The Supreme Court (SC) upheld the conviction of Pedro Nollora Pequero, who assumed the identity and occupation of a deceased lawyer, signing pleadings and appearing before courts.
The court found Pequero guilty of violating Commonwealth Act No. 142, also known as the Anti-Alias Law, and Article 178 of the Revised Penal Code, which prohibits individuals from using a fake name.
Pequero was found guilty on August 7, 2024.
The National Bureau of Investigation initiated and successfully conducted an entrapment operation in 2011, during which Pequero appeared before the Binangonan Municipal Trial Court as “Atty. Epafrodito Nollora,” the identity he had assumed.
Pequero was convicted in the lower courts and the Court of Appeals. He then filed an appeal with the Supreme Court.
“By using the name and assuming the identity of the deceased, Pedro was successful in using a fictitious name which caused damage to the public, especially his paying clients who believed that they were being represented by a true and genuine lawyer,” the SC said.
However, the SC acquitted Pequero of charges under Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code, which pertains to the usurpation of official functions.
“The court holds and so rules that a lawyer may not be regarded as a public authority or a person in authority within the meaning of Article 177 of the Revised Penal Code, the provision which Pedro stands charged for,” the highest court said.
Pequero was sentenced to four months in prison and fined P500.