Case Summary (G.R. No. 123486)
Key Dates
Will dated: August 30, 1978. Decedent’s death: January 16, 1990. Petition for probate filed: April 6, 1990. Trial court order granting demurrer to evidence (denying probate): November 26, 1990. Notice of appeal filed by respondents: December 12, 1990. Court of Appeals decision reversing and allowing probate: October 9, 1995. Supreme Court decision remanding for further proceedings: August 12, 1999.
Applicable Law and Constitutional Basis
Applicable substantive provisions: Articles 805, 810, and 811 of the Civil Code governing wills, and pertinent procedural rules (Rule 35, demurrer to evidence). The decision was rendered in 1999 and therefore is to be understood under the 1987 Philippine Constitution, as required by the instruction to apply the post‑1987 constitutional framework where the decision date is 1990 or later.
Procedural Posture
Respondents filed a petition for probate of a holographic will. Petitioners opposed, alleging forgery, illegibility, and undue influence. After respondents presented their evidence, petitioners filed a demurrer to evidence; the trial court granted the demurrer and denied probate for insufficiency. Respondents appealed to the Court of Appeals, which reversed and admitted the will to probate. Petitioners filed a petition for review on certiorari to the Supreme Court.
Central Legal Issue Presented
Whether Article 811 of the Civil Code—requiring, in a contested holographic will, that at least three witnesses declare that the handwriting and signature of the testator are genuine—is mandatory or directory; and whether the Court of Appeals correctly found that the respondents proved authenticity of the holographic will sufficiently to probate it.
Court of Appeals’ Rationale
The Court of Appeals relied on Azaola v. Singson to hold that Article 811 should not be interpreted to compel mandatory presentation of three witnesses for handwriting identification in every contested holographic will. The CA reasoned that because holographic wills by their nature are written without witnesses, rigid insistence on three witnesses would produce absurd or impossible results; the law therefore permits resort to expert testimony when competent lay witnesses are not available and leaves the matter to the trial court’s discretion. The CA found the testimony of lay witnesses — notably Evangeline Calugay and Matilde Ramonal Binanay — unrebutted and sufficiently convincing to establish the will’s authenticity.
Supreme Court’s Holding
The Supreme Court set aside the Court of Appeals decision and remanded the case for further proceedings. It held that Article 811 is mandatory in contested cases: the statutory language (use of “shall”) denotes an imperative obligation to produce the prescribed number of qualified witnesses to identify the handwriting and signature of the testator. Because the proponents failed to meet that statutory requirement and the evidentiary record contained significant deficiencies and suspicious facts, the Supreme Court ordered that petitioners be allowed to adduce evidence in support of their opposition.
Reasoning on Article 811’s Mandatory Nature
The Supreme Court emphasized statutory construction principles: the word “shall” ordinarily imposes a mandatory duty, and this presumption governs Article 811’s requirement. The Court acknowledged policy considerations both for effectuating a testator’s intent and for preventing fraud, concluding that the protective purpose of testamentary formalities counsels toward strict compliance in contested cases. Consequently, when a holographic will is contested the statutory safeguards — including presentation of qualified witnesses — must be regarded as obligatory.
Evaluation of the Proponents’ Evidence
The Court scrutinized the witness testimonies and documentary comparisons presented by respondents. It found that several witnesses did not explicitly declare familiarity with the testatrix’s handwriting: one witness merely identified court records; another could not produce a voter’s affidavit because it was destroyed. The two principal witnesses who claimed familiarity — Matilde Ramonal Binanay and Evangeline Calugay — did not testify that they actually observed the testatrix write the will or sign contemporaneously; their familiarity derived from handling receipts, letters, and living in proximity. The former lawyer of the deceased (Fiscal Waga) offered only tentative similarity, not certainty.
Concerns Regarding Chain of Custody and Motive
The Supreme Court highlighted material concerns: the holographic will was not found among the decedent’s personal effects but was in the possession of Matilde Ramonal Binanay, who admitted custody since 1985 (five years before the decedent’s death) and who kept the will secret from the petitioners. These facts raised issues about possibility of tampering or fraudulent substitution and undercut the credibility of the proponents’ claim that the will was genuinely the testatrix’s unattended handwriting.
Handwriting Comparison and Expert Evidence
Although the Court of Appeals relied on lay testimony, the Supreme Court conducted its own visual comparison and noted apparent differences between the holographic will’s signatures and other documents from the testatrix (e.g., app
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Procedural Posture
- Petition for review on certiorari to the Supreme Court from a decision and resolution of the Court of Appeals (CA-G.R. CV No. 31365) promulgated October 9, 1995, which reversed the trial court and ordered the probate of a holographic will.
- Lower court: Regional Trial Court, Misamis Oriental, Branch 18 — petition for probate filed by respondents; petitioners filed opposition and then a demurrer to evidence; on November 26, 1990 the trial court granted the demurrer to evidence and denied probate of Exhibit "S" for insufficiency of evidence.
- Respondents appealed the trial court order to the Court of Appeals; the Court of Appeals reversed, probated the holographic will, and the petitioners sought review in the Supreme Court (G.R. No. 123486).
- Supreme Court rendered decision on August 12, 1999, setting aside the Court of Appeals decision and remanding the records to the court of origin with instructions to allow petitioners to adduce evidence in support of their opposition; no costs awarded.
- Supreme Court concurrence: Davide Jr., C.J. (Chairman), Puno, Kapunan, and Ynares-Santiago, JJ., concurred. Opinion by PARDO, J.
Facts: Parties and Property
- Deceased testator: Matilde SeAo Vda. de Ramonal, died January 16, 1990.
- Petitioners: Eugenia Ramonal Codoy and Manuel Ramonal — opposed probate, alleged forgery and illegibility.
- Respondents/proponents of the will: Evangeline R. Calugay, Josephine Salcedo, and Eufemia Patigas — alleged devisees and legatees under the holographic will.
- Assessed value of decedent’s property at death: approximately P400,000.00 (real and personal property combined).
- Respondents filed petition for probate of a holographic will dated August 30, 1978, claiming testatrix was of sound and disposing mind, and that the will was voluntary and free of fraud, undue influence, or duress.
Petitioners’ Allegations and Procedural Tactics
- Petitioners alleged that the holographic will was a forgery and illegible, suggesting a "third hand" other than the testator executed it.
- Petitioners pointed to the repeated dates appearing after each disposition as unusual and argued that if the deceased had executed the will freely, dates and signature should conventionally appear at the bottom, not after every disposition.
- Petitioners alternatively contended that even if in the deceased’s handwriting, the will was procured by undue influence, pressure, fraud, or trickery by beneficiaries.
- Instead of presenting testimonial or expert evidence in support of their opposition, petitioners filed a demurrer to evidence, asserting respondents failed to establish a sufficient factual and legal basis for probate.
Trial Court Ruling (Demurrer to Evidence)
- On November 26, 1990, the trial court granted petitioners’ demurrer to evidence and denied probate of Exhibit "S" (the purported holographic will) for insufficiency of evidence and lack of merits.
Appeal and Court of Appeals Decision
- Respondents filed notice of appeal (December 12, 1990) and presented testimony of six witnesses in the CA: Augusto Neri; Generosa Senon; Matilde Ramonal Binanay; Teresita Vedad; Fiscal Rodolfo Waga; and Evangeline Calugay.
- Court of Appeals, citing Azaola vs. Singson (109 Phil. 102), held Article 811 of the Civil Code could not be read as mandating production of three witnesses as an absolute condition for probate of a contested holographic will where no competent witnesses may be available; Article 811 permits resort to expert testimony if necessary and places on the court the duty to be convinced of authenticity.
- CA concluded the testimony of Evangeline Calugay and Matilde Ramonal Binanay, among others, established authenticity of handwriting and signature; upon their unrebutted testimony, the CA allowed probate of the holographic will (decision rendered October 9, 1995).
Issues Presented to the Supreme Court
- Whether Azaola vs. Singson, relied upon by the Court of Appeals, was applicable to the case.
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred in holding that private respondents presented credible evidence proving the date, text, and signature on the holographic will were written entirely in the hand of the testatrix.
- Whether the Court of Appeals erred in not analyzing the signatures in the holographic will of Matilde SeAo Vda. de Ramonal.
Testimony and Evidence Presented by Respondents (Summary)
- Augusto Neri (Clerk of Court, Court of First Instance of Misamis Oriental)
- Produced and identified the records of the case; documents presented bore the signature of the deceased for handwriting comparison purposes. Did not explicitly declare that the signature on the will was that of the deceased.
- Generosa Senon (Election Registrar, Cagayan de Oro)
- Presented to identify the voter’s affidavit of the decedent; the voter’s affidavit was not produced because it was destroyed and unavailable.
- Matilde Ramonal Binanay (niece/aunt relationship)
- Testified deceased lived with her parents for 11 years (1958–1969); accompanied deceased in collecting rentals and assisting in posting accounts; familiarized with testatrix’s signature through receipts and account records she handled.
- Testified the holographic will dated August 30, 1978, was personally and entirely written, dated and signed by the deceased; identified handwriting/signatures in Exhibit "S" as her aunt’s.
- Admitted the will was not found among the deceased’s personal effects but was in her (or her mother’s) possession; she took it from the aparador after her mother died and possessed it since 1985; presented it to the fiscal for advice.
- Cross-examination revealed inconsistencies she attempted to explain (e.g., perceived "exhaustion" in certain signatures) and acknowledged visible retracing/hesitancy in some signatures of Exhibit "S".
- Teresita Vedad (DENR Region 10 employee)
- Processed application of deceased for pasture permit; familiar with signature of the deceased from documents signed in her presence during that application.
- Fiscal Rodolfo Waga (former practicing lawyer; later City Fiscal)
- Had acted as counsel for the deceased in intestate proceedings of her late husband; familiar with handwriting from pleadings and do