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Thursday, January 08, 2009
‘Alabang Boys’ lawyer to face disbarment probe
MANILA -- The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) will investigate “Alabang Boys” lawyer Felisberto Verano for possible disbarment after he admitted Tuesday that he drafted a release order for his clients.
However, IBP president Feliciano Bautista said they cannot initiate the filing of a verified complaint against Verano as the IBP, through the Commission on Bar Discipline (CBD), will act as investigating fiscal.
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Bautista said although the IBP Board of Governors may “motu proprio” file the complaint against erring lawyers under IBP Rule 139, it opted to exercise self-restraint in this case.
“Anybody can file, any citizen. The Board of Governors can file, but it decided not to,” he said.
The board will rule whether to affirm or deny the CBD’s findings. If it finds probable cause for the complaint, it will then endorse the complaint to the Supreme Court (SC) as an administrative matter, which will then dispose the case accordingly.
SC spokesman Midas Marquez said the High Court is awaiting the National Bureau of Investigation’s (NBI) report before taking any action against Verano.
Calls for Verano’s disbarment came following his admission that he had made extra-legal measures to ensure the temporary liberty of his clients -- Richard Brodett, Joseph Tecson and Jorge Joseph -- before Christmas last year. He said he readied a draft order for Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez Sr. signature and used the Justice department’s letterhead.
Brodett, Tecson and Joseph were arrested by Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) operatives last September 20 in separate buy bust operations for possession of illegal substances such as Ecstasy, marijuana, and cocaine.
Last Tuesday, only Brodett and Tecson, represented by Verano, filed a habeas corpus petition before the Court of Appeals (CA).
The case was initially raffled to the 11th Division in the sala of Associate Justice Juan Enriquez. Another raffle will be conducted on Thursday.
Verano earlier admitted that it was him who drafted the release order for Gonzalez to sign on December 23.
His admission came following the testimony of a member of Justice Undersecretary Ricardo Blancaflor’s staff before a House committee hearing that it was the lawyer for one of the “Alabang Boys” who prepared the draft order.
Based on Verano’s account, he said he earlier talked with Gonzalez to act on the release of the suspects, citing the December 2 resolution of the prosecutors that dismissed the PDEA charges. However, Gonzalez gave him a generic answer, saying he will first study the case.
Verano said that Gonzalez’s statement prompted him to prepare the draft order for the latter’s signature. He said he managed to dig into his old files to get a blank paper with the DOJ’s letterhead.
Earlier, Gonzalez said Janet Payoyo, Blancaflor’s staff, placed the draft order on his table for his signature. However, he said he raised the possibility that it was prepared by Verano as it bore his misspelled name.
When his request with Gonzalez was unacted upon, Verano said he turned to Blancaflor for help, noting that the embattled DOJ official has extended assistance to the Brodett family when the latter called up PDEA to release the younger Brodett.
Verano admitted that his act of preparing a draft order for the justice secretary’s signature was not in the normal scheme of things, but he justified this by saying his clients were getting desperate with Christmas getting near.
“I asked if they could release the boys even temporarily, in the spirit of Christmas. I pleaded for his being a Christian,” he said, but added he soon realized that Gonzalez was not likely to grant his request, especially after the news of the dismissal of the drug charges and alleged bribery broke out. (ECV/Sunnex)
For more Philippine news, visit Sun.Star Iloilo. (January 8, 2009 issue)
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