CARMELITA I.

ZAGUIRRE, COMPLAINANT,
VS. ATTY. ALFREDO CASTILLO, RESPONDENT.
A.C. No. 4921. March 6, 2003.

FACTS
In 1996, the respondent and complainant both worked at the National Bureau of Investigation
(NBI). They engaged in courtship which soon led to an intimate relationship. The respondent
represented himself as a single man and promised marriage to the complainant. At the time, the
respondent was preparing for the bar examinations. He was admitted to the Philippine Bar on May
10, 1997. It was around this time that the complainant found out that the respondent was married.
The respondent executed an affidavit on September 10, 1997, admitting his extramarital
relationship and recognizing the complainant’s unborn child. The respondent was already a lawyer
at that time. In his affidavit, acknowledged before a notary public, he explicitly stated that he had
a relationship with the complainant and that she became pregnant with his child. He voluntarily
recognized the child as his own and stated that he is willing to support the child’s needs. It was
also stated that he was “executing this affidavit without compulsion on my part and being a lawyer,
I have full knowledge of the consequence of such acknowledgment and recognition”. Upon the
birth of the complainant’s child however, the respondent refused to recognize the child as his own
and refused to provide any support. The respondent refuted all the claims of the complainant,
stating that their relationship was based solely on lust and desire and that he never claimed to be
single since it was known in the office that he was a married man with children. He also claimed
that the child was not his since the complainant was dating other men during their relationship.
The complainant filed a Petition for Disbarment against the respondent on the ground of Gross
Immoral Conduct. The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Commission on Bar Discipline
found the respondent guilty and recommended that he be penalized with an indefinite suspension
from the practice of law.

ISSUE
Whether or not Atty. Alfredo Castillo was guilty of gross immoral conduct or not.

RULING
The Court agrees that Atty. Castillo was guilty of gross immoral conduct and that he should
be indefinitely suspended from the practice of law. The Code of Professional Responsibility states
that “a lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct” and that “a
lawyer shall at all times uphold the integrity and dignity of the legal profession, and support the
activities of the Integrated Bar”. They cite cases such as Luguid vs. Judge Camano, Jr. and
Dumadag vs. Lumaya in explaining that a lawyer has to conform to a strict code of conduct
demanded of members of their profession. Fathering a child with a woman other than his wife does
not meet such standards of morality. Also, the respondent’s attempt to refute his notarized
statement demonstrated a deceitful trait that was unbecoming of someone from a noble profession.
A lawyer must adhere to the rigid standards of mental fitness, morality, and faithful compliance to
the law in order to enjoy the privilege of practicing law.