EN BANC

[A.C. No. 126. December 29, 1980.]

In re: ATTY. TRANQUILINO ROVERO

DECISION

CONCEPCION, JR., J : p

Petition of respondent Tranquilino Rovero for reinstatement in the Roll of

The record shows that on October 24, 1952, the Court, upon a finding that the
respondent Tranquilino Rovero had been found guilty by a competent court of a
violation of Section 2703 of the Revised Administrative Code, as amended, (Smuggling)
and sentenced to pay a fine of P2,500.00, ordered his disbarment and the surrender of
the lawyer's certificate issued to him. 1 Almost four (4) years thereafter, or on July 7,
1956, the said respondent filed a petition for reinstatement, claiming, among others,
that his disbarment had caused him untold misery and mental anguish, and that he had
been granted an absolute and unconditional pardon for his crime and restored to full
civil and political rights, and pledged, "on bended knees", "not to commit the same or
similar mistake in the future nor to involve himself further in any transaction which might
tend to drag down his name as lawyer and as an ordinary dignified citizen." 2 The
Court, however, denied his petition. 3
Not one to be disheartened, on March 10, 1958, the respondent Tranquilino
Rovero again implored the Court to be readmitted to the practice of law, 4 but the Court
turned a deaf ear to his plea. 5
Once more, the respondent Tranquilino Rovero, "now in his twilight years (71
years old)" asks humbly and earnestly of the Court to be reinstated in the Roll of
Attorneys "before crossing the bar to the great beyond." 6
To be reinstated to the practice of law, it is necessary that the respondent must,
like any other candidate for admission to the bar, satisfy the Court that he is a person of
good moral character — a fit and proper person to practice law. 7
In the instant case, it appears that since his disbarment in 1952, the respondent
Tranquilino Rovero has honorably dealt with his citizens. He had demonstrated his
moral rehabilitation and reformation as to be fit, once more, to engage in the practice of
law. Mr. Rovero has been active in several civic and educational organizations. He was
appointed the secretary of the Provincial Board of Aklan when that province was
organized. He had also been the duly accredited delegate of the Aklan Chapter of the
Philippine National Red Cross to its Aklan Chapter of the Philippine National Red Cross
to its Second Biennial National Convention held in Manila on August 23 to 26, 1957. 8
He was president of the Quezon City Central Lions Club which he helped organize, 9
and for a time, he was president of the Board of Trustees of the Northwestern Visayan
Colleges in Kalibo, Aklan. 10
Mr. Rovero has also held high positions of trust in commercial establishments.
He had been elected the president of the Filipino Industrial Corporation; the vice-
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 president of the Meteor Company, Inc., and the president of the Rural Bank of Hermosa
(Bataan), a position which he holds up to the present. 11
Testimonials have been presented regarding the high esteem accorded him in
the community to which he belongs. 12 His good conduct is certified to by the president
of the Aklan Bar Association 13 and the parish priest of Christ the King Church who
stated that Mr. Rovero "is a devoted parishioner who always gets voluntarily involved in
the various charitable activities of the parish," and "is cooperative and responsible and
gets along fine with his fellow parishioners." 14 His conduct has also merited the
approval of the late Pres. Ramon Magsaysay who granted him an absolute and
unconditional pardon for his crime. 15
An absolute pardon not only blots out the crime committed, but removes all
disabilities resulting from the conviction. In the case of In re Marcelino Lontok, 16 the
Court, in dismissing the disbarment proceeding against the respondent therein, who
had been convicted of bigamy, a crime involving moral turpitude, upon the ground that
the respondent had been granted plenary pardon for his crime, applied the rule that a
person reaches both the punishment prescribed for the offense and the guilt of the
offender; and when the pardon is full, it releases the punishment and blots out of
existence the guilt, so that in the eye of the law the offender is as innocent as if he had
never committed the crime," and, "if granted before conviction, it prevents any of the
penalties and disabilities, and restores him to all his civil rights; it makes him, as it were,
a new man and gives him a new credit and capacity."
Under the circumstances, and considering that more than 28 years had already
passed since he was disbarred, the respondent Tranquilino Rovero has been
sufficiently punished and disciplined. 17
WHEREFORE, the order of disbarment is lifted and Attorney Tranquilino Rovero
is hereby reinstated in the legal profession and restored to the practice of law. The
Clerk of Court is directed to return to him his lawyer's diploma, his certificate of
admission to the Bar, and any other certificate issued to him relative to his admission to
the Bar. prLL

Barredo, Makasiar, Aquino, Fernandez, Guerrero, Abad Santos, De Castro and

Footnotes

1. Rollo. p. 32, also 92 Phil. 128.

2. Id., p. 48.

3. Id., p. 53.

4. Id., p. 57.

5. Id., p. 67.

6. Id., p. 68.

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8. Rollo, p. 63.

9. Id., p. 71.

10. Id., p. 64.

11. Id., p. 69.

12. Id., pp. 61, 64, 65.

13. Id., p. 66.

14. Id., p. 75.

15. Id., pp. 52, 70.

16. 43 Phil. 293; See also: In re Atty. Saturnino Parcasio, Adm. Case No. 1000, Feb. 18,
1976, 69 SCRA 336, and In re Gregorio D. Yaranon, SBC No. 629 March 18, 1980.

17. Royo vs. Oliva, 107 Phil. 313.

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