEDO* v. ATTY. JERRY RADAM TOLEDO, RTC, BRANCH 259, PARAÃ‘AQUE CITY.
Before this Court is a Complaint1 for violation of the lawyer's oath, violation of the Code of Professional Responsibility, oppression, dishonesty, harassment, and immorality against Atty. Jerry Radam Toledo, Branch Clerk of Court, Regional Trial Court, Branch 259, ParaÃ±aque City.
Complainants objected to the petition on the ground that the alleged conveyances to respondent and his siblings were "very questionable" and done without the knowledge and consent of complainants who, except for Zenaida, have legitimes over the subject estate.
They allege that the Deed of Sale presented by respondent contains erasures. The Deed of Sale states that the date of the consummation of the transaction is January 17, 2002 but Florencia's community tax certificate is dated July 18, 2002. On the later date also, complainants allege, it was impossible for Florencia to have obtained a CTC because she had been sick and was often in the hospital during that period. They also question the fact that the Deed of Sale was allegedly signed by the parties at complainants Regidor and Zenaida's house at Barangay Merville, ParaÃ±aque City, when respondent has never been there.
Complainants also point to a Sinumpaang Salaysay6 executed by Florencia attesting to the fact that she was made to sign by respondent's father a document the contents of which were unknown to her and that if any document she purportedly signed conveying her remaining Tarlac property should be presented, the same is not true.
Meanwhile, on November 28, 2003, respondent filed another case against complainants Regidor and Zenaida, and yet another relative, Cresencia Agduma, this time for violation of Presidential Decree (PD) No. 651. The case arose when Florencia died and was to be buried in San Clemente, Tarlac. Complainants had to secure her death certificate, which they failed to obtain in ParaÃ±aque City. Complainants sought advice from respondent, he being the lawyer in the family, who advised them to get a permit from the Local Civil Registrar in San Clemente. They followed his advice. Because of this, a case for violation of PD No. 651 was filed against the three.
On July 27, 2005, the 1st Municipal Circuit Trial Court of Sta. Ignacia-Mayantoc-San Clemente-San Jose rendered its Decision acquitting Regidor and Cresencia, but finding Zenaida guilty of violation of PD No. 651 for signing the application for the death certificate.
The complainants filed the present petition praying that this Court conduct a formal investigation of respondent's actions and impose on him the proper penalty which, they submit, should be the dismissal of respondent from the service as Branch Clerk of Court.
In his Comment,11 respondent calls the allegations "patently malicious conjectures and surmises."
He states that 15,000 of the 18,681 square meters of the San Clemente property in dispute had already been sold by the decedent herself. Further, what was left of the property, about 2,800 sq.m., had already been sold by complainants to several buyers. In fact, said buyers are now occupying the land. To prevent further dissipation of the estate, he was prompted to file a petition to settle the intestate estate of Florencia.
He alleges that it is the complainants who have shown their propensity for criminal activities as evidenced by their execution of an Affidavit of Loss to obtain a second copy of TCT No. T-125017, and by Zenaida's declaration in Florencia's death certificate that the latter died in San Clemente, Tarlac. He also states that, contrary to complainants' assertion, the courts have painstakingly been trying to have the parties amicably settle their cases.
He denies that he uttered malicious words to complainants. He also denies being a drunkard but admits to being a "moderate drinker." He alleges that the complaint was filed merely to harass, malign, and annoy him, and to pressure him to accede to their demands.
Complainants' charges against the respondent and the latter's countercharges stem from their dispute over the property left by their deceased relative, Florencia R. Toledo. In fact, an intestate proceeding to settle the estate of the above named deceased among the complainants and the respondent has been filed in the RTC, Branch 260, ParaÃ±aque City. Respondent's claim that he had bought a portion of the land left by the deceased Florencia R. Toledo, which is the basis of his claim in the intestate proceeding, is challenged by the complainants who have filed an action to annul the alleged sale. There is also the perjury case against the complainants for their execution of an Affidavit of Loss of Owner's Duplicate Copy of TCT No. 125017.
The pendency of the aforesaid cases render[s] the charges hurled against respondent Atty. Toledo beyond the ambit of administrative inquiry. The issues raised involve judicial matters which should be addressed by the courts where they are pending.
By living with a woman and begetting children with her without the benefit of marriage, the respondent has breached the standards of morality and uprightness expected from a court employee. The judiciary cannot afford to keep in its ranks one whose sense of propriety is highly questionable. The respondent herein has to choose between giving up his public position and legalizing his relationship with the mother of his children by the bond of matrimony. He cannot at the same time stay in the service of the judiciary and maintain an illicit relation with a woman who is not his wife.
We find the OCA's report and recommendation partly meritorious.
We agree with the OCA that the charges and counter-charges pertaining to the sale and partition of the property or properties of Florencia's estate would best be ventilated in the cases already pending in the trial courts. Whether respondent's claims are meritorious or frivolous will be determined after judgment on the merits has been rendered in each case.
However, as to the charge of immorality, we find the OCA's recommendations untenable.
Thus, to warrant disciplinary action, we must examine if respondent's relationship with his common-law wife qualifies as "grossly immoral conduct."
Based on the allegations in the Complaint and in respondent's Comment, we cannot conclude that his act of cohabiting with a woman and begetting children by her without the benefit of marriage falls within the category of "grossly immoral conduct."
It is not unwarranted for us to take judicial notice of the fact that more and more Filipinos are finding it necessary to seek employment abroad in order to provide their loved ones with better lives. We find nothing "unprincipled and undesirable" with seeking all means - within the bounds of law and reason - to uplift the lot of one's family. It is not for us to inquire into our personnel's motivations for entering into such an arrangement or to judge how they plan to accomplish their goals in life, unless it is shown that they are violating the law in the process.
While the Court has the power to regulate official conduct and, to a certain extent, private conduct, it is not within our authority to make, for our employees, decisions about their personal lives, especially those that will so affect their and their family's future, such as whether they should or should not be married.
There is no allegation that the two have been flaunting their status as common-law husband and wife, or that their cohabitation is attended by scandalous circumstances. Thus, the comportment of respondent and his common-law wife cannot be characterized as "willful, flagrant, shameless, or show[ing] a moral indifference to the opinion of the good and respectable members of the community" as to warrant the exercise of this Court's disciplinary power.
WHEREFORE, the foregoing premises considered, the complaint against Atty. Jerry Radam Toledo is DISMISSED. However, he is REMINDED to be more circumspect in his public and private dealings. Costs against complainants.
Ynares-Santiago, J., Chairperson, Austria-Martinez, Corona**, Reyes, JJ., concur.
* In addition to the three named herein, the Complaint was also signed by one Zenaida Toledo.
6 Annex "I," rollo, p. 39.
12 Annex "4," rollo, p. 72.
14 Cojuangco, Jr. v. Palma, A.C. No. 2474, September 15, 2004, 438 SCRA 306, 314, citing 7 C.J.S. 959.
15 Figueroa v. Barranco, Jr., 342 Phil. 408, 412 (1997).
16 Reyes v. Wong, 159 Phil. 171, 178 (1975), citing Co v. Candoy, 21 SCRA 439, 442 (1967).
17 Concerned Employee v. Mayor, A.M. No. P-02-1564, November 23, 2004, 443 SCRA 448, 457.
18 MontaÃ±a v. Ruado, 159 Phil. 439 (1975).
19 Radaza v. Tejano, 193 Phil. 433, 436 (1981); Soberano v. Villanueva, 116 Phil. 1208, 1212 (1962). See also Figueroa v. Barranco, Jr., supra note 15, at 412.
20 Pimente, Jr. v. Fabros, A.C. No. 4517, September 11, 2006, 501 SCRA 346, 352, citing Pimentel, Sr. v. Llorente, 339 SCRA 154 (2000).
21 Tadlip v. Borres, Jr., A.C. No. 5708, November 11, 2005, 474 SCRA 441, 454.
22 Salazar v. Limeta, A.M. No. P-04-1908, August 16, 2005, 467 SCRA 27, 33.

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