Case Summary (G.R. No. 14074)
Statutory Formalities Under Pre- and Post-Amendment Law
Section 618 CCP (1901) required a written will signed by the testator and attested by at least three credible witnesses in each other’s and the testator’s presence, but did not mandate marginal signatures or page numbering. Act No. 2645 (1916) introduced additional requisites: each page must bear the signatures of the testator (or his proxy) and all witnesses on the left margin, pages must be letter-numbered correlatively, and the attestation clause must specify these details and the total number of pages.
Conflicting Precedents on Intermediate Amendments
Prior rulings established that wills executed after July 1 1916 must comply with Act No. 2645 (Caraig v. Tatlonghari, March 1918) and that wills executed and probated before that date need not (Bona v. Briones, 38 Phil. 276). The present case differs because execution preceded the amendment and death followed it.
Jurisprudential Approaches to Statutory Changes
Three doctrinal lines address intermediate amendments:
- Statutes at death control—new requirements invalidate wills executed under earlier law.
- Statutes at execution control—later amendments have no retrospective effect.
- Hybrid view—amendments increasing formalities are not applied to existing wills, while those lessening formalities may validate defective wills.
Principles of Statutory Construction and Non-Retroactivity
The Court emphasized the general rule that statutes are presumed prospective unless retrospective effect is clearly intended (Civil Code Article 3; Montilla v. Corporacion de PP. Agustinos, 24 Phil. 220). Act No. 2645 contains no express retroactivity clause, and uniform Philippine practice treats testamentary statutes as prospective only.
Nature of Will Execution as a Completed Act
Justice Sharswood’s rationale in Taylor v. Mitchell (57 Pa. St. 209) was adopted: a will formally executed under existing law constitute
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Facts of the Case
- Testator: Jose Riosa, who died on April 17, 1917, leaving an estate valued at more than ₱35,000.
- Execution of Will: Made in January 1908, in writing, signed by the testator, and attested by three credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of each other, in compliance with section 618 of the Code of Civil Procedure as then in force.
- Non-compliance with Act No. 2645: The will was not signed on the left margin of each page, the pages were not letter-numbered, and the attestation did not state the number of sheets nor the specific signing of each page.
- Legislative Change: Act No. 2645, effective July 1, 1916, amended section 618 to require that each page be signed on the left margin, pages be letter-numbered, and the attestation specify the number of pages and that all signatures were made in the required manner.
- Lower Court Ruling: The Court of First Instance for the Province of Albay, on December 29, 1917, disallowed the will for failure to meet the new formalities prescribed by Act No. 2645.
Procedural History
- Initial Proceeding: Probate denied by the trial court on grounds of non-compliance with Act No. 2645.
- Appeal: Marcelino Casas, as applicant and appellant, sought reversal before the Supreme Court of the Philippine Islands under G.R. No. 14074.
Issue
- Which law controls the validity of a will in the Philippine Islands when the will was executed before, but the testator died after, the enactment of more stringent statutory formalities:
• The law in force at the date of the will’s execution; or
• The law in force at the date of the testator’s death.
Applicable Statutory Provisions
- Section 618, Code of Civil Procedure (pre-Act No. 2645): Required that wills be in writing, signed by the testator (or by another at his express direction),