IN RE GUTTIEREZ

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.