THE Supreme Court has disbarred a lawyer for violating the Code of Professional Responsibility and the Lawyer’s Oath after promising his client an antedated annulment of marriage ruling and failing to return the money of his client.
The High Court also ordered Ronaldo Salvado to return to Roger Asuncion the amount of P420,000 with a six percent per annum interest.
Asuncion sought Salvado’s legal services in 2013 to annul the marriage of his mother, Feliza Asuncion Ferrari.
Asuncion initially agreed to pay Salvado P700,000 in exchange for certain legal documents that would show that his mother’s marriage to Julio Asuncion in 1983 had been dissolved and that she had no existing marriage when she got married anew in 1988.
Salvado charged P70,000 as acceptance fee and later received various amounts totaling P420,000, the SC said.
In his complaint, Asuncion said Salvado promised a favorable judgment in two months.
He also presented to the court screenshots of their text messages showing that the P700,000 legal fees included payment to Salvado’s alleged connections to guarantee a favorable ruling.
