Facts:
Franco B. Gonzales filed an administrative complaint against
Atty. Danilo B. Banares alleging that Banares notarized a Deed of Absolute Sale dated September 23, 2010 covering three parcels of land despite the absence of Gonzales’s father, Rodolfo Gonzales, who Gonzales asserted was in Irosin, Sorsogon at the time, and despite Gonzales’s own absence although his name and signature appeared as a witness. Banares denied the allegations and submitted affidavits, including one by Lilia Gonzales, attesting that Gonzales was present as an instrumental witness and that Rodolfo had pre-signed the document to manifest his conformity as husband but not as co-owner. The Commission on Bar Discipline of the Integrated Bar of the Philippines recommended on December 14, 2014 suspension of Banares’s commission as Notary Public for one year. The IBP Board of Governors, by Resolution No. XXII-2015-94 dated November 28, 2015, modified the recommendation and imposed six months’ suspension from the practice of law, immediate revocation of his notarial commission, and two years’ disqualification from being commissioned as Notary Public. The case was brought before the Court, which rendered the present decision on June 20, 2018.
Issues:
Did
Atty. Danilo B. Banares notarize the Deed of Absolute Sale in violation of the requirements on
acknowledgment and notarial practice by failing to ensure the personal appearance of Rodolfo Gonzales at the time of notarization? If so, what disciplinary sanctions were appropriate under the
2004 Rules on Notarial Practice and the
Code of Professional Responsibility?
Ruling:
Ratio:
Doctrine: