Zaguirre v. Castillo Digest

Zaguirre v.
Castillo
Adm. Case No. 4921, March 6, 2003
Per curiam (en banc) / kmd
SUBJECT MATTER: The Lawyer and the legal profession; No conduct adversely affecting the
profession
Facts:
This is a petition for disbarment filed by Carmelita Zaguirre against Atty. Alfredo
Castillo on the ground of gross immoral conduct.
Zaguirre and Castillo were officemates at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) in
1996. Castillo, who represented himself a single man, courted Zaguirre and promised
to marry her.
They had an intimate relationship from 1996 1997. At that time, Castillo was
preparing for the Bar exams which he passed.
Castillo was admitted to the Bar on May 10, 1997.
However, around the first week of May 1997, Zaguirre learned that Castillo is a
married man as Castillos wife went to her office, confronted her about Zaguirres
relationship with her husband, Castillo. At that moment, Zaguirre was already pregnant.
On September 10, 1997, Atty. Castillo executed an affidavit, duly acknowledged before
a notary public, admitting his relationship with Zaguirre, recognizing that the unborn
child she was carrying was his, and that he was willing to support the said child.
However, when the child was born on December 9, 1997, Castillo started to refuse
recognizing the child and giving her any form of support.
Castillos claim:
o What transpired between them was merely mutual lust and desire, and that he
never courted her.
o He never represented himself as a single man, and that it is known in the office
that he was married and had children.
o The child is not his because Zaguirre was seeing other men.
o He only signed the affidavit to save Zaguirre from embarrassment. He did not
know then that she was seeing other men.
Nonetheless, the IBP Commission on Bar Discipline found Atty. Castillo guilty of gross
immoral conduct with a penalty of indefinite suspension from the practice of law.
Issue:
1. WON Castillo is guilty of gross immoral conduct. (YES)
i.e WON the extra-marital affair, fathering a child with another woman and refusal to
recognize and support the child constitute a gross immoral conduct. (YES)
2. WON indefinite suspension from the practice of law is the correct penalty. (YES)
Holding:
The Court agrees with the findings and recommendation of the IBP.
1.
Rule 1.01 A lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct.
Canon 7 A lawyer shall at all times uphold the integrity and dignity of the legal profession,
and support the activities of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines.
Rule 7.03 A lawyer shall not engage in conduct that adversely reflects on his fitness to practice
of law, nor should he, whether in public or private life, behave in a scandalous manner to the
discredit of the legal profession.
Immoral conduct Conduct which is so willful, flagrant or shameless as to show indifference to

the opinion of good and respectable members of the community. Furthermore, such conduct
must not only be immoral, but grossly immoral. That is, it must be so corrupt as to constitute a
criminal act or so unprincipled as to be reprehensible to a high degree or committed under such
scandalous or revolting circumstances as to shock the common sense of decency.
In this case, Castillo committed 3 acts that do not conform to the strict standards
demanded of members of the profession: (1) extra-marital affair, (2) fathering a child with
another woman, (3) reneging his notarized statement recognizing and undertaking to support
his child.
The Court previously held all these acts as unbecoming or below the standards of morality
required of every lawyer, demonstrating an unscrupulousness that is highly censurable.
Courts answer to Castillos defenses:
o What transpired between them was merely mutual lust and desire, and that he
never courted her.
He did not deny his affair with Zaguirre. The Court was appalled at
his reprehensible and amoral attitude when he said, men are
polygamous in nature.
o He never represented himself as a single man, and that it is known in the office
that he was married and had children.
Not using deception does not absolve him gross immorality because the
fitness to be a member of the legal profession is not dependent on whether
the other party knowingly engaged in an immoral relationship with him.
o The child is not his because Zaguirre was seeing other men.
o He only signed the affidavit to save Zaguirre from embarrassment. He did not
know then that she was seeing other men
In pari delicto (i.e Zaguirre being in in equal fault for seeing other men)
is immaterial because the purpose of the proceeding was to purge the
law profession of unworthy members and not to grant relief to
complainant.
The Court also further held that since he was reviewing for the Bar at the time he was
having an affair with Zaguirre, he knew very well that to be admitted to the Bar, he must
possess a good moral character, and that continuous possession of such character is essential in
maintaining good standing in the profession. Therefore, admission to the Bar does not preclude
subsequent judicial inquiry concerning his mental or moral fitness to become a lawyer. Also,
since the practice of law is merely a privilege, one can be deprived of his license when it has
been ascertained by the court that he is guilty of misconduct.
2. The IBP was correct in giving Castillo a penalty of indefinite suspension rather than
disbarment because disbarment should not be meted out if a lesser punishment could be
given. It was shown that after he took his oath in 1997, Castillo severed his ties with Zaguirre
and now lives with wife and children in Mindoro, which the Court found as indication of his
effort to mend his ways and recognize the impact of his offense on the noble profession.
Respondent indefinitely suspended from the practice of law for gross immoral conduct.

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Immoral conduct Conduct which is so willful, flagrant or shameless as to show indifference to

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