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G.R. No. SDC-97-2-P

TodayisTuesday,November11,2014

RepublicofthePhilippines
SUPREMECOURT
Manila
THIRDDIVISION

A.M.No.SDC972PFebruary24,1997
SOPHIAALAWI,complainant,
vs.
ASHARYM.ALAUYA,ClerkofCourtVI,Shari'aDistrictCourt,MarawiCity,respondent.

NARVASA,C.J.:
SophiaAlawiwas(andpresumablystillis)asalesrepresentative(orcoordinator)ofE.B.Villarosa&PartnersCo.,
Ltd.ofDavaoCity,arealestateandhousingcompany.AshariM.Alauyaistheincumbentexecutiveclerkofcourtof
the4thJudicialShari'aDistrictinMarawiCity,Theywereclassmates,andusedtobefriends.
ItappearsthatthroughAlawi'sagency,acontractwasexecutedforthepurchaseoninstallmentsbyAlauyaofone
of the housing units belonging to the above mentioned firm (hereafter, simply Villarosa & Co.) and in connection
therewith, a housing loan was also granted to Alauya by the National Home Mortgage Finance Corporation
(NHMFC).
Not long afterwards, or more precisely on December 15, 1995, Alauya addressed a letter to the President of
Villarosa&Co.advisingoftheterminationofhiscontractwiththecompany.Hewrote:
. . I am formally and officially withdrawing from and notifying you of my intent to terminate the
Contract/Agreement entered into between me and your company, as represented by your Sales
Agent/Coordinator,SOPHIAALAWI,ofyourcompany'sbranchofficehereinCagayandeOroCity,on
the grounds that my consent was vitiated by gross misrepresentation, deceit, fraud, dishonesty and
abuseofconfidencebytheaforesaidsalesagentwhichmadesaidcontractvoidabinitio.Saidsales
agentactinginbadfaithperpetratedsuchillegalandunauthorizedactswhichmadesaidcontractan
OnerousContractprejudicialtomyrightsandinterests.Hethenproceededtoexpoundinconsiderable
detail and quite acerbic language on the "grounds which could evidence the bad faith. deceit, fraud,
misrepresentation, dishonesty and abuse of confidence by the unscrupulous sales agent . . ." and
closed with the plea that Villarosa & Co. "agree for the mutual rescission of our contract, even as I
informyouthatIcategoricallystateonrecordthatIamterminatingthecontract...IhopeIdonothave
to resort to any legal action before said onerous and manipulated contract against my interest be
annulled.Iwasactuallyfooledbyyoursalesagent,hencetheneedtoannulthecontroversialcontract."
AlauyasentacopyofthelettertotheVicePresidentofVillarosa&Co.atSanPedro,Gusa,Cagayan
de Oro City. The envelope containing it, and which actually went through the post, bore no stamps.
Insteadattherighthandcornerabovethedescriptionoftheaddressee,thewords,"FreePostagePD
26,"hadbeentyped.
On the same date, December 15, 1995, Alauya also wrote to Mr. Fermin T. Arzaga, VicePresident,
Credit&CollectionGroupoftheNationalHomeMortgageFinanceCorporation(NHMFC)atSalcedo
Village,MakatiCity,repudiatingasfraudulentandvoidhiscontractwithVillarosa&Co.andaskingfor
cancellationofhishousingloaninconnectiontherewith,whichwaspayablefromsalarydeductionsat
therateofP4,338.00amonth.Amongotherthings,hesaid:
...(T)hroughthiswrittennotice,Iamterminating,asIherebyannul,cancel,rescindand
voided, the "manipulated contract" entered into between me and the E.B. Villarosa &
Partner Co., Ltd., as represented by its sales agent/coordinator, SOPHIA ALAWI, who
maliciously and fraudulently manipulated said contract and unlawfully secured and
pursued the housing loan without my authority and against my will. Thus, the contract
itself is deemed to be void ab initio in view of the attending circumstances, that my
consent was vitiated by misrepresentation, fraud, deceit, dishonesty, and abuse of
confidence and that there was no meeting of the minds between me and the swindling
salesagentwhoconcealedtherealfactsfromme.

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And, as in his letter to Villarosa & Co., he narrated in some detail what he took to be the anomalous
actuationsofSophiaAlawi.
AlauyawrotethreeotherletterstoMr.ArzagaoftheNHMFC,datedFebruary21,1996,April15,1996,andMay3,
1996, in all of which, for the same reasons already cited, he insisted on the cancellation of his housing loan and
discontinuanceofdeductionsfromhissalaryonaccountthereof.a He also wrote on January 18, 1996 to Ms. Corazon M. Ordoez,
HeadoftheFiscalManagement&BudgetOffice,andtotheChief,FinanceDivision,bothofthisCourt,tostopdeductionsfromhissalaryinrelationtotheloanin
question,againassertingtheanomalousmannerbywhichhewasallegedlydupedintoenteringintothecontractsby"theschemingsalesagent."b

The upshot was that in May, 1996, the NHMFC wrote to the Supreme Court requesting it to stop deductions on
Alauya's UHLP loan "effective May 1996." and began negotiating with Villarosa & Co. " for the buyback of . . .
(Alauya's)mortgage.and..therefundof..(his)payments."c
OnlearningofAlauya'slettertoVillarosa&Co.ofDecember15,1995,SophiaAlawifiledwiththisCourtaverified
complaint dated January 25, 1996 to which she appended a copy of the letter, and of the above mentioned
envelopebearingthetypewrittenwords,"FreePostagePD26."1Inthatcomplaint,sheaccusedAlauyaof:
1."Imputationofmaliciousandlibelouschargeswithnosolidgroundsthroughmanifestignoranceand
evidentbadfaith"
2."Causingundueinjuryto,andblemishingherhonorandestablishedreputation"
3."Unauthorizedenjoymentoftheprivilegeoffreepostage..."and
4.Usurpationofthetitleof"attorney,"whichonlyregularmembersofthePhilippineBarmayproperly
use.
ShedeploredAlauya'sreferencestoheras"unscrupulousswindler,forger,manipulator,etc."without"evenabitof
evidencetocloth(sic) his allegations with the essence of truth," denouncing his imputations as irresponsible, "all
concoctions, lies, baseless and coupled with manifest ignorance and evident bad faith," and asserting that all her
dealings with Alauya had been regular and completely transparent. She closed with the plea that Alauya "be
dismissedfromthesenice,orbeappropriatelydesciplined(sic)..."
TheCourtresolvedtoorderAlauyatocommentonthecomplaint,Conformablywithestablishedusagethatnotices
ofresolutionsemanatefromthecorrespondingOfficeoftheClerkofCourt,thenoticeofresolutioninthiscasewas
signedbyAtty.AlfredoP.Marasigan,AssistantDivisionClerkofCourt.2
Alauyafirstsubmitteda"PreliminaryComment"3inwhichhequestionedtheauthorityofAtty.Marasigantorequirean
explanationofhim,thispowerpertaining,accordingtohim,notto"amereAsst.Div.ClerkofCourtinvestigatinganExecutive
ClerkofCourt."butonlytotheDistrictJudge,theCourtAdministratorortheChiefJustice,andvoicedthesuspicionthatthe
Resolution was the result of a "strong link" between Ms. Alawi and Atty. Marasigan's office. He also averred that the
complaint had no factual basis Alawi was envious of him for being not only "the Executive Clerk of Court and exofficio
ProvincialSheriffandDistrictRegistrar."butalso"ascionofaRoyalFamily..."4

InasubsequentlettertoAtty.Marasigan,butthistimeinmuchlessaggressive,evenobsequioustones,5 Alauya
requestedtheformertogivehimacopyofthecomplaintinorderthathemightcommentthereon.6Hestatedthathisactsas
clerkofcourtweredoneingoodfaithandwithintheconfinesofthelawandthatSophiaAlawi,assalesagentofVillarosa&
Co. had, by falsifying his signature, fraudulently bound him to a housing loan contract entailing monthly deductions of
P4,333.10fromhissalary.

And in his comment thereafter submitted under date of June 5, 1996, Alauya contended that it was he who had
suffered "undue injury, mental anguish, sleepless nights, wounded feelings and untold financial suffering,"
consideringthatinsixmonths,atotalofP26,028.60hadbeendeductedfromhissalary.7Hedeclaredthattherewas
nobasisforthecomplaintincommunicatingwithVillarosa&Co.hehadmerelyactedindefenseofhisrights.Hedeniedany
abuseofthefrankingprivilege,sayingthathegaveP20.00plustransportationfaretoasubordinatewhomheentrustedwith
the mailing of certain letters that the words: "Free Postage PD 26," were typewritten on the envelope by some other
person, an averment corroborated by the affidavit of Absamen C. Domocao, Clerk IV (subscribed and sworn to before
respondenthimself,andattachedtothecommentasAnnexJ)8andasfarasheknew,hissubordinatemailedtheletters
withtheuseofthemoneyhehadgivenforpostage,andifthoseletterswereindeedmixedwiththeofficialmailofthecourt,
thishadoccurredinadvertentlyandbecauseofanhonestmistake.9

Alauyajustifiedhisuseofthetitle,"attorney,"bytheassertionthatitis"lexicallysynonymous"with"Counsellorsat
law." a title to which Shari'a lawyers have a rightful claim, adding that he prefers the title of "attorney" because
"counsellor"isoftenmistakenfor"councilor,""konsehal"ortheMaranaoterm"consial,"connotingalocallegislator
beholdentothemayor.Withal,hedoesnotconsiderhimselfalawyer.
He pleads for the Court's compassion, alleging that what he did "is expected of any man unduly prejudiced and
injured." 10HeclaimshewasmanipulatedintoreposinghistrustinAlawi,aclassmateandfriend. 11 He was induced to
signablankcontractonAlawi'sassurancethatshewouldshowthecompleteddocumenttohimlaterforcorrection,butshe
hadsinceavoidedhimdespite"numerouslettersandfollowups"hestilldoesnotknowwherethepropertysubjectofhis
supposedagreementwithAlawi'sprincipal,Villarosa&Co.issituated 12HesaysAlawisomehowgothisGSISpolicy
from his wife, and although she promised to return it the next day, she did not do so until after several months. He also

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claimsthatinconnectionwithhiscontractwithVillarosa&Co.,Alawiforgedhissignatureonsuchpertinentdocumentsas
thoseregardingthedownpayment,clearance,layout,receiptofthekeyofthehouse,salarydeduction,noneofwhichhe
eversaw.13

Averringinfinethathisactsinquestionweredonewithoutmalice,Alauyapraysforthedismissalofthecomplaint
forlackofmerit,itconsistingof"fallacious,maliciousandbaselessallegations."andcomplainantAlawihavingcome
totheCourtwithuncleanhands,hercomplicityinthefraudulenthousingloanbeingapparentanddemonstrable.
Itmaybementionedthatincontrasttohistwo(2)letterstoAssistantClerkofCourtMarasigan(datedApril19,1996
andApril22,1996),andhistwo(2)earlierlettersbothdatedDecember15,1996allofwhichhesignedas"Atty.
Ashary M. Alauya" in his Comment of June 5, 1996, he does not use the title but refers to himself as "DATU
ASHARYM.ALAUYA."
TheCourtreferredthecasetotheOfficeoftheCourtAdministratorforevaluation,reportandrecommendation.14
ThefirstaccusationagainstAlauyaisthatinhisaforesaidletters,hemade"maliciousandlibelouscharges(against
Alawi)withnosolidgroundsthroughmanifestignoranceandevidentbadfaith,resultingin"undueinjuryto(her)and
blemishingherhonorandestablishedreputation."Inthoseletters,Alauyahadwritteninteraliathat:
1)Alawiobtainedhisconsenttothecontractsinquestion"bygrossmisrepresentation,deceit,fraud,dishonestyand
abuseofconfidence"
2) Alawi acted in bad faith and perpetrated . . . illegal and unauthorized acts . . . prejudicial to . . (his) rights and
interests"
3) Alawi was an "unscrupulous (and "swindling") sales agent" who had fooled him by "deceit, fraud,
misrepresentation,dishonestyandabuseofconfidence"and
4)AlawihadmaliciouslyandfraudulentlymanipulatedthecontractwithVillarosa&Co.,andunlawfullysecuredand
pursuedthehousingloanwithout..(his)authorityandagainst..(his)will,"and"concealedtherealfacts..."
Alauya'sdefenseessentiallyisthatinmakingthesestatements,hewasmerelyactingindefenseofhisrights,and
doing only what "is expected of any man unduly prejudiced and injured," who had suffered "mental anguish,
sleepless nights, wounded feelings and untold financial suffering, considering that in six months, a total of
P26,028.60hadbeendeductedfromhissalary.15
TheCodeofConductandEthicalStandardsforPublicOfficialsandEmployees(RA6713)interaliaenunciatesthe
Statepolicyofpromotingahighstandardofethicsandutmostresponsibilityinthepublicservice. 16Section4ofthe
Codecommandsthat"(p)ublicofficialsandemployees..atalltimesrespecttherightsofothers,and..refrainfromdoing
actscontrarytolaw,goodmorals,goodcustoms,publicpolicy,publicorder,publicsafetyandpublicinterest." 17Morethan
oncehasthisCourtemphasizedthat"theconductandbehaviorofeveryofficialandemployeeofanagencyinvolvedinthe
administrationofjustice,fromthepresidingjudgetothemostjuniorclerk,shouldbecircumscribedwiththeheavyburdenof
responsibility.Theirconductmustatalltimesbecharacterizedby,amongothers,strictproprietyanddecorumsoastoearn
andkeeptherespectofthepublicforthejudiciary."18

Now,itdoesnotappeartotheCourtconsistentwithgoodmorals,goodcustomsorpublicpolicy,orrespectforthe
rights of others, to couch denunciations of acts believed however sincerely to be deceitful, fraudulent or
malicious, in excessively intemperate, insulting or virulent language. Alauya is evidently convinced that he has a
right of action against Sophia Alawi. The law requires that he exercise that right with propriety, without malice or
vindictiveness, or undue harm to anyone in a manner consistent with good morals, good customs, public policy,
publicorder,supraorotherwisestated,thathe"actwithjustice,giveeveryonehisdue,andobservehonestyand
good
faith." 19 Righteous indignation, or vindication of right cannot justify resort to vituperative language, or downright name
calling.AsamemberoftheShari'aBarandanofficerofaCourt,Alawiissubjecttoastandardofconductmorestringent
than for most other government workers. As a man of the law, he may not use language which is abusive, offensive,
scandalous,menacing,orotherwiseimproper.20Asajudicialemployee,itisexpectedthatheaccordrespectfortheperson
andtherightsofothersatalltimes,andthathiseveryactandwordshouldbecharacterizedbyprudence,restraint,courtesy,
dignity.Hisradicaldeviationfromthesesalutarynormsmightperhapsbemitigated,butcannotbeexcused,byhisstrongly
heldconvictionthathehadbeengrievouslywronged.

AsregardsAlauya'suseofthetitleof"Attorney,"thisCourthasalreadyhadoccasiontodeclarethatpersonswho
passtheShari'aBararenotfullfledgedmembersofthePhilippineBar,hencemayonlypracticelawbeforeShari'a
courts.21WhileonewhohasbeenadmittedtotheShari'aBar,andonewhohasbeenadmittedtothePhilippineBar,may
bothbeconsidered"counsellors,"inthesensethattheygivecounseloradviceinaprofessionalcapacity,onlythelatterisan
"attorney." The title of "attorney" is reserved to those who, having obtained the necessary degree in the study of law and
successfullytakentheBarExaminations,havebeenadmittedtotheIntegratedBarofthePhilippinesandremainmembers
thereofingoodstandinganditistheyonlywhoareauthorizedtopracticelawinthisjurisdiction.

Alauyasayshedoesnotwishtousethetitle,"counsellor"or"counselloratlaw,"becauseinhisregion,thereare
pejorative connotations to the term, or it is confusingly similar to that given to local legislators. The ratiocination,
validornot,isofnomoment.Hisdisinclinationtousethetitleof"counsellor"doesnotwarranthisuseofthetitleof

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attorney.
Finally, respecting Alauya's alleged unauthorized use of the franking privilege, 22 the record contains no evidence
adequatelyestablishingtheaccusation.

WHEREFORE, respondent Ashari M. Alauya is hereby REPRIMANDED for the use of excessively intemperate,
insultingorvirulentlanguage,i.e.,languageunbecomingajudicialofficer,andforusurpingthetitleofattorneyand
heiswarnedthatanysimilarorotherimproprietyormisconductinthefuturewillbedealtwithmoreseverely.
SOORDERED.
Davide,Jr.,Melo,FranciscoandPanganiban,Jr.,JJ.,concur.
Footnotes
aAnnexesB,B,B1,B3ofAlauya'sCommentdatedJune5,1996.
bAnnexesFandG,id.
cAnnexC2,id.
1AnnexesAandA1ofcomplaintRolloatp.14copiesoftheletterwerealsofurnishedtheNational
HomeMortgageFinanceCorporation,TheFinanceManagementandBudgetOfficeandtheFinancial
DivisionoftheSupremeCourt.
2ResolutiondatedMarch25,1996.
3DatedApril19,1996.
4Rolloatp.23.
5Evidently,hehadsincebecomeawareoftheimmemorialpracticethatNOTICES(orcommunications
informing)ofResolutionsadoptedbytheCourtEnBancoranyofitsthree(3)Divisionsaresenttothe
partiesbyandoverthesignatureofthecorrespondingClerkorCourtorhisAssistant,theCourt's
Resolutionsbeingincorporatedverbatiminsaidnotices.
6DatedApril22,1996.
7Rolloatp.28.
8Idatp.60.
9id.atp.32.
10Id.atp.34.
11Id.atp.35,etseq.
12Id.atp.35.
13Id.
14SeeResolutionoftheCourtenbancdatedAugust21,1996Rolloatp.61etseq.
15SEEfootnoteNo.7,supra.
16Policarpiov.Fortus,248SCRA272,275.
17R.A.No.6713.Section11ofthesamelawpunishesanyviolationoftheActwith(1)afinenot
exceedingtheequivalentofsix(6)months'salary,or(2)suspensionnotexceedingone(1)year,or(3)
removal,dependingonthegravityoftheoffense,afterduenoticeandhearingbytheappropriatebody
oragency,andevenifnocriminalprosecutionisinstitutedagainsthim.
18Apagav.Ponce,245SCRA233,240,citingCallejo,Jr.v.Garcia,etc.,206SCRA491Angelesv.
Bantug,etal.,209SCRA413Icasiano,Jr.v.Sandiganbayan,etal.,2109SCRA377Medilo,etal.v.
Asodisen,etc.,233SCRA68:SEEalsoPolicarpiov.Fortus,248SCRA272,275.
19Art.19,CivilCode.
20Rules8.01and11.03oftheCodeofProfessionalResponsibility,whichshouldapplybyanalogyto
MembersoftheShari'aBar.TheCodealsoproscribesbehaviorinascandalousmannertothe
discreditofthelegalprofession(Rule7.03).
21ResolutionoftheCourtEnBancdatedAugust5,1993inBarMatterNo.681,entitled"Petitionto

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allowShari'alawyerstoexercisetheirprofessionattheregularcourts."SEERule138(secs.1,4),
RulesofCourt.
TheLawphilProjectArellanoLawFoundation

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