IN RE GUITTEREZ

Legal Ethics 5 SCRA 661 Conditional Pardon will not bar disbarment
Attorney Gutierrez was convicted for the murder of one Filemon Samaco in 1956. He was sentenced
to the penalty of reclusion perpetua. In 1958, after serving a portion of the penalty, he was granted a
conditional pardon by the President. He was released on the condition that he shall not commit any
crime. Subsequently, the widow of Samaco filed a disbarment case against Gutierrez by reason of
the latters conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude. Murder, is without a doubt, such a crime.
ISSUE: Whether or not Gutierrez may be disbarred considering the fact that he was granted pardon.
HELD: Yes. The pardon granted to Gutierrez is not absolute but conditional. It merely remitted his
sentence. It does not reach the offense itself. Gutierrez must be judged upon the fact of his
conviction for murder without regard to the pardon (which he invoked in defense). The crime was
actually qualified by treachery and aggravated by its having been committed in hand, by taking
advantage of his official position (Gutierrez being municipal mayor at the time) and with the use of
motor vehicle. The degree of moral turpitude involved is such as to justify his being purged from the
profession.