FIRST DIVISION
A.C. No. 11394, December 01, 2016
MARIA VICTORIA G. BELO-HENARES, Complainant, v. ATTY. ROBERTO "ARGEE" C. GUEVARRA, Respondent.
D E C I S I O N
PERLAS-BERNABE, J.:
The instant administrative case arose from a verified complaint1 for disbarment filed by complainant Maria Victoria G. Belo-Henares (complainant) against respondent Atty. Roberto "Argee" C. Guevarra (respondent) for alleged violations of Rules 1.01 and 1.02, Canon 1; Rule 7.03, Canon 7; Rule 8.01 of Canon 8; and Rule 19.01, Canon 19 of the Code of Professional Responsibility.chanroblesvirtuallawlibrary
Argee Guevarra Quack Doctor Becky Belo: I am out to get Puwitic Justice here! Kiss My Client's Ass, Belo. Senator Adel Tamano, don't kiss Belo's ass. Guys and girls, nagiisip na akong tumakbo sa Hanghalan 2010 to Kick some ass!!! I will launch a national campaign against Plastic Politicians No guns, No goons, No gold - IN GUTS I TRUST!chanrobleslaw
Argee Guevarra Dr. Vicki Belo, watch out for Josefina Norcio's Big Bang on Friday - You will go down in Medical History as a QUACK DOCTOR!!!! QUACK QUACK QUACK QUACK. CNN, FOX NEWS, BLOOMBERG, CHICAGO TRIBUNE, L.A. TIMES c/o my partner in the U.S., Atty. Trixie Cruz-Angeles :) (September 22 at 11:18pm)5
Argee Guevarra is amused by a libel case filed by Vicki Belo against me through her office receptionist in Taytay Rizal. Haaaaay, style-bulok at style-duwag talaga. Lalakarin ng Reyna ng Kaplastikan at Reyna ng Payola ang kaso... si Imelda Marcos nga sued me for P300 million pesos and ended up apologizing to me, si Belo pa kaya? (September 15 at 12:08pm)6
Argee Guevarra get vicki belo as your client!!! may 'extra-legal' budget yon. Kaya lang, histado ko na kung sino-sino ang tumatanggap eh, pag nalaman mo, baka bumagsak pa isang ahensya ng gobyerno dito, hahaha (August 9 at 10:31pm)7
Argee Guevarra ATTENTION MGA BATCHMATES SA DOJ: TIMBREHAN NIYO AKO KUNG MAGKANONG PANGSUHOL NI BELO PARA MADIIN AKO HA???? I just [want] to know how much she hates me, ok? Ang payola budget daw niya runs into tens of millions.... (September 15 at 3:57pm)8
Argee Guevarra thinks aloud how the payola machinery of vicki belo killed the news of a picket demonstration in front of the Belo clinic. I wonder how television, print[,] and radio programs can kill the story when the next rallies will have the following numbers 100, 200, 500 and 1000. Kung magkaasaran pa, 10,000 demonstrators will be assembled in front of the Belo Medical Clinic at Tomas Morato on July 27, 2009. Hahahahaha! (July 17 at 7:56pm)9
Argee Guevarra Nakakatawa nga, 10milyon pa budget... [I] didn't know that my reputation is worth that much. Aba ako kaya magdemanda sa kanila :) Ikot-ikot daw ang mga P.R. ni Belo trying to convince editors to pin me down with something eh alam ko na wala naman akong sex video!!! Adik talaga sa botox si Aling Becky at may tama na sa utak - eh kung gagastos ka lang ng 10 milyon para sa tirang-pikon laban sa akin at to protect your burak na reputasyon as a plastic surgeon, i-donate mo na lang yon sa biktima ni Ondoy, Pepeng at Ramil! Yung mga homeboys ko sa Pasig na nilimas [ni] Ondoy ang kukubra sa yo! (October 23 at 5:31pm)10
Argee Guevarra is inspired by Jose Norio's courageous act of showing her face on national television to expose the Reyna ng Kaplastikan, Reyna ng Kapalpakan. Inspired by shock nevertheless by the fact that the much needed partial restoration of her behind would cost a staggering $500,000-$1,000,000 Stanford Medical Hospital and she will still remain permanently disabled for the rest of her life... (July 11 at 2:08am)11
Argee Guevarra Just got my internet connection. WILL EMAIL U THE LURID UNASSAILABLE FACTS ABOUT VICKI BELO'S QUACK DOCTORING. (October 27, 2009)12
Argee Guevarra yeah... actually the issue is simple and you will easily see which side you'll be taking- just pay Ms. Josie Norcio a visit at St. Luke's at talagang binaboy siya ng Reyna ng Kaplastikan (July 10 at 12:08am)13
Argee Guevarra yup... [I'll] even throw the kitchen sink at her. Enjoy nga ito, we will paralyze the operations of all her clinic and seek out her patients and customers to boycott her. [So] far, good response – 70% decrease in her July sales... (August 9 at 10:29pm)15chanrobleslaw
Argee Guevarra Guys, pandemonium has broken loose in [BMGI's] 6 clinics after Ms. Josie Norio's tell-all. With only 2 surgeons of BMGI certified by PAPRAS, there is real-and-present danger that surgeries like liposuction, nose lift, boob jobs which have been performed by [BMGI's] physicians, every patient runs the risk of something going wrong with the procedures they have undergone under [BMGI's] hands:(" (July 12 at 12:21am)16
Argee Guevarra [T]hey perform plastic surgery procedures without licensed and trained doctors, they nearly killed a client of mine, medical malpractice, use of banned substances/fillers on patients. just recently, in flawless clinic, a patient who had a simple facial landed in the hospital ... (August 9 at 10:04pm)17
Argee Guevarra braces for typhoon Ramil without forgetting to ask comrades and friends in Cebu to greet Vicki Belo with a boycott once she visits there on Oct. 20. Cebu's royal set already knows that she is not a certified plastic surgeon: Boycott Belo, Flawless Reckless, Belat Essentials!!!! (October 18 at 6:23pm)18
Argee Guevarra [W]ell, with all the kababuyan of the Belo clinic, its money-making machines, dapat convert them into public health clinics!!! instead of pandering to the vanities of those who want to look like Dra. Belo. (July 11 at 2:16am)19
Argee Guevarra darling kellyn, so far, i have 3 other ex-belo patients who will tell all too!!!!! Grabe pala ang mga kapalpakan niyan. So did u leave Belo Clinic because it has become a Frankenstein Factory? (July 11 at 2:30am)20
Argee Guevarra BOYCOTT BELO! FLAWLESS RECKLESS! BELAT ESSENTIALS!!! I'll be gone for a week to a place where there will be no facebook so please, add Trixie Cruz-Angeles if you want to find out more about our anti-quack doctor campaign! (September 24 at 3:00pm)21
Argee Guevarra Anyone care to sponsor T-shirts bearing this slogan? - BOYCOTT BELO! FLAWLESS RECKLESS! BELAT ESSENTIALS! (September 23 at 12:17arn)22
Argee Guevarra Pare, eksena on Thursday I will go to the hearing with a placard - BOYCOTT BELO!!! FLAWLESS RECKLESS!!! BELAT ESSENTIALS!!! I will vote for Adel Tamano (La Salle-Ateneo lower batch sa akin at mabuti ang pamilya niyan)... BUT WOULD YOU??? (September 23 at 1:50am)23
Argee Guevarra advocates a national patients' boycott of the Belo Medical Group. To all my friends and comrades, please stay away from Belo's clinics. I have 2 cousins and 3 friends already who have canceled their lipo from belo. Please help me shut down the Belo Medical Group until they perform their moral and legal obligation to Ms. Josie Norcio... (July 17 at 2:12pm)24
Argee Guevarra Mr. Jay, by next year- GMA will no longer be president and she will be jailed for plunder; Vicky Belo will no longer be a doctor and she will be in the middle of a criminal prosecution. The General Surgeon of France will have a Philippine version. By October and November, some congressmen I have spoken with will be issuing summons to Vicky Belo for a congressional inquiry; the subject - legislation regulating the practice of cosmetic surgery! (September 22 at 11:31pm)26chanrobleslaw
Argee Guevarra Celso de1os Angeles can still get medical attention in prison - from Vicky Belo after she gets convicted too for criminal negligence and estafa (July 15 at 10:05am)27
Argee Guevarra is preparing himself for a campaign against the Belo Medical Group for its criminal negligence which nearly killed Ms. Josie Norcio over a botched butt augmentation procedure. He found out that the Dr. Belo herself marketed the product to Ms. Norcio, the operation was carried out by her doctors who were not licensed by the Philippine Association of Plastic Reconstructive and Aesthetic Surgeons.............. (July 9 at 8:54pm)28
Argee Guevarra but can u help me too with maricar reyes? who's the hottest cebuana chic chick there nowadays? haven't been there for quite some time... pa-chicks ka naman!!! I'm sure marami kang 25-and-below naprends diyan (August 10 at 8:36pm)30chanrobleslaw
Argee Guevarra hay joseph!!! how's the gayest lawyer in cebu? our forces will soon picket the belo clinic there, can u tell me where that is? halato ko na sayo si hayden, promise!" (August 10 at 12:23am)31
Argee Guevarra joseph, i can't say i love u too - baka belo's team will use all sorts of attacks na against me. to thwart them, being the gayest gay in the philippines, can u issue a certification that i am so not like your type? at yung preferred ko lang ay thin, thalino and thisay? (September 23 at 12:01am)32
Kellyn Conde Sy utang mo! Pay up time:) (July 11 at 2:37am)chanrobleslaw
Argee Guevarra kellyn, sisingilin ko muna si belo... at saka sabi mo naman, maibagsak ko lang ang kaplastikan ni belo, quits na tayo ...(July 11 at 2:38am)34
chanrobleslaw
(1) Facebook "allows the world to be more open and connected by giving its users the tools to interact and share in any conceivable way"; (2) A good number of Facebook users "befriend" other users who are total strangers; (3) The sheer number of "Friends" one user has, usually by the hundreds; and (4) A user's Facebook friend can "share" the former's post, or "tag" others who are not Facebook friends with the former, despite its being visible only to his or her own Facebook friends.67
Rule 7.03 - A lawyer shall not engage in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law, nor shall he, whether in public or private life, behave in a scandalous manner to the discredit of the legal profession.chanrobleslaw
Rule 8.01 - A lawyer shall not, in his professional dealings, use language which is abusive, offensive or otherwise improper.
Rule 19.01 - A lawyer shall employ only fair and honest means to attain the lawful objectives of his client and shall not present, participate in presenting or threaten to present unfounded criminal charges to obtain an improper advantage in any case or proceeding.
Endnotes:
1 Dated October 25, 2009. Rollo, Vol. I, pp. 2-12.
2 Id. at 2.
3 Id. at 3.
4 Id.
5 Id. at 13; emphases and italics supplied.
6 Id. at 5 and 14; emphasis and italics supplied.
7Id. at 15; emphasis and italics supplied.
8 Id. at 16; emphases and italics supplied.
9 Id. at 17; emphasis and italics supplied.
10 Id. at 5 and 18; emphases and italics supplied.
11 Id. at 19; emphases and italics supplied.
12 Id. at 6 and 20; emphases and italics supplied.
13 Id. at 21; emphases and italics supplied.
14 Id. at 6.
15 Id. at 22; emphasis and italics supplied.
16 Id. at 23.
17 Id. at 24.
18 Id. at 25; emphasis and italic supplied.
19 Id. at 26; emphasis and italics supplied.
20 Id.; emphasis and italics supplied.
21 Id. at 27; emphasis supplied.
22 Id. at 28; emphasis supplied.
23 Id.; emphasis and italics supplied
24 Id. at 29; emphases supplied.
25 Id. at 9.
26 Id. at 30; emphasis supplied.
27 Id. at 31; emphasis and italic supplied.
28 Id. at 32; emphases supplied.
29 Id. at 10.
30 Id. at 33; italics supplied.
31 Id. at 34; emphasis and italics supplied.
32 Id. at 35; italics supplied.
33 See id. at 10-11.
34 Id. at 36; emphasis and italics supplied.
35 Id. at 37-39.
36 See Answer dated January 4, 2010; id. at 44-57.
37 See id. at 44.
38 See id. at 45-46.
39 See id. at 55.
40 Id. at 47-48.
41 See id. at 49.
42 Id. at 54.
43 See Order dated January 28, 2011 issued by Commissioner Hector B. Almeyda; id. at 65-66.
44 See Position Paper for complainant dated February 25, 2011 (id. at 67-88) and Respondent's Position Paper dated February 28, 2011 (id. at 176-191 ).
45 See Order dated April 13, 2011; id. at 213-214.
46 See Order dated September 3, 2012; id. at 281.
47 Signed by Commissioner Atty. Eldrid C. Antiquiera. Rollo, Vol. II, pp. 329-331.
48 Id. at 331.
49 Rule 7.03 - A lawyer shall not engage in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice law, nor shall he, whether in public or private life, behave in a scandalous manner to the discredit of the legal profession.
50 Rule 8.01 - A lawyer shall not, in his professional dealings, use language which is abusive, offensive or otherwise improper.
51 Rule 19.01 - A lawyer shall employ only fair and honest means to attain the lawful objectives of his client and shall not present, participate in presenting or threaten to present unfounded criminal charges to obtain an improper advantage in any case or proceeding.
52 Rollo, Vol. II, pp. 330-331.
53 See Notice of Resolution in Resolution No. XXI-2014-637 issued by National Secretary Nasser A. Marohomsalic; id. at 328, including dorsal portion.
54 Dated April 25, 2015. Id. at 332-343.
55 See id. at 338-341.
56 See Notice of Resolution in Resolution No. XXII-2015-82 issued by Assistant National Secretary Maria Angela N. Esquivel; id. at 366-367.
57 Rollo, Vol. I, p. 44.
58 Seth Fiegerman, Facebook is unstoppable, CNN Tech, July 27, 2016, available at < money.cnn.com/2016/07/27/technology/facebook-earnings-high-expectations/ > (visited November 10, 2016).
59 Other classification of social media platforms are (1) blog and microblog sites (Twitter,Tumblr); (2) content communities sites (YouTube, Instagram); (3) collaborative projects (Wikipedia); (4 Virtual social worlds (Farmville); and (5) Virtual game-world (World of Warcraft). See Government Social Research, Using social media for Social research: An introduction, May 2016, available at < https://www.gov.uk/govemment/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/524750/GSR_Social_Media_Research_Guidance_-_Using_social_media_for_social_research.pdf > (visited October 28, 2016).
60 Id.
61H v. W, Case No. 12110142, In the South Gauteng High Court, Johannesburg, Republic of South Africa, January 30, 2013. See also < http://www.saflii.org/za!cases/ZAGPJHC/2013/l.html > (visited October 28, 2016).
62Disini, Jr. v. The Secretary of Justice, 727 Phil. 28, 117 (2014).
63H v. W, supra note 61,
64 Id., as cited in Vivares v. St. Theresa's College, G.R. No. 202666, September 29, 2014, 737 SCRA 92, 114.
65Vivares v. St. Theresa's College, id. at 116.
66 Id. at 118.
67 Id. at 120-121, citations omitted.
68 See id. at 121.
69 See In Re Emil (Emiliano) P. Jurado Ex Rel.: Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), per its First Vice-President, Mr. Vicente R. Samson, 313 Phil 119, 163 (1995), citing Zaldivar v. Gonzalez, 248 Phil 542, 579 (1988).
70 Article 19 ofthe Civil Code provides:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibraryArt. 19. Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honesty and good faith.chanrobleslaw
71 See In Re Emil (Emiliano) P. Jurado Ex Rel.: Philippine Long Distance Telephone Company (PLDT), per its First Vice-President, Mr. Vicente R. Samson, supra note 69, at 165.
72 See rollo, Vol. I, pp. 183-185.
73 See Habawel v. CTA, 672 Phil. 582, 596 (2011), citing In Re Alamcen v. Yaptinchay, G.R. No. L-27654, February 18, 1970, 31 SCRA 562, 580.
74 Pobre v. Defensor-Santiago, 613 Phil. 352, 364-365 (2009).