Case Summary (G.R. No. L-15153)
Factual Background
The instrument offered for probate was the last will and testament of Anacleta Abellana. The will was typewritten in Spanish and comprised two pages. The first page bore the signature of Juan Bello with the typewritten notation “Por la testadora Anacleta Abellana, residence Certificate A-1167629, Enero 20, 1951, Ciudad de Zamboanga.” The left margin of the first page carried the signatures of the instrumental witnesses. The second and last page bore the signatures of the three instrumental witnesses—Bias Sebastian, Faustino Macaso, and Rafael Ignacio—and the signature of Notary Public Timoteo de los Santos, who notarized the will. On the second page’s left margin appeared the signature of Juan Bello under which was handwritten the phrase “Por la Testadora Anacleta Abellana.” The will was acknowledged before Notary Public Attorney Timoteo de los Santos.
Trial Court Proceedings
The Court of First Instance of Zamboanga City admitted the will to probate based on the instrument and its attendant acknowledgments and signatures. The oppositors appealed, assigning as error the trial court’s ruling that Exhibit “A” was signed in accordance with law and its admission to probate.
Question Presented
The controlling question was whether the signature of Dr. Juan A. Abello (appearing as Juan Bello in the trial record) above the typewritten statement “Por la Testadora Anacleta Abellana … Ciudad de Zamboanga” satisfied the statutory requirement that a will be subscribed at its end by the testator or by the testator’s name written by some other person in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s express direction.
Parties’ Contentions
The appellants contended that the will failed to comply with the statutory mode of execution because the name of the testatrix did not appear as required under the instrument at the place where a testator must subscribe. The petitioner maintained that the existing signatures and notarial acknowledgment sufficed to establish a valid execution.
Legal Principles and Precedents
The Court examined Article 805 of the Civil Code, which provides that every will other than a holographic will “must be subscribed at the end thereof by the testator himself or by the testator’s name written by some other person in his presence, and by his express direction, and attested and subscribed by three or more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of one another.” The Court compared this provision with Section 618 of the Code of Civil Procedure (Act No. 190) and reiterated prior rulings. In Ex Parte Pedro Arcenas, et al., 4 Phil. 700, the Court held that where a testator cannot sign, it is not sufficient for an attesting witness merely to sign at the testator’s request; the testator’s name must be written by the person signing in the place where the testator would have signed, in the testator’s presence and by the testator’s express direction, and the person writing must indicate both the testator’s and the writer’s names in prescribed form. The Court cited similar holdings in Cuison vs. Concepcion, 5 Phil. 552, Barut vs. Cabacungan, 21 Phil. 461, Ex Parte Juan Ondevilla, 13 Phil. 479, Caluya vs. Domingo, 27 Phil. 330, and Garcia vs. Lacuesta, 90 Phil. 489, stressing that the essential requirement is that the name of the testator be written at the testator’s express direction and in the place where the testator’s signature should appear.
Analysis by the Court
The Court found that the name of the testatrix, Anacleta Abellana, did not appear written under the will by the testatrix herself. Nor did the record show that the name was written by Dr. Juan A. Abello in the place where the testatrix would have signed, in her presence, and by her express direction in
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Case Syllabus (G.R. No. L-15153)
Parties and Procedural Posture
- Lucio Balonan was the Petitioner and Appellee seeking probate of the will.
- Eusebia Abellana, et al. were the Oppositors and Appellants who challenged the probate.
- The Court of First Instance of Zamboanga City admitted the contested will to probate.
- The decision of the trial court was appealed to the Court of Appeals which certified the case to the Supreme Court because it involved a question of law.
Key Factual Allegations
- The instrument offered for probate was a two-page typewritten will written in Spanish.
- The trial court found that the first page bore the signature of a person described in the record as "Juan Bello."
- Under the name "Juan Bello" the typewritten phrase "Por la testadora Anacleta Abellana, residence Certificate A-1167629, Enero 20, 1951, Ciudad de Zamboanga" appeared on the first page.
- The second page bore the signatures of three instrumental witnesses identified as Bias Sebastian, Faustino Macaso, and Rafael Ignacio.
- The instrument was notarized and acknowledged before Notary Public Attorney Timoteo de los Santos.
- The second page also contained the signature of "Juan Bello" in the left margin with a handwritten phrase "Por la Testadora Anacleta Abellana" under his name as found by the trial court.
- The appellate record expressly raised the question whether the signature of "Dr. Juan A. Abello" above the typewritten phrase complied with the statutory execution requirements.
Issue Presented
- The principal issue was whether the signature attributed to Dr. Juan A. Abello above the typewritten statement "Por la Testadora Anacleta Abellana ... Ciudad de Zamboanga" satisfied the statutory requirement that a will be subscribed at its end by the testator or by the testator's name written by some other person in his presence and by his express direction.
Relevant Law
- Art. 805, Civil Code prescribes that every non-holographic will "must be subscribed at the end thereof by the testator himself or by the testator's name written by some other person in his presence, and by his express direction, and attested and subscribed by three or more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of one another.&