This storyline is good enough to be an episode of Suits, but it happened in the real world. And now, a “lawyer” is in trouble.
In an elaborate ploy that spans for years, Richard A. Caronan falsely assumed the name, identity, and academic records of his younger sibling to obtain a law degree and take the Bar Examinations.
In the process, Richard deceived his law school and the Office of the Bar Confidant. He also faces possible civil and criminal cases.
Why did Richard need to steal his brother’s identity?
Simple, Richard’s brother Patrick graduated college and he did not. A bachelor’s degree is a requirement to enroll in any law school in the Philippines.
Since Richard entered law school and passed the Bar Exams as “Patrick”, he needed to assume his brother’s identity even when he was already a practicing lawyer, hence, “Atty. Patrick A. Caronan”
How did it happen?
The Caronan brothers completed their secondary education at the Makati High School.
Patrick enrolled in the University of Makati (UM), where he earned a degree in Business Administration. He then worked his way up and became a Store Manager of 7-11 Convenience Store Muntinlupa branch.
Richard, on the other hand, enrolled at the Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila (PLM) but later transferred to the Philippine Military Academy (PMA). He was discharged after a year. In 1997, he moved to Nueva Vizcaya with his family. He never earned his college degree.
Richard then enrolled in St Mary’s University’s College of Law in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya using his brother’s name and college records from the UM.
Miraculously, Richard passed the Bar Exams still using his brother’s name.
Without realizing the consequences of what his brother did, Patrick didn’t give this much thought.
Problems started to pop up in 2009 when the real Patrick was informed that the National Bureau of Investigations (NBI) wanted a certain “Atty Patrick A. Caronan” for qualified theft and estafa.
This was only the beginning. Richard (aka “Atty. Patrrick”) was also got himself involved in gun-running activities, illegal possession of explosives, and violation of BP 22.
Because of the controversies, Patrick was eventually forced to resign from his job. He also filed a formal complaint against his brother’s alleged use of his name and identity.
For his defense, respondent denied all allegations and maintained that his identity can no longer be raised as an issue as it had already been resolved in an earlier administrative case.
However, the High Court held that the real Patrick was able to present clear and overwhelming evidence about his own identity.
In effect, SC directed the Office of the Court Administrator to circulate in all courts nationwide a photograph of Richard with his real name to warn them of the identity theft that happened.
“Good moral character is essential in those who would be lawyers. This is imperative in the nature of the office of a lawyer, the trust relation which exists between him and his client, as well as between him and the court,” the high court said.—with reports from ABS-CBN
