Lawyers are servants of the law 23 and the . law is their master.

They
Stemmerik is a citizen. and resident of Denmark. In one of his trips should not , simply obey the laws, they should also inspire respect for
in the
, Philippines,
. . he met Atty. Mas. Since he was marveled at the and obedience
. thereto by serving as exemplars worthy of emulation.
beauty of , the country, he wanted to buy a real property and Indeed, that is the first precept of the Code of Professional
consulted .Atty. . Mas. The latter told Stemmerik that he could Responsibility:
legally acquire . a real property in the Phils. and even suggested a
86K hectare
, . . , land .-- in Subic, Zambales. Atty. Mas, as the atty.-in-
fact of Stemmerik bought the property from a certain Bonifacio de
Mesa. The contract to sell provided that De Mesa sold the property
to Ailyn
3.8. Gonzales
, for 3.8M. Then, in another notarized deed made by
Atty. ,Mas, it was stated that Gonzales received the funds from
Stemmerik. In preparing
, . 400 all these documents, Atty. Mas received 400K
fee from
. Stemmerik.
. , 3.8 The latter also gave Atty. Mas, the 3.8M
purchase price .to which the latter issued a receipt.

Suddenly, .Atty. Mas become scarce and no longer answer the calls of
Stemmerik. When, Stemmerik visited the Phils, he engaged the service
of the Fernandez Law Office and found out the subject property is
inalienable, being.. located
. in the former U.S. military reservation.
Also, he was apprised that aliens cannot own real properties in the
Phils.

Meanwhile, .Atty. Mas had already abandoned his office and his
whereabouts is . unknown. Stemmerik filed an action for disbarment
against .Atty. Mas. before the Commission on Bar Discipline but Atty.
Mas never
. appeared.

HELD:

YES!!! Lawyers, as members

, of a noble profession, have the duty to
promote respect for
. the law and uphold the integrity of the bar. As men
and women, entrusted with the law, they must ensure that the law
functions to protect liberty and not as an instrument of oppression or
deception.

Respondent has been weighed by the exacting standards of the legal

profession and . has been found wanting.

Respondent committed
. a serious breach of his oath as a lawyer. He is
also guilty of culpable violation of the Code of Professional
Responsibility, the code
. of ethics of the legal profession.

By making it appear that de Mesa undertook to sell the property to

complainant and that de Mesa thereafter sold the property to Gonzales
who made the, purchase for and in behalf of complainant, he falsified
public documents
- . and knowingly violated the Anti-Dummy Law.

All lawyers, take an oath to support the Constitution, to obey the laws
and to .do no falsehood. 21 That oath is neither mere formal ceremony nor
hollow .words. It is a sacred trust that should be upheld and kept
inviolable at. all times. 22

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