Sandiganbayan bars PCGG lawyer from acting as counsel in P2-billion Makati carpark case

The Sandiganbayan has prohibited a Presidential Commission on Good Government (PCGG) lawyer from serving as counsel of one of the accused in the malversation trial involving the P2.2-billion Makati City parking building project.

The anti-graft court, in a six-page Resolution, said allowing PCGG lawyer Jesus Christopher Belandres to represent accused and former Makati official Mario Badillo would be tantamount to his advocating against the state, as the PCGG is a government instrumentality.

The PCGG was created by law in 1987 and is tasked to recover the ill-gotten wealth of the late president Ferdinand Marcos, his family and their associates.

“The PCGG is considered as an instrumentality or regulatory agency of the government. Being an instrumentality or regulatory agency of the government, PCGG is, therefore, part of the State. By representing accused Badillo in the subject cases where the plaintiff is the ‘People of the Philippines’ or the State, Atty. Belandres is now going against his client, the PCGG, which is an instrumentality of the State,” the Sandiganbayan said.

“Thus, there is an apparent conflict of interest,” the anti-graft court added.

Belandres argued that there is no conflict of interest on this part because he is not a regular employee of the PCGG but was hired as Special Legal Counsel through a Contract of Service.

Belandres said that under his Contract of Service, he is free to practice his profession, accept cases and appear in court except if there is a conflict of interest.

Such conflict of interest, Belandres said, only refers to a scenario where the Special Legal Counsel is also a counsel of the parties against the PCGG.

"In this case, accused Mario V. Badillo is not an immediate family of former President Marcos, neither his relative, subordinate, or close associate. Thus, there is no conflict of interest," Belandres said.

The Sandiganbayan, however, was not convinced and cited the Supreme Court decision in Hornilla v. Salunat, which states that “there is conflict of interest when a lawyer represents inconsistent interests of two or more opposing parties.”

The same High Court decision states that the rule prohibiting conflict of interest applies to situations wherein a lawyer would be representing a client whose interest is directly adverse to any of his present or former clients.

Ultimately, the Sandiganbayan invoked the Code of Professional Responsibility which provides that “a lawyer should observe candor, fairness and loyalty in all his dealings and transactions with his clients” and that “a lawyer should not represent conflicting interests except by written consent of all concerned given after a full disclosure of the facts.”

“The afore-cited rule evidently prohibits a lawyer from representing new clients whose interests oppose those of a former client in any manner, whether or not they are parties in the same action or on totally unrelated cases. The prohibition is founded on the principles of public policy and good taste,” the court said.

“It behooves lawyers not only to keep inviolate the client's confidence, but also to avoid the appearance of treachery and double-dealing for only then can litigants be encouraged to entrust their secrets to their lawyers, which is of paramount importance in the administration of justice. Wherefore, the Court hereby grants the prosecution's Manifestation and Motion dated April 13, 2023. Thus, Atty. Belandres is hereby disqualified from appearing as collaborating counsel of accused Mario V. Badillo in the cases docketed as SB-16-CRM-0084, 0439, 0442, 0443, 0451 and 0453,” it added.

The charges accuse former mayors Jejomar and Junjun Binay and others of rigging public bidding to the disadvantage of the government. — BM, GMA Integrated News