Florimond Rous did mention in his annotation that in the Philippines, the stability of courts and
all departments of government rest upon the approval of the people, thus it is essential that the system of
dispensing justice shall be developed to a high point of efficiency in order to maintain the confidence of
It was also cited in the annotation that lawyers, nowadays, become forgetful of the fact that one of
the grounds for suspension or disbarment of a lawyer is the violation of his oath of office.
I have nothing but to agree with the statements of Mr. Rous. As a freshman law student, I was
surprisingly able to encounter several cases wherein lawyers were faced with allegations of deliberately
disregarding the lawyer’s oath, and right after giving due course by the Court, some of these lawyers were
I do not know what did occur to the minds of these lawyers to just effortlessly waste all their
hardwork and to completely neglect all the sleepless nights when they were just law students and still
It’s probably the main reason why “good moral character” is one of the requirements in order for
a person to be admitted to the bar, and for a lawyer to be considered in a good standing in the legal
profession. It is primarily because, if a person lacking with good moral character would still be admitted
to the bar, nonetheless, he will most likely not last in the profession, and he may also be one of the
reasons why the public will lose their confidence in the integrity and impartiality of the administration of
justice.
However, I did observe, specifically in the case of Pangan vs. Ramos, 93 SCRA 87, which was
cited in the annotation, that the Supreme Court in providing proper punishments to the lawyers is actually
a case to case basis. Just like in the abovementioned case, wherein the respondent lawyer was only
reprimanded even though he knowingly violated his oath of office. In that case, the Supreme Court
considered the fact that the violation of the respondent lawyer was not so grave and it was actually the
first violation of the latter. Hence, it was not for the Court not to give a little amount of sympathy towards
the respondent lawyer, however, it was reiterated that a repetition of the same overt act or distinct
It may be hard for others, but the best way to uphold the lawyer’s oath and the integrity and
dignity of the legal profession is not to engage in any conduct or do any act that adversely reflects on his
fitness to practice law, nor to behave, in his public or private life, in a scandalous manner to the discredit
of the legal profession. He should instead endeavor to conduct himself at all times in such a way as to
give credit to the legal profession and to inspire the confidence, respect and trust of his clients and the
community.
As officers of the court, lawyers must not only in fact be of good moral character but must also be
seen to be of good moral character and leading lives in accordance with the highest moral standards of the
community.
In conclusion, it is not enough that the lawyers are aware of their oath of office and the Code of
Professional Responsibility. They should inculcate these two sources of their duties and responsibilities as
a lawyer in their hearts and souls, otherwise, they will frustrate the ends of justice and at the same time