Case Digest (G.R. No. 167683)
Facts:
Mamerta Base filed on March 3, 1921 in the Court of First Instance of Leyte for probate of Exhibit A, the alleged will of Tan Diuco, who died on December 8, 1920; the lower court denied probate on November 2, 1922, and the petitioner appealed.
The will bears the testator's name written by Simplicio Sala by the testator's direction, and three witnesses—Pablo Maturan, Ladislao Fenomeno, and Enrique Penaredondo—signed the left margin of each of the three numbered pages and subscribed an attestation clause stating they saw the signing.
Issues:
- Did the document comply with the attestation and signature requisites of Section 618 of the Code of Civil Procedure, as amended by Act No. 2645, so as to be admitted to probate?
- May the same persons who signed the left margins of each page serve as the witnesses who subscribed the attestation clause, or must *instrumental witnesses* be different from those who sign the attestation?
Ruling:
The Court reversed the order of the lower court and admitted Exhibit A to probate. The Court held that the statutory formalities were satisfied and that the same persons who signed the pages properly subscribed the attestation clause.
Ratio:
The Court construed Section 618 and Act No. 2645 to mean that those who take part in execution by witnessing the testator's signature and signing each page are instrumental witnesses, and they alone can certify the facts recited in the attestation clause; the statute does not require different persons to perform these functions. Citing Abangan vs. Abangan (40 Phil., 476), the Court emphasized that the formalities are to prevent fraud and not to impose needless requisites that frustrate the testator's intent.
Doctrine:
- Section 618 of the Code of Civil Procedure, as amended by Act No. 2645, requires the testator or his proxy and three or more credible witnesses to sign each page and for the attestation to state the number of sheets and that signing occurred in the witnesses' presence.
- An instrumental witness is one who takes part in the execution by witnessing the testator's signing and by signing the left margin of each page.
- The same persons who sign the pages may subscribe the attestation clause, and courts must avoid interpretations that add technical requisites unnecessary to secure authenticity.