SC keeps power over lawyers

Only the Supreme Court may dismiss complaints against lawyers.

This after the high court revised the rules on discipline for members of the bar, directing the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, the organization of all lawyers in the country, to revise its internal rules on administrative cases in accordance with the amendment.

“The power to dismiss a complaint against a lawyer rests solely in the Supreme Court and cannot be delegated to the IBP,” said the high tribunal in a statement yesterday.

In amending Rule 139-B of the Rules of Court, the high court limited the IBP’s power over administrative cases to making recommendations after a hearing, unlike before when the organization could dismiss complaints at its level.