SC asked to disbar Alabang Boys' lawyer
abs-cbnNEWS.com | 01/08/2009 12:19 PM
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An anti-crime watchdog group on Thursday filed a disbarment case against the lawyer of the so-called "Alabang Boys" for drafting a release order using the official Department of Justice letterhead in an effort to have his clients released from prison.
The Volunteers Against Crime and Corruption, headed by Dante Jimenez, filed the disbarment complaint against Alabang Boys' lawyer Felisberto Verano at the Supreme Court (SC) before noon.
The VACC said in its complaint that the SC should order Verano's disbarment for violating the lawyers' code of conduct by drafting a release order for his clients.
Another anti-crime group, Citizens Crime Watch, had announced its plan to file a similar complaint against Verano before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
Verano, meanwhile, said he is ready to explain to the courts why he drafted a release order for his client, which was sent to Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez's office for approval.
"I will face the music when it's there. I [only] wanted to protect my client. I have to move because it was Christmas time. I handed it to the secretary (Gonzalez). Had I forged it, that is a different matter," the lawyer said in an ABS-CBN News interview.
The lawyer admitted using a paper with the DOJ's letterhead in drafting the release order. Gonzalez said he refused to sign the draft release order because he had not received the resolution signed by Chief State Prosecutor Jovencito Zuño recommending the dismissal of charges against the suspects.
The Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA) had made revelations that people close to the so-called Alabang Boys -- Richard Brodett, Jorge Joseph and Joseph Tecson -- boasted that the suspects will be released before Christmas.
The revelation came after the PDEA received a copy of the dismissal order of the suspects' case.
PDEA chief Dionisio Santiago said bribes were offered by some members of the suspects' rich families.
