G.R. No. 20475 - IN RE: Tan Diuco

Case Summary (G.R. No. 20475)

Factual Background

The instrument offered for probate was Exhibit A, presented as the last will and testament of Tan Diuco. The will was prepared and the name of the testator was written before the signature of the person who actually signed. Because the testator was physically weak and his hand trembled, Simplicio Sala signed the document "by order of the testator" and wrote the testator's name before his own. Each of the three pages was numbered correlatively in letters on the upper part, and on the left margin of each page were marginal signatures written by Sala in the name of the testator and by three witnesses named Pablo Maturan, Ladislao Fenomeno, and Enrique Penaredondo. Immediately following the signature of the testator as executed by Sala, an attestation clause appeared in which the undersigned witnesses declared that the testator signed the will and each of its sheets in their presence, and that each witness likewise signed the will and all of its sheets in the presence of the testator and of each other.

Trial Court Proceedings

On November 2, 1922, the Court of First Instance of Leyte denied probate of Exhibit A. That court found that the will was executed with the solemnities prescribed by Act No. 2645 except that it was not signed by three instrumental witnesses "beside the signature of the testator and before the attestation clause," and the court treated that deficiency as fatal to probate. The proponent, Mamerta Base, appealed from that order to the Supreme Court, contending that the lower court erred in its construction of the statutory requisites.

Legal Issue Presented

The dispositive issue was whether Exhibit A satisfied the formal requisites of Section 618 as amended by Act No. 2645 — specifically, whether the signatures appearing in the left margins and the signatures on the attestation clause constituted the required three credible instrumental witnesses, and whether any technical deviation in the order or manner of signatures defeated probate.

Parties' Contentions

The petitioner maintained that the will complied with Section 618, and that the marginal signatures and the attestation clause together demonstrated that three credible instrumental witnesses participated in the execution of the will as required. The trial court and opposing position rested on a narrow reading of the statute, treating as indispensable the distinct presence of three instrumental witnesses who signed "beside the signature of the testator and before the attestation clause," and concluding that the questioned order of signatures rendered the will defective.

Statutory Text and Concept of Instrumental Witness

The Court reviewed the statutory language of Section 618, as amended by Act No. 2645, which requires that a will be "attested and subscribed by three or more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of each other," that the testator or the person requested by him to write his name and the instrumental witnesses sign each page on the left margin, that pages be numbered correlatively in letters, and that the attestation state the number of sheets and that the testator signed each page or caused another to write his name under his express direction in the presence of three witnesses who in turn signed all pages in the presence of the testator and each other. The Court explained the doctrinal meaning of instrumental witness, citing Escriche's definition as one who takes part in the execution of an instrument or writing, and elaborated the statutory execution process whereby the testator either signs personally or causes another to sign on his express direction and the witnesses participate by witnessing and subscribing each page.

Court's Analysis and Reasoning

The Court held that the statute does not require that the witnesses who subscribe the pages on the left margin be different from those who sign the attestation clause; indeed, the statutory scheme contemplates that the very witnesses who saw the testator or his agent sign each page are best positioned to certify the facts in the attestation clause. In the present case the three witnesses who subscribed the attestation clause also subscribed the left margins beside the signature of the testator as executed by Simplicio Sala, and they thereby performed the functions of instrumental witnesses within the meaning of the statute. The Court emphasized the remedial and anti-fraud purpose of the formalities governing wills. Quoting the doctrine of Abangan vs. Abangan, the Court observed that the requisites for will execution should be interpreted so as to secure authenticity and guard against fraud but should not impose additional, useless, or frustrative conditions that obstruct the testator's right to m

Case Syllabus (G.R. No. 20475)

Parties and Procedural Posture

Mamerta Base instituted a proceeding in the Court of First Instance of Leyte on March 3, 1921 for the probate of Exhibit A, the alleged will of Tan Diuco, who died on December 8, 1920.
The Court of First Instance denied probate of the will on November 2, 1922 and Mamerta Base appealed to this Court alleging error in the lower court's finding that the will lacked signatures of three instrumental witnesses.
The order of the Court of First Instance containing the findings and denial of probate was the subject of the present appeal.

Key Facts

The will, Exhibit A, bore the name of Tan Diuco followed by a signature executed by Simplicio Sala by order of the testator due to the testator's physical weakness and trembling hand.
The testator stated that he directed Simplicio Sala to sign in his name and in the presence of three witnesses who also signed at the bottom of the document.
Each of the will's three pages was signed on the left margin and numbered correlatively in letters by Simplicio Sala in the name of the testator and by the witnesses Pablo Maturan, Ladislao Fenomeno, and Enrique Penaredondo.
The attestation clause expressly stated that the undersigned witnesses witnessed the testator sign the will and each sheet and that the witnesses likewise signed in the presence of the testator and of each other.

Statutory Framework

Section 618 of the Code of Civil Procedure, as amended by Act No. 2645, required a will to be "attested and subscribed by three or more credible witnesses in the presence of the testator and of each other."
Section 618 as amended further required that the testator or the person requested by him and the instrumental witnesses sign each page on the left margin and that pages be numbered correlatively in letters.
Section 618 as amended required the attestation to state the number of sheets and to certify that the testator signed every page or caused another to write his name under his express direction in the presence of three witnesses who then witnessed and signed all pages in the presence of the testator and each other.

Lower Court's Finding

The Court of First Instance found that the will complied with all solemnities prescribed by Act No. 2645 except that it was not signed by three instrumental witnesses beside the signature of the testator and before the attestation clause.
The lower court denied p