12/21/2016 G.R.No.

SDC972P

TodayisWednesday,December21,2016

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.Alauyaistheincumbentexecutiveclerkofcourt
ofthe4thJudicialShari'aDistrictinMarawiCity,Theywereclassmates,andusedtobefriends.

ItappearsthatthroughAlawi'sagency,acontractwasexecutedforthepurchaseoninstallmentsbyAlauyaofone
ofthehousingunitsbelongingtotheabovementionedfirm(hereafter,simplyVillarosa&Co.)andinconnection
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
thegroundsthatmyconsentwasvitiatedbygrossmisrepresentation,deceit,fraud,dishonestyand
abuseofconfidencebytheaforesaidsalesagentwhichmadesaidcontractvoidabinitio.Saidsales
agentactinginbadfaithperpetratedsuchillegalandunauthorizedactswhichmadesaidcontractan
Onerous Contract prejudicial to my rights and interests. He then proceeded to expound in
considerabledetailandquiteacerbiclanguageonthe"groundswhichcouldevidencethebadfaith.
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,evenasIinformyouthatIcategoricallystateonrecordthatIamterminatingthecontract..
. I hope I do not have to resort to any legal action before said onerous and manipulated contract
againstmyinterestbeannulled.Iwasactuallyfooledbyyoursalesagent,hencetheneedtoannul
thecontroversialcontract."

AlauyasentacopyofthelettertotheVicePresidentofVillarosa&Co.atSanPedro,Gusa,Cagayan
deOroCity.Theenvelopecontainingit,andwhichactuallywentthroughthepost,borenostamps.
Insteadattherighthandcornerabovethedescriptionoftheaddressee,thewords,"FreePostage
PD26,"hadbeentyped.

Onthesamedate,December15,1995,AlauyaalsowrotetoMr.FerminT.Arzaga,VicePresident,
Credit&CollectionGroupoftheNationalHomeMortgageFinanceCorporation(NHMFC)atSalcedo
Village,MakatiCity,repudiatingasfraudulentandvoidhiscontractwithVillarosa&Co.andasking
for cancellation of his housing loan in connection therewith, which was payable from salary
deductionsattherateofP4,338.00amonth.Amongotherthings,hesaid:

. . . (T)hrough this written notice, I am terminating, as I hereby annul, cancel, rescind

andvoided,the"manipulatedcontract"enteredintobetweenmeandtheE.B.Villarosa&
Partner Co., Ltd., as represented by its sales agent/coordinator, SOPHIA ALAWI, who

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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
confidenceandthattherewasnomeetingofthemindsbetweenmeandtheswindling
salesagentwhoconcealedtherealfactsfromme.

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,andMay
3,1996,inallofwhich,forthesamereasonsalreadycited,heinsistedonthecancellationofhishousingloanand
discontinuanceofdeductionsfromhissalaryonaccountthereof.aHealsowroteonJanuary18,1996toMs.CorazonM.Ordoez,
HeadoftheFiscalManagement&BudgetOffice,andtotheChief,FinanceDivision,bothofthisCourt,tostopdeductionsfromhissalaryinrelationtothe
loaninquestion,againassertingtheanomalousmannerbywhichhewasallegedlydupedintoenteringintothecontractsby"theschemingsalesagent."b

TheupshotwasthatinMay,1996,theNHMFCwrotetotheSupremeCourtrequestingittostopdeductionson
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. "Imputation of malicious and libelous charges with no solid grounds through manifest ignorance
andevidentbadfaith"

2."Causingundueinjuryto,andblemishingherhonorandestablishedreputation"

3."Unauthorizedenjoymentoftheprivilegeoffreepostage..."and

4.Usurpationofthetitleof"attorney,"whichonlyregularmembersofthePhilippineBarmayproperly
use.

ShedeploredAlauya'sreferencestoheras"unscrupulousswindler,forger,manipulator,etc."without"evenabit
ofevidencetocloth(sic)hisallegationswiththeessenceoftruth,"denouncinghisimputationsasirresponsible,
"allconcoctions,lies,baselessandcoupledwithmanifestignoranceandevidentbadfaith,"andassertingthatall
herdealingswithAlauyahadbeenregularandcompletelytransparent.SheclosedwiththepleathatAlauya"be
dismissedfromthesenice,orbeappropriatelydesciplined(sic)..."

The Court resolved to order Alauya to comment on the complaint, Conformably with established usage that
noticesofresolutionsemanatefromthecorrespondingOfficeoftheClerkofCourt,thenoticeofresolutioninthis
casewassignedbyAtty.AlfredoP.Marasigan,AssistantDivisionClerkofCourt.2

Alauyafirstsubmitteda"PreliminaryComment"3inwhichhequestionedtheauthorityofAtty.Marasigantorequirean
explanation of him, this power pertaining, according to him, not to "a mere Asst. Div. Clerk of Court investigating an
Executive Clerk of Court." but only to the District Judge, the Court Administrator or the Chief Justice, and voiced the
suspicion that the Resolution was the result of a "strong link" between Ms. Alawi and Atty. Marasigan's office. He also
averredthatthecomplainthadnofactualbasisAlawiwasenviousofhimforbeingnotonly"theExecutiveClerkofCourt
andexofficioProvincialSheriffandDistrictRegistrar."butalso"ascionofaRoyalFamily..."4

InasubsequentlettertoAtty.Marasigan,butthistimeinmuchlessaggressive,evenobsequioustones,5 Alauya
requestedtheformertogivehimacopyofthecomplaintinorderthathemightcommentthereon.6Hestatedthathisacts
as clerk of court were done in good faith and within the confines of the law and that Sophia Alawi, as sales agent of
Villarosa & Co. had, by falsifying his signature, fraudulently bound him to a housing loan contract entailing monthly
deductionsofP4,333.10fromhissalary.

AndinhiscommentthereaftersubmittedunderdateofJune5,1996,Alauyacontendedthatitwashewhohad
suffered "undue injury, mental anguish, sleepless nights, wounded feelings and untold financial suffering,"
consideringthatinsixmonths,atotalofP26,028.60hadbeendeductedfromhissalary.7 He declared that there
was no basis for the complaint in communicating with Villarosa & Co. he had merely acted in defense of his rights. He
denied any abuse of the franking privilege, saying that he gave P20.00 plus transportation fare to a subordinate whom he
entrusted with the mailing of certain letters that the words: "Free Postage PD 26," were typewritten on the envelope by
someotherperson,anavermentcorroboratedbytheaffidavitofAbsamenC.Domocao,ClerkIV(subscribedandswornto
beforerespondenthimself,andattachedtothecommentasAnnexJ)8andasfarasheknew,hissubordinatemailedthe
letters with the use of the money he had given for postage, and if those letters were indeed mixed with the official mail of
thecourt,thishadoccurredinadvertentlyandbecauseofanhonestmistake.9

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Alauyajustifiedhisuseofthetitle,"attorney,"bytheassertionthatitis"lexicallysynonymous"with"Counsellors
atlaw."atitletowhichShari'alawyershavearightfulclaim,addingthatheprefersthetitleof"attorney"because
"counsellor" is often mistaken for "councilor," "konsehal" or the Maranao term "consial," connoting a local
legislatorbeholdentothemayor.Withal,hedoesnotconsiderhimselfalawyer.

HepleadsfortheCourt'scompassion,allegingthatwhathedid"isexpectedofanymanundulyprejudicedand
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
claimsthatinconnectionwithhiscontractwithVillarosa&Co.,Alawiforgedhissignatureonsuchpertinentdocumentsas
thoseregardingthedownpayment,clearance,layout,receiptofthekeyofthehouse,salarydeduction,noneofwhichhe
eversaw.13

Averringinfinethathisactsinquestionweredonewithoutmalice,Alauyapraysforthedismissalofthecomplaint
for lack of merit, it consisting of "fallacious, malicious and baseless allegations." and complainant Alawi having
come to the Court with unclean hands, her complicity in the fraudulent housing loan being apparent and
demonstrable.

Itmaybementionedthatincontrasttohistwo(2)letterstoAssistantClerkofCourtMarasigan(datedApril19,
1996andApril22,1996),andhistwo(2)earlierlettersbothdatedDecember15,1996allofwhichhesigned
as"Atty.AsharyM.Alauya"inhisCommentofJune5,1996,hedoesnotusethetitlebutreferstohimselfas
"DATUASHARYM.ALAUYA."

TheCourtreferredthecasetotheOfficeoftheCourtAdministratorforevaluation,reportandrecommendation.
14

The first accusation against Alauya is that in his aforesaid letters, he made "malicious and libelous charges
(againstAlawi)withnosolidgroundsthroughmanifestignoranceandevidentbadfaith,resultingin"undueinjury
to(her)andblemishingherhonorandestablishedreputation."Inthoseletters,Alauyahadwritteninteraliathat:

1)Alawiobtainedhisconsenttothecontractsinquestion"bygrossmisrepresentation,deceit,fraud,dishonesty
andabuseofconfidence"

2)Alawiactedinbadfaithandperpetrated...illegalandunauthorizedacts...prejudicialto..(his)rightsand
interests"

3) Alawi was an "unscrupulous (and "swindling") sales agent" who had fooled him by "deceit, fraud,
misrepresentation,dishonestyandabuseofconfidence"and

4) Alawi had maliciously and fraudulently manipulated the contract with Villarosa & Co., and unlawfully secured
andpursuedthehousingloanwithout..(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

The Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards for Public Officials and Employees (RA 6713) interalia enunciates
theStatepolicyofpromotingahighstandardofethicsandutmostresponsibilityinthepublicservice. 16Section4
oftheCodecommandsthat"(p)ublicofficialsandemployees..atalltimesrespecttherightsofothers,and..refrainfrom
doing acts contrary to law, good morals, good customs, public policy, public order, public safety and public interest." 17
More than once has this Court emphasized that "the conduct and behavior of every official and employee of an agency
involvedintheadministrationofjustice,fromthepresidingjudgetothemostjuniorclerk,shouldbecircumscribedwiththe
heavy burden of responsibility. Their conduct must at all times be characterized by, among others, strict propriety and
decorumsoastoearnandkeeptherespectofthepublicforthejudiciary."18

Now,itdoesnotappeartotheCourtconsistentwithgoodmorals,goodcustomsorpublicpolicy,orrespectfor
therightsofothers,tocouchdenunciationsofactsbelievedhoweversincerelytobedeceitful,fraudulentor
malicious,inexcessivelyintemperate,insultingorvirulentlanguage.Alauyaisevidentlyconvincedthathehasa
rightofactionagainstSophiaAlawi.Thelawrequiresthatheexercisethatrightwithpropriety,withoutmaliceor
vindictiveness,orundueharmtoanyoneinamannerconsistentwithgoodmorals,goodcustoms,publicpolicy,
publicorder,supraorotherwisestated,thathe"actwithjustice,giveeveryonehisdue,andobservehonestyand
good
faith." 19 Righteous indignation, or vindication of right cannot justify resort to vituperative language, or downright name

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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, or otherwise improper. 20 As a judicial employee, it is expected that he accord respect for the
personandtherightsofothersatalltimes,andthathiseveryactandwordshouldbecharacterizedbyprudence,restraint,
courtesy,dignity.Hisradicaldeviationfromthesesalutarynormsmightperhapsbemitigated,butcannotbeexcused,byhis
stronglyheldconvictionthathehadbeengrievouslywronged.

AsregardsAlauya'suseofthetitleof"Attorney,"thisCourthasalreadyhadoccasiontodeclarethatpersonswho
pass the Shari'a Bar are not fullfledged members of the Philippine Bar, hence may only practice law before
Shari'acourts. 21 While one who has been admitted to the Shari'a Bar, and one who has been admitted to the Philippine
Bar,maybothbeconsidered"counsellors,"inthesensethattheygivecounseloradviceinaprofessionalcapacity,onlythe
latterisan"attorney."Thetitleof"attorney"isreservedtothosewho,havingobtainedthenecessarydegreeinthestudyof
law and successfully taken the Bar Examinations, have been admitted to the Integrated Bar of the Philippines and remain
membersthereofingoodstandinganditistheyonlywhoareauthorizedtopracticelawinthisjurisdiction.

Alauyasayshedoesnotwishtousethetitle,"counsellor"or"counselloratlaw,"becauseinhisregion,thereare
pejorativeconnotationstotheterm,oritisconfusinglysimilartothatgiventolocallegislators.Theratiocination,
validornot,isofnomoment.Hisdisinclinationtousethetitleof"counsellor"doesnotwarranthisuseofthetitle
ofattorney.

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., language unbecoming a judicial officer, and for usurping the title of attorney
andheiswarnedthatanysimilarorotherimproprietyormisconductinthefuturewillbedealtwithmoreseverely.

SOORDERED.

Davide,Jr.,Melo,FranciscoandPanganiban,Jr.,JJ.,concur.

Footnotes

aAnnexesB,B,B1,B3ofAlauya'sCommentdatedJune5,1996.

bAnnexesFandG,id.

cAnnexC2,id.

1AnnexesAandA1ofcomplaintRolloatp.14copiesoftheletterwerealsofurnishedtheNational
HomeMortgageFinanceCorporation,TheFinanceManagementandBudgetOfficeandthe
FinancialDivisionoftheSupremeCourt.

2ResolutiondatedMarch25,1996.

3DatedApril19,1996.

4Rolloatp.23.

5Evidently,hehadsincebecomeawareoftheimmemorialpracticethatNOTICES(or
communicationsinforming)ofResolutionsadoptedbytheCourtEnBancoranyofitsthree(3)
DivisionsaresenttothepartiesbyandoverthesignatureofthecorrespondingClerkorCourtorhis
Assistant,theCourt'sResolutionsbeingincorporatedverbatiminsaidnotices.

6DatedApril22,1996.

7Rolloatp.28.

8Idatp.60.

9id.atp.32.

10Id.atp.34.

11Id.atp.35,etseq.

12Id.atp.35.

13Id.
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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,afterduenoticeandhearingbytheappropriate
bodyoragency,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
allowShari'alawyerstoexercisetheirprofessionattheregularcourts."SEERule138(secs.1,4),
RulesofCourt.

TheLawphilProjectArellanoLawFoundation

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