Case Digest (A.C. No. 12552)
Facts:
Judge Adelbert S. Santillan v. Atty. Nepthali P. Solilapsi, A.C. No. 12552, December 05, 2022, the Supreme Court Third Division, Inting, J., writing for the Court.In March 2019, a client, Princess Ivory Cabaguas Villanueva, requested from the office of Judge Adelbert S. Santillan a Certificate of Notarial Act showing that Atty. Nepthali P. Solilapsi had notarized a Certificate of End of Contract and an Affidavit of Employment. That inquiry revealed that the notarizations took place in March 2019 although Atty. Solilapsi’s notarial commission had expired in December 2018.
On March 18, 2019, Judge Santillan issued Memorandum No. 8, Series of 2019 directing Atty. Solilapsi to explain why disciplinary action should not be taken. In his explanation, Atty. Solilapsi alleged that the documents had been notarized by his law office staff in his absence and without his knowledge or permission. Judge Santillan reported the matter to the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) by letter dated March 27, 2019 and recommended filing an administrative complaint.
The Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) acknowledged the complaint on June 3, 2019 and recommended referral back to Judge Santillan for investigation and adjudication. The Court, by Resolution dated July 24, 2019, adopted the OBC recommendation, treated Judge Santillan’s letter as an official report, docketed the matter as a regular administrative case, and referred it to Judge Santillan for investigation. During his investigation, Judge Santillan found that the two documents at issue were the 208th and 331st documents notarized after the lapse of Atty. Solilapsi’s commission, and that in total he had notarized more than 300 documents after his commission had expired.
Judge Santillan issued a Report and Recommendation dated January 6, 2020 recommending that Atty. Solilapsi be disqualified from being commissioned as a notary public for two years (January 2020 to December 2021). The Court, in a Reso...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Whether Atty. Nepthali P. Solilapsi should be held administratively liable for notarizing over 300 legal documents after the expiration of his notarial commission.
- If liable, what administrative pena...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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