THE Supreme Court has ruled that the administrative suspension of a lawyer is automatically lifted once he or she files a sworn statement of compliance after the expiration of the suspension and its confirmation is not required.
The ruling was contained in a resolution promulgated last August 23 and made public last October 5 by the SC’s Special Second Division in response to the request for clarification from the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) on the Court’s January 2023 ruling on Administrative Circular No. 11032 in the case of Bernaldo E. Valdez vs Atty. Winston Hipe.
The circular laid down the uniform guidelines governing the lifting of the penalty of a lawyer’s suspension.
Hipe was earlier found guilty in March 2022 of violating the 2004 Rules of Notarial Practice and was suspended from practicing law for one month. His notarial commission was also revoked for one year.
He later asked the SC to impose the less severe penalty of reprimand, instead of suspension and the one-year disqualification as a notary public.
The OBC, in a report dated March 3, 2023, recommended the lifting of Hipe’s suspension but recommended that his suspension as a notary public remain until September 13 this year
The OBC sought clarification from the SC on a portion of its ruling which held that the order of suspension shall be automatically lifted upon submission by the suspended lawyer of a sworn statement or service of suspension.
In seeking clarification, the OBC interpreted the said SC ruling to mean that the automatic lifting of suspension still requires the confirmation of the High Court.
The SC clarified that no confirmation on its part is required for an order of disciplinary suspension to be lifted following the filing of a sworn statement of compliance.
“Administrative suspension is lifted instantly upon the filing of a sworn statement of compliance. The Court’s confirmation is not required,” said the ruling penned by Associate Justice Rodil Zalameda and concurred in by Associate Justices Ramon Paul Hernando, Ricardo Rosario, Jose Midas Marquez and Maria Filomena Singh.
But the SC stressed that while the lifting of administrative suspension has now been made faster and more efficient, this does not mean that it will be similarly liberal to those who would submit false certifications or otherwise exploit the process.
“We reiterate our warning that any finding or report contrary to the statements made by the respondent lawyer under oath shall be a ground for the imposition of a more severe punishment, or even disbarment, as may be warranted,” the SC added.
