2. Provide access to online data-bases of DA on e-Learning courses and other agricultural information; and

3. Complement manpower and logistic support in the conduct of trainings and education of LGU personnel that will be involved in this joint undertaking.

Regional Research and Development
Consortia shall:

1. Coordinate with LGUS regarding the implementation of the Techno Gabay Program in the municipality;

2. Conduct/facilitate trainings in various areas like ICT, IEC development, skills training and other related training for the efficient and effective operation of the

center;

Fund utilization and disbursement shall be subject to the usual government accounting and auditing rules and regulations.

SEC. 5. Implementing Rules and Regulations.-The PCARRD-DOST, with the active participation of selected CHEDSUCS, DA, DA-ATI and LGUs, shall call for the creation of a Steering Committee and a Technical Working Committee that shall formulate the implementing Rules and Regulation (IRR) for the effective implementation of this Executive Order.

SEC. 6. Separability Clause.-If any section or provision of this Executive Order shall be declared unconstitutional or invalid, the other sections or provision not affected thereby shall remain in full force and effect. SEC. 7. Repealing Clause.--All Executive

4. Monitor the implementation of Techno Gabay Program at the regional level.

LGUS are encouraged to:

1. Appoint/designate the manpower need by the center;

2. Collaborate with the DA and other concerned agencies in planning technology delivery activities in line with the agriculture development program of the municipality;

3. Provide

seed money for the establishment and maintenance of the FITS center;

4. Provide the site/office for FITS establishment in the area and purchase equipment and fixtures, supplies necessary to operate the center; and

5. Make available its staff to manage the project.

SEC. 4. Funding.-All local government units covered by this Executive Order are encourage to allocate funds from their respective budgets to cover the program's physical, human, and financial requirements.

Supplemental budgets may also be sourced by the concerned LGU from contributions of public and private institutions involved in the program.

thereof contrary to or inconsistent with this Executive Order are hereby repealed or modified accordingly.

SEC. 8. Effectivity Clause.-The EO shall take effect immediately.

Done in the City of Manila, this 14th day of May in the year of our Lord, Two Thousand and Nine.

(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO
President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA

Executive Secretary

MALACAÑANG

MANILA

EXECUTIVE ORDER No. 802

STRENGTHENING AND RECOGNIZING THE PHILIPPINE ACCREDITATION OFFICE ATTACHED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF TRADE AND INDUSTRY AS THE NATIONAL ACCREDITATION BODY

WHEREAS, Sec. 13 of RA 9236, or "The National Metrology Act of 2003," strengthens and recognizes the laboratory accrediting body attached to the Department of trade and Industry (DTI) as the national accrediting body;

WHEREAS, the Bureau of Product Standards of the DTI assumed the laboratory accrediting function, in addition to its standards development and certification functions.

WHEREAS, pursuant to ISO/IEC:17011 2004 which became effective on 01 January 2006, a centralized accrediting office independent from BPS needs to be created.

WHEREAS, Section 31, Chapter 10, Book Ill of the Administrative Code of 1987 grants the President the continuing power to reorganize the Executive Branch of government;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGALARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

.SECTION 1. Pursuant to Section 13 of RA 9236, the Philippine Accreditation Office (PAO), which shall be attached to the DTI, is hereby strengthened and recognized as the national accreditation body. It shall be the central body to accredit inspection, testing and certifying bodies, and other bodies offering conformity assessment services needed by the country.

SEC. 2. The PAO Council, to be chaired by the Secretary of the Department of Trade and Industry, is hereby created to give policy advice and provide guidance to PAO. The Council shall have ten (10) members, seven (7) from the government sector and three (3) from the private sector.

The government sector shall be represented by the heads of the following departments or agencies or their authorized representatives, who must be at least an Undersecretary:

1. Department of Science and Technology

2. Department of Health

3. Department of Agriculture

4. Department of Environment and Natural Resources

5. Department of Public Works and Highways

6. Department of Energy

7. Department of National Defense

The members from the private sector shall be appointed by the President from any of following: Trade or Industry Association, Quality and Safety Foundation, Philippine Exporter's Confederation, Professional Association, or the Academe.

The Council is authorized to create the necessary Advisory Committees where other stakeholders are given opportunity to provide inputs in the formulation of accreditation policies.

SEC. 3. The DTI shall acts as the PAO Council Secretariat. It shall ensure the immediate coordination among members of the Council and the implementation of a centralized facilitation, processing and release of accreditations.

SEC. 4. Funding requirement that will enable PAO to pursue and implement its mandate shall be included in the annual appropriations of the Department of Trade and Industry. Government entities that seek accreditation from PAO for purposes of international recognition shall provide funds for said purpose.

SEC. 5. Laboratories that have already been accredited by other government agencies shall be given one year from effective date of this Order within which to seek accreditation against applicable international standards from PAO.

SEC. 6. All executive orders, rules and regulations and other issuances or parts thereof which are inconsistent with this Order are hereby revoked, amended, or modified accordingly.

SEC. 7. This Order shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication in a national newspaper of general circulation.

Done, in the City of Manila, this 18th day of May, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Nine.

(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA

Executive Secretary

MALACAÑANG MANILA

MALACAÑANG

MANILA

ADMINISTRATIVE Order No. 265

PROVIDING FREE LEGAL AID FOR THE POOR

WHEREAS, the Public Attorney's Office (PAO) is the principal law office of the government that provides free legal aid to the poor;

WHEREAS, the Presidential Commission on the Urban Poor (PCUP) is mandated to coordinate the speedy implementation of government policies and programs for the urban poor;

WHEREAS, Most of the urban poor in country is concentrated in Metro Manila;

NOW, THEREFORE, I, GLORIA MACAPAGALARROYO, President of the Republic of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by law, do hereby order:

SEC. 1. The PAO and the PCUP shall work together on programs of providing free legal aid to Metro Manila urban poor.

SEC. 2. All Administrative Orders, rules, and regulations and other issuances or part thereof, which are inconsistent with this Administrative Order, are hereby revoked, amended, or modified accordingly.

SEC. 3. This Administrative Order shall take effect immediately.

Done, in the City of Manila, this 14th day of May, in the year of Our Lord, Two Thousand and Nine.

(Sgd.) GLORIA MACAPAGAL-ARROYO President of the Philippines

By the President:

(Sgd.) EDUARDO R. ERMITA

Executive Secretary

MEMORANDUM CIRCULAR No. 175

DIRECTING ALL CABINET MEMBERS AND HEADS OF THEIR ATTACHED AGENCIES INCLUDING GOVERNMENT OWNED OR CONTROLLED CORPORATIONS (GOCCs), GOVERNMENT FINANCIAL INSTITUTIONS (GFIS), STATE UNIVERSITIES AND COLLEGES (SUCS), AND LOCAL GOVENMENT UNITS (LGUs) TO ACTIVELY PARTICIPATE IN THE UNITED NATIONS CONVENTION AGAINST CORRUPTION (UNCAC) SUMMIT

The Philippines is a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) which was ratified by the Philippine Senate in November 2006.

As a state party to the UNCAC and as part of its commitments to the 1st and 2nd Conference of State Parties (COSP), the Philippines is mandated to comply with its compliance review on the implementation of the UNCAC in the country.

The Multi-Sectoral Anti-Corruption Council (MSACC) led by the Office of the Ombudsman, and composed of the three branches of government, constitutional bodies, government financial institutions, academe, media, business, youth, inter-faith groups, non-government organizations and civil society organizations, as members, conducted a self-assessment on Philippine compliance with the UNCAC.

The Philippine Self Assessment Report which is the result of the gap analysis conducted by the MSACC on the country's compliance with the UNCAC, as well as the Implementation Roadmap will be formally presented in the UNCAC Summit which will be hosted by the MSACC on May 27, 2009, 8:00 A.M.-12:00 noon at Meeting Rooms 3 & 4, Philippine International Convention Center (PICC), Roxas Blvd., Pasay City.

During the Summit, a Covenant to faithfully execute the Roadmap will likewise be signed by the Heads of the three branches of government in the presence of MSACC's development partners and the diplomatic community.

[A.C. No. 6505. September 11, 2008]

THIRD DIVISION

JESSICA C. Uy, Complainant, vs. ATTY. EMMANUEL P. SAÑO, Respondent

SYLLABUS

of the Ruling of the Court

1. LEGAL ETHICS; ATTORNEYS; PRACTICE OF LAW; EXPLAINED.—[T]he practice of law is not a right but a privilege bestowed by the State on those who show that they possess, and continue to possess, the qualifications required by law for the conferment of such privilege. Membership in the bar is a privilege burdened with conditions. The bar should maintain a high standard of legal proficiency as well as of honesty and fair dealing. A lawyer brings honor to the legal profession by faithfully performing his duties to society, to the bar, to the courts and to his clients. To this end, a member of the legal fraternity should refrain from doing any act which might lessen, in any degree, the confidence and trust reposed by the public in the fidelity, honesty and integrity of the legal profession.

3. ID.; ID.; MALPRACTICE AND FALSIFICATION OF PUBLIC DOCUMENTS; A LAWYER'S ACT OF NOTARIZING DOCUMENTS WITHOUT THE REQUISITE COMMISSION THEREFOR, A CASE OF. [T]he requirements for the issuance of a commission as notary public must not be treated as a mere casual formality. The Court has characterized a lawyer's act of notarizing documents without the requisite commission therefor as reprehensible, constituting as it does, not only malpractice, but also the crime of falsification of public documents. For such reprehensible conduct, the Court has sanctioned erring lawyers by

4. ID.;

suspension from the practice of law, revocation of the notarial commission and disqualification from acting as such, and even disbarment. Time and again, we have held that where the notarization of a document is done by a member of the Philippine Bar at a time when he has no authorization or commission to do so, the offender may be subjected to disciplinary action. One who is performing a notorial act without such commission is a violation of the lawyer's oath to obey the laws, more specifically, the Notarial Law. Then, too, by making it appear that he is duly commissioned when he is not, he is, for all legal intents and purposes, indulging in deliberate falsehood, which the lawyer's oath similarly proscribes. These violations fail squarely within the prohibition of Rule 1.01 of Canon 1 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which provides that "a lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct." By acting as a notary public without the proper commission to do so, the lawyer likewise violates Canon 7 of the same Code, which directs every lawyer to uphold at all times the integrity and dignity of the legal profession.

ATTORNEYS; SUSPENSION OR DISBARMENT OF ATTORNEYS; PURPOSE.-An attorney's right to practice law may be resolved by a proceeding to suspend him, based on conduct rendering him unfit to hold a license or to exercise the duties and responsibilities of an attorney. It must be understood that the purpose of suspending or disbarring him as an attorney is to remove from the profession a person whose misconduct has proved him unfit to be entrusted with the duties and responsibilities belonging to an office of attorney, and thus, to protect the public and those charged with the administration of justice, rather than to punish an attorney.

OPINION OF THE COURT

NACHURA, J.:

This is a disbarment case filed' by complainant Jessica C. Uy against

Designate additional members in lieu of Associate Justices Consuelo Ynares-Santiago and Ma. Alicia Austria-Martinez per Special Order No. 517 dated August 27, 2008.

1 Embodied in a petition filed before this Court, through the Office of the Bar Confidant, dated July 10, 2004; rollo, pp. 2-4.