Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila

NARVASA, C.J.:

In his verified letter-complaint dated June 19, 1991, ¹ complainant Domingo Gamalinda charges retired Judge Fernando Alcantara and Atty. Joselito Lim with grave abuse of their profession ("labis nilang pag-abuso sa kanilang propesyon"), deception, threats, dishonoring and injuring the reputation of said complainant and bringing about the loss of his land.

The Court finds the charges to be without basis and accordingly dismisses them.

The administrative complaint against retired Judge Fernando Alcantara is a futile attempt to resurrect the charges filed against him in Adm. Matter No. MTJ-90-494, which were dismissed by this Court in its resolution of September 8, 1988 for having become moot and academic. Adm. Matter No. MTJ-90-494 was filed only on July 22, 1987, or five (5) months after the respondent judge's retirement from the service on February 3, 1987. No motion for reconsideration having been seasonably filed by complainant, that resolution has become final and executory. It serves as a bar to a relitigation of the same charges against respondent judge. ² That those charges are now being brought against respondent judge in his capacity as an attorney does not help the cause of complainant, for the change in the form of action or remedy pursued does not bar the application of the rule of res judicata. ³

On the other hand, the record establishes that Atty. Lim was merely performing his duty as counsel for the plaintiffs in Civil Case No. 3827 when he did what is now complained of. ⁴

In Civil Case No. 3827 of the Regional Trial Court of Tarlac, Branch LXIII, Salud Balot and Felicidad Balot had sued the heirs of Apolinario Gamalinda ⁵ for reconveyance, with damages, of the eastern half of Lot No. 3217 of the cadastral survey of Victoria, Tarlac, which was allegedly inadvertently included in the original certificate of title of Apolinario Gamalinda. In the course of the trial, plaintiffs were able to secure a writ of preliminary injunction against the "defendants, their agents, representatives or other persons acting in their behalf, ordering them to desist from threshing and carting away the palay harvest on Lot No. 3217 of the Cadastral Survey of Victoria, . . . until further order of this Court. . . ." ⁶ This injunction was made permanent in the decision of the lower court rendered on July 26, 1977 in favor of the plaintiffs.

Pending appeal to the Court of Appeals, complainant herein entered a portion of the area in dispute, in the belief that the whole of Lot No. 3217 belonged to him by virtue of a Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement with Quitclaim ⁷ executed in his favor by the heirs of Apolinario Gamalinda on May 6, 1985. It must be noted that at that time title to Lot No. 3217 was still in the name of Apolinario Gamalinda. Thus, when Maximiano Tiburcio, Protacio Cabatino and Maximo Mateo, tenants of Salud Balot, entered the portion being cultivated by complainant, the latter reported the incident to the police.

From Salud Balot's viewpoint, it was complainant who intruded into her land. Relying therefore on the injunction issued by the lower court, she filed through counsel, Atty. Lim, a motion to declare complainant Gamalinda in contempt of court.

Complainant interposed the defense that the area in dispute in Civil Case No. 3827 was different from the area occupied by him. To resolve the issue, the lower court with his agreement, ordered a resurvey of Lot No. 3217. The result of the resurvey showed that contrary to complainant's claim, the lot occupied by him was the very same land involved in Civil Case No. 3827. Accordingly, the lower court declared complainant in contempt in an order dated July 24, 1986 which was affirmed on appeal by the Court of Appeals in a decision rendered on March 21, 1998. 8

On October 12, 1987, the Court of Appeals rendered a decision, affirming in toto the judgment of the lower court in Civil Case No. 3827. ⁹ After the appellate court's decision had become final, Atty. Lim moved for the execution of the affirmed judgment, ¹⁰ and when the writ of execution was returned unsatisfied, filed an "Urgent Motion to Require Domingo Gamalinda to Surrender TCT 186299 to the Clerk of Court and to Authorize the Latter to Execute Reconveyance of Lot 3217-A in Favor of Plaintiffs." ¹¹ That motion was granted by the lower court, but complainant refused to surrender the Owner's Copy of TCT No. 186299, prompting Atty. Lim to file the questioned "Motion to Declare Owner's Copy of TCT 186299 Null and Void," ¹² which the lower court granted on July 31, 1989.

It is clear from the foregoing that the questioned acts of Atty. Lim were all done in line with his duty to prosecute his clients' cause in Civil Case No. 3827. The first motion was filed to protect his clients' possessory rights over the property in dispute while the second motion was made to procure execution of the decision in Civil Case No. 3827.

A lawyer owes fidelity to the cause of his client and must be mindful of the trust and confidence reposed in him. ¹³ He shall serve his client with competence and diligence, ¹⁴ and his duty of entire devotion to his client's cause not only requires, but entitles him to employ every honorable means to secure for the client what is justly due him or to present every defense provided by law to enable the latter's cause to succeed. ¹⁵ An attorney's duty to safeguard the client's interests commences from his retainer until the effective release from the case ¹⁶ or the final disposition of the whole subject matter of the litigation. ¹⁷ During that period, he is expected to take such reasonable steps and such ordinary care as his client's interests may require.

This is precisely what Atty. Lim was doing when he filed the motions complained of. He should be commended, not condemned, for diligently and competently performing his duties as an attorney;

With respect to the complainant's contention that the Deed of Sale of Unregistered Land relied upon by the lower and appellate courts in Civil Case No. 3827 is a forged or fake instrument, suffice it to say that this is a matter that should have been litigated in said case instead of being raised for the first time in these proceedings. In any case, there being no showing that Atty. Lim was aware of any defect in that deed, the charge of deception against him will not lie. Absent, too, is any showing that Atty. Lim had anything to do with the preparation of the criminal information, and for the same reason he cannot be called to account for it.

ACCORDINGLY, the administrative charges against retired Judge Fernando Alcantara and Atty. Joselito Lim are DISMISSED for lack of merit.

SO ORDERED.

Footnotes