QUERY OF ATTY. KAREN M.

SILVERIO-BUFFE, FORMER Clerk of Court – BRANCH 81,

ROMBLON, ROMBLON – ON THE PROHIBITION FROM ENGAGING IN THE PRIVATE
PRACTICE OF LAW.

A.M. No. 08-6-352-RTC, August 19, 2009

FACTS:
Atty. Buffe previously worked as Clerk of Court VI of the Regional Trial Court (RTC),
Branch 81 of Romblon; she resigned from her position effective February 1, 2008.
Thereafter, she engaged in the private practice of law by appearing as private counsel in
several cases before RTC- Branch 81 of Romblon.
She wrote a letter addressed to the Court Administrator in relation to Sec. 7(b)2 of RA
6713 or Code of Conduct and Ethical Standards of Public Officials and Employees.
Section 7(b)(2) of R.A. No. 6713 provides:
SECTION 7. Prohibited Acts and Transactions. - In addition to acts and omissions of
public officials and employees now prescribed in the Constitution and existing laws, the
following shall constitute prohibited acts and transactions of any public official and
employee and are hereby declared to be unlawful:

(b) Outside employment and other activities related thereto. - Public officials and
employees during their incumbency shall not:

(2) Engage in the private practice of their profession unless authorized by the
Constitution or law, provided, that such practice will not conflict or tend to conflict with
their official functions;

These prohibitions shall continue to apply for a period of one (1) year after
resignation, retirement, or separation from public office, except in the case of
subparagraph (b) (2) above, but the professional concerned cannot practice his profession
in connection with any matter before the office he used to be with, in which case the one-
year prohibition shall likewise apply.

It appears that Atty. Buffe had been practicing law within the 1-year period by appearing
in several cases in Br. 81 of RTC where she served as clerk before.

ISSUE:
Whether or not Atty. Karen Silverio-Buffe may appear as private counsel before RTC-
Branch 81 of Romblon within the 1-year prohibition.
Whether Atty. Buffe is guilty of professional misconduct.
RULING:
Section 7 of R.A. No. 6713 generally provides for the prohibited acts and transactions of
public officials and employees. Subsection (b)(2) prohibits them from engaging in the
private practice of their profession during their incumbency. As an exception, a public
official or employee can engage in the practice of his or her profession under the
following conditions: first, the private practice is authorized by the Constitution or by the
law; and second, the practice will not conflict, or tend to conflict, with his or her official
functions.

The Section 7 prohibitions continue to apply for a period of one year after the public
official or employee's resignation, retirement, or separation from public office, except for
the private practice of profession under subsection (b)(2), which can already be
undertaken even within the one-year prohibition period. As an exception to this
exception, the one-year prohibited period applies with respect to any matter before the
office the public officer or employee used to work with.
By acting in a manner that R.A. No. 6713 brands as "unlawful," Atty. Buffe contravened
Rule 1.01 of Canon 1 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which provides:

CANON 1 - A LAWYER SHALL UPHOLD THE CONSTITUTION, OBEY THE

LAWS OF THE LAND AND PROMOTE RESPECT FOR LAW AND FOR LEGAL
PROCESSES

CANON 7. A LAWYER SHALL AT ALL TIMES UPHOLD THE INTEGRITY AND

THE DIGNITY OF THE LEGAL PROFESSION AND SUPPORT THE ACTIVITIES
OF THE INTEGRATED BAR.

Atty. Karen M. Silverio-Buffe GUILTY of professional misconduct for violating Rule

1.01 of Canon 1 and Canon 7 of the Code of Professional Responsibility. She is hereby
FINED in the amount of Ten Thousand Pesos (P10,000.00), and STERNLY WARNED
that a repetition of this violation and the commission of other acts of professional
misconduct shall be dealt with more severely.