The Supreme Court (SC) has affirmed the conviction of a man who represented legal clients and appeared before the trial courts using the name of a deceased lawyer.
Convicted of illegally using alias and fictitious name was Pedro Nollora Pequero who used the name of Epafrodito Nollora, a lawyer who died in May 1986 based on records from the SC’s Office of the Bar Confidant.
However, despite his conviction for usurpation of authority by the trial courts as affirmed by the Court of Appeals (CA), Pequero was acquitted of the alleged offense since private lawyers, while officers of the court, are not tasked with executing government orders. Thus, the SC said that Pequero did not commit the crime of usurpation of authority under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code (RPC).
The SC decision was written by Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan.
A summary of the decision issued by the SC’s Public Information Office (SC-PIO) stated that in 2011, the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) launched an entrapment operation after receiving a complaint that Pequero was pretending to be a lawyer by signing pleadings and appearing before courts using the name “Atty. Epafrodito Nollora.”
Pequero was arrested while he was appearing as lawyer before the Binangonan municipal trial court (MTC).
The SC-PIO said that Pequero was convicted by the MTC of violating Commonwealth Act No. 142, the Anti-Alias Law, which prohibits the unauthorized use of an alias. It said Pequero was also convicted of violating Article 178 of the RPC which prohibits using a fictitious or fake name, and Article 177 which prohibits usurpation of authority or pretending to be a person in authority.
The regional trial court (RTC) and the CA affirmed Pequero’s convictions in three cases. Pequero elevated the case to the SC on appeal.
In its summary, the SC-PIO said that “Section 1 of the Anti-Alias Law prohibits using a name other than your birth name, except for specific purposes like stage names, screen names, pen names, and the like for literary, cinema, television, radio, or entertainment purposes and in athletic events.”
“Pequero’s registered name at birth is Pedro Nollora Pequero, but he presented himself to clients as ‘Atty. Epafrodito Nollora.’ He used this name to sign legal documents and appear in court,” it said.
“The use of this alias was not for entertainment or literary purposes, nor did he have any authority to use it,” it also said.
Article 178 of the RPC punishes persons who publicly use a fictitious name to cause damage. Office of the Bar Confidant records show that there is only one Atty. Epafrodito Nollora, who died on May 19, 1986.
In its summary, the SC-PIO said that “although ‘Atty. Epafrodito Nollora’ is a real name, it is considered a fictitious name because Atty. Nollora had long been dead. Pequero caused significant harm to the public, particularly his clients, by impersonating Atty. Nollora.”
The SC-PIO also said:
“Finally, Article 177 of the RPC punishes anyone pretending to be an officer, agent, or representative of the government, whether of the Philippines or a foreign country. To be guilty of this crime, the person must, without authority, perform an act that is legally assigned to someone in a position of authority.
“The SC clarified that a lawyer is not considered a person in authority under Article 177 of the RPC. While lawyers are officers of the court, they are not agents tasked with executing government orders. Thus, Pequero did not commit the crime of usurpation of authority under Article 177 of the RPC.”