The Oath: The Lawyer's Ideal

What is an oath? Webster defines it as: A solemn appeal to God, or

in a wider sense, to any sacred or revered person or sanction for the
truth of an affirmation or declaration or in witness of the inviolability
of a promise or undertaking. As early as Alvarez vs. CFI, the

confidence; he deals with his client' s property, reputation, his life,

his all.
A lawyer is said to be the servant of the law and belongs to a
profession to which society has entrusted the administration of law
and the dispensing of justice. For this reason, a lawyer's oath
impresses upon him the responsibilities of an officer of the court
upon whose shoulders rest the grave responsibility of assisting
courts in the proper, fair, speedy and efficient administration of
justice.

Supreme Court explained its meaning in this wise:

In its broadest sense, an oath includes any form of attestation by
which a party signifies that he is bound in conscience to perform an
act faithfully and truthfully. It is an outward pledge given by the
person taking it, that his attestation or promise is made under an
immediate sense of his responsibility to God.

Section 17 of Rule 138 of the Rules of Court states that an applicant

who has passed the required examination, or has been otherwise
found to be entitled to admission to the bar, shall take and
subscribed before the Supreme Court an oath of office. The new
lawyer swears before a duly constituted authority as an attestation
that he/she takes on the duties and responsibilities proper of a
lawyer. More particularly, form 28 of the judicial standard forms
prescribes the following oath to be taken by the applicant:
I___________ of ___________ do solemnly swear that I will
maintain allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines; I will support
its Constitution and obey laws as well as the legal orders of the duly
constituted authorities therein; I will do no falsehood, nor consent
to the doing of any court; I will not wittingly nor willingly promote or
sue any groundless, false or unlawful suit, or give aid nor consent to
the same; I will delay no man for money or malice, and will conduct
myself as a lawyer according to the best of my knowledge and
discretion with all good fidelity as well to the courts as to my
clients; and I impose upon myself this voluntary obligations without
any mental reservation or purpose of evasion. So help me God.
The taking of this oath is a condition to the admission to practice law
and may only be taken before the Supreme Court by a person
authorized by the high court to engage in the practice of law. And
what is the nature of a lawyer's oath? In the case of Sebastian vs.
Calis the Supreme Court held that: A lawyer's oath are not mere
facile words, drift and hollow, but a sacred trust that must be upheld
and kept inviolable. The substance and gravity behind these words
may be understood in the light of the substance and gravity behind
the oath being taken. In a sense, the oath embodies the ideals by
which a lawyer lives by in the practice of the legal profession. This is
why the lawyer's oath has been likened to a condensed version of
the canons of professional responsibility. This seems to have been
confirmed in Endaya vs. Oca, where it was held that: the lawyer's
oath embodies the fundamental principles that guide every member
of the legal fraternity. From it springs the lawyer's duties and
responsibilities that any infringement thereof can cause his
disbarment, suspension or other disciplinary actions.
In the words of the Supreme Court, an oath is any form of
attestation by which a party signifies that he is bound in conscience
to perform an act faithfully and truthfully. What then does a lawyer
promise to perform faithfully and truthfully when he takes on the
oath upon being admitted to the practice of law? It is the very
practice of his duties and responsibilities as a lawyer. The gravity of
the oath is grounded on two important things: on the gravity of a
lawyer's duties and on the fact that he makes a solemn promise
before God to undertake these duties faithfully. When a great
amount of trust is placed on such an office, then a corresponding
sense of integrity and responsibility is expected of those who have
taken on that office. The legal profession is one such office laden
with a great amount of trust. In the hands of the lawyer is entrusted
not only the power to steer the course of some client's personal or
business future but more importantly, the very nature of the legal
profession presupposes a certain moral burden that demands
personal integrity. As stated by the Supreme Court:
Lawyers are expected to abide by the tenets of morality, not only
upon admission to the Bar but also throughout their legal career, in
order to maintain one's good standing in that exclusive and honored
fraternity. Good moral character is more than just the absence of
bad character. Such character expresses itself in the will to do the
unpleasant thing if it is right and the resolve not to do the pleasant
thing if it is wrong. This must be so because vast interests are
committed to his care; he is the recipient of unbounded trust and

In fact, it may be understood that the words contained in the oath of

office summarize the main duties and responsibilities a lawyer is
supposed to take on in the practice of law. In other words, every
time an oath of office is taken, the person making the statement in
effect states that in taking on the oath he/she promises to
conscientiously fulfill the duties entrusted to his office. Section 20 of
Rule 138 enumerates what these duties are. It is the duty of an
attorney (a) To maintain allegiance to the Republic of the Philippines and to
support the Constitution and obey the laws of the Philippines;
(b) To observe and maintain the respect due to the courts of justice
and judicial officers;
(c) To counsel or maintain such actions or proceedings only as
appearing to him to be just, and such defenses only as he believes
to be honestly debatable under the law;
(d) To employ, for the purpose of maintaining the causes confided to
him, such means only as are consistent with truth and honor, and
never seek to mislead the judge or any judicial officer by an artifice
or false statement of fact or law;
(e) To maintain inviolate the confidence, and at every peril to
himself, to preserve the secrets of his client, and to accept no
compensation in connection with his clients' business except from
him or with his knowledge and approval;
(f) To abstain from all offensive personality and to advance no fact
prejudicial to the honor or reputation of a party or witness, unless
required by the justice of the cause with which he is charged;
(g) Not to encourage either the commencement or the continuance
of an action or proceeding, or delay any man's cause, from any
corrupt motive or interest;
(h) Never to reject, for any consideration personal to himself, the
cause of the defenseless or oppressed;
(i) In the defense of a person accused of
honorable means, regardless of his personal
of the accused, to present every defense that
end that no person may be deprived of life
process of law.

crime, by all fair and

opinion as to the guilt
the law permits, to the
or liberty, but by due

In order to fulfill these duties, every lawyer is expected to live by a

certain mode of behavior now distilled in what is known as the Code
of Professional Responsibility. The Code mandates upon each lawyer,
as his duty to society, the obligation to obey the laws of the land
and promote respect for law and legal processes. Specifically, he is
forbidden to engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful
conduct. In essence, all that is contained in this Code is succinctly
summarized in the oath of office taken by every lawyer. It is of little
surprise to find that inMagdaluyo vs. Nace the Supreme Court
declares that the lawyer's oath is a source of obligations and
violation thereof is a ground for suspension, disbarment or other
disciplinary action. In the case of Businos vs. Ricafort, the Supreme
Court also held that:
By swearing the lawyer's oath, an attorney becomes a guardian of
truth and the rule of law, and an indispensable instrument in the fair
and impartial administration of justice a vital function of
democracy, a failure of which is disastrous to society. While the duty
to uphold the constitution and obey the laws is an obligation
imposed upon every citizen, a lawyer assumes responsibilities over
and beyond the basic requirements of good citizenship. As servant
of the law, a lawyer ought to make himself an example for others to
emulate. He should be possessed of and must continue to possess
good moral character.

In Brion Jr. vs. Brillantes, Jr., the Supreme Court also ruled: the
lawyer's primary duty as enunciated in the attorney's oath is to
uphold the constitution, obey the laws of the land and promote
respect for the law and legal processes. That duty in its irreducible
minimum entails obedience to the legal orders of the court. The

importance and significance in upholding the sanctity of a lawyer's

oath have been highlighted by the Supreme Court in the various
rulings it made involving disciplinary actions against members of the
le