Case Summary (G.R. No. 122880)
Key Dates
• Will notarized: June 10, 1981
• Decedent’s death: December 16, 1982
• Probate petition filed: April 10, 1984 (RTC Manila)
• RTC order admitting will: August 10, 1992
• Appeal to Court of Appeals: Decision reversing probate, August 17, 1995
• Supreme Court decision: April 12, 2006
Applicable Law
• 1987 Philippine Constitution (decision post-1990)
• Civil Code (Republic Act No. 386)
– Art. 805: Formal requisites for notarial wills (subscription, signing each page, numbering, attestation clause)
– Art. 806: Mandatory acknowledgment before a notary public by testator and witnesses
– Art. 809: Substantial-compliance rule for attestation defects
Defects in the Notarial Will
- Attestation clause failed to state the total number of pages.
- Instrumental witnesses did not sign the attestation clause itself (only the left margin).
- The document bore a jurat-type certification instead of the required acknowledgment by testator and witnesses.
Regional Trial Court’s Rationale
• Admitted the will to probate, applying a “modern tendency” of liberalizing formalities to honor the testatrix’s intent.
• Found substantial compliance:
– Witnesses’ margin signatures sufficed for attestation.
– The attestation clause, though imperfect, evidenced execution.
– Omitted page count and marginal testatrix signature were minor defects not defeating probate.
Court of Appeals’ Holding
• Reversed admission, holding the omission of the page count in the attestation clause a fatal defect.
• Distinguished precedents allowing liberal construction where page count appeared elsewhere in the will (Singson v. Florentino; Taboada v. Rosal).
• Concluded no part of the will disclosed its length; thus, the safeguard against interpolation was unmet.
Supreme Court’s Analysis: Formal Requisites under Articles 805–806
• Article 805’s mandatory requirements protect authenticity and guard against tampering:
– Testator and three credible witnesses must subscribe at end and sign each page (except last) on the left margin.
– All pages must be serially numbered in letters at the top.
– Attestation clause must state the number of pages and that the testator and witnesses signed each page in each other’s presence.
• Article 806 requires acknowledgment before a notary public by both testator and witnesses, distinct from a jurat.
• Article 809 permits liberal construction only for defects verifiable on the face of the will, absent fraud or undue influence.
Page Count Requirement as a Fatal Defect
• The absence of any statement—either in the attestation or elsewhere—specifying the total pages is fatal.
• Purpose: deter removal or addition of pages without detection.
• No basis for substantial compliance, unlike cases where the document elsewhere recited its page count.
Failure to Sign the Attestation Clause
• Witnesses’ marginal signatures do not satisfy the separate requirement to “attest and subscribe” the clause.
• The attestation clause itself must bear the instrumental witnesses’ signatures to validate their affirmations.
• Reliance on Cagro v. Cagro: unsigned attestation clause negates witness participation and permits surreptitious additions.
Absence of Proper Acknowledgment
• The notary’s statement (“signed and notarized…”) resembles a jurat
Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 122880)
Facts
- Eugenia E. Igsolo, aged 80, died on December 16, 1982; she purportedly executed a two‐page notarial will in Pilipino on June 10, 1981.
- The will bequeathed several real properties—lots in Block 24, Sampaloc, Manila—to her nephew Felix Azuela, named Vart Pague as executor, and directed burial rites.
- Instrumental witnesses Quirino Agrava, Lamberto Leao, and Juanito Estrera signed the left margin of both pages; the attestation clause lacked signature at its foot, failed to state the number of pages, and contained a jurat rather than a true acknowledgment.
- The testatrix signed only at the logical end of page 1; pages were numbered with Arabic numerals instead of correlatively in letters.
- A probate petition was filed on April 10, 1984 in the Manila RTC by petitioner Felix Azuela, who claimed to be decedent’s heir and legatee.
- Oppositor Geralda Aida Castillo, as attorney‐in‐fact for 12 alleged legitimate heirs (decedent’s grandchildren abroad), contended the will was forged, improperly executed, and that more heirs existed than those named by petitioner.
Procedural History
- RTC of Manila (Order dated August 10, 1992) admitted the will to probate, applying a modern, liberal tendency in interpreting will formalities.
- The RTC credited witness testimony, deemed substantial compliance with execution and attestation formalities, and issued letters testamentary to Vart Pague.
- CA (Decision dated August 17, 1995) reversed the RTC, holding the attestation clause’s failure to state the number of pages was a fatal defect under Article 805 and binding jurisprudence.
- Petitioner elevated the case to the Supreme Court via G.R. No. 122880, seeking reversal of the CA decision and allowance of probate.
Issues
- Whether the omission of the number of pages in the attestation clause is a mandatory, fatal defect or subject to substantial compliance under Articles 805 and 809 of the Civil Code.
- Whether the failure of instrumental witnesses to sign the bottom of the attestation clause, and the testatrix’s lack of signature on page 2, invalidate the will.
- Whether the jurat‐style notarial endorsement