One of the requirement before one can be admitted to practice of law is a satisfactory
evidence of good moral character and not having been filed any charge against him
involving moral turpitude in any Philippine Court (Section 2, Rule 138, Rules of Court).
But what precisely, if not exactly is moral turpitude?
One of the Supreme Court jurisprudence that I recommend is the concurring opinion of
Associate Justice Arturo Brion in the case of Teves vs. COMELEC (G.R. No. 180363.
April 28, 2009). There, Justice Brion discussed a brief (legislative) history of the term. Its
roots can be traced from US immigration laws as early as 17th century. Since then,
there was a gradual qualification of felony, offenses and crimes to be associated with
“moral turpitude”, and fraudulent conduct was a controlling factor in associating it.
In the early editions of Black’s Law Dictionary, it defines moral turpitude as:
[An] act of baseness, vileness, or the depravity in private and social duties which man
owes to his fellow man, or to society in general, contrary to the accepted and customary
rule of right and duty between man and man. xxx Act or behavior that gravely violates
moral sentiment or accepted moral standards of community and is a morally culpable
quality held to be present in some criminal offenses as distinguished from others. xxx
The quality of a crime involving grave infringement of the moral sentiment of the
community as distinguished from statutory mala prohibita.
In a case which involved a lawyer (In Re Basa, 1920) having committed abduction with
consent, the Supreme Court (of the Philippines) through Justice Malcolm have spoken:
“Moral turpitude,” it has been said, “includes everything which is done contrary to
justice, honesty, modesty, or good morals.” (Bouvier’s Law Dictionary, cited by
numerous courts.) Although no decision can be found which has decided the exact
question, it cannot admit of doubt that crimes of this character involve moral turpitude.
The inherent nature of the act is such that it is against good morals and the accepted
rule of right conduct.
Since then, some of the identified crimes involving moral turpitude were identified as
follows: