Title
Tortona vs. Gregorio
Case
G.R. No. 202612
Decision Date
Jan 17, 2018
Heirs of Rufina Casimiro contested a 1974 land sale deed, alleging forgery of her thumbmark. Expert testimony proved forgery, nullifying the deed. SC ruled in favor of petitioners, overturning CA's decision.
deed of absolute sale
authenticity dispute
heirs

Case Summary (G.R. No. 202612)

Factual Background

Petitioners were the heirs of Rufina Casimiro and respondents were the heirs of Rafaela Casimiro. Rufina and Rafaela co-owned two parcels in Bacoor, Cavite, each holding equal undivided shares: one-tenth shares in a Longos parcel under OCT No. O-923 and one-fifth shares in a Talaba parcel under TCT No. T-10058. Petitioners alleged that they and their mother received income from these properties until discovery that OCT No. O-923 had been cancelled following registration of a Deed of Absolute Sale dated February 14, 1974, purportedly executed by Rufina in favor of Rafaela, and that Rufina’s share in the second parcel had likewise been sold. Petitioners further alleged that respondents had effected an extrajudicial partition and adjudication that increased the shares of Rafaela’s heirs.

Trial Court Proceedings

Petitioners filed a complaint for recovery of real property with damages. They presented documentary specimens said to bear Rufina’s genuine thumbmarks and requested NBI examination of the questioned Deed of Absolute Sale. The NBI fingerprint examiner Eriberto B. Gomez, Jr. prepared a Technical Investigation/Identification Report FP Case No. 2000-182-A dated July 13, 2000 (First Report), concluding that the thumbmarks on the Deed of Absolute Sale were not impressed by Rufina. Gomez later issued a Second Report dated May 2, 2001, observing that some standard thumbmarks were faint and blurred but he clarified at trial that the basic requisites for comparison were met. The Regional Trial Court accepted the First Report and its own visual comparison and declared the questioned thumbmarks forged, nullified the Deed of Absolute Sale insofar as Rufina’s shares were concerned, ordered cancellation of the relevant entries in the land registry, and denied damages for lack of merit.

Court of Appeals Decision

The Court of Appeals reversed the Regional Trial Court. It relied on the notarized character of the Deed of Absolute Sale and invoked the presumption of regularity that attends documents acknowledged before a notary public. The appellate court emphasized Gomez’s Second Report and its statement that the standard thumbmarks prevented “positive identification,” and concluded that petitioners failed to prove forgery “by clear and convincing evidence.”

Petition for Review and Issue Presented

The heirs of Rufina filed a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45, Rules of Court. The sole issue presented to the Supreme Court was whether the Deed of Absolute Sale was void for lack of Rufina’s consent because the thumbmarks appearing thereon were forged.

Supreme Court Ruling

The Supreme Court granted the petition. It held that the Court of Appeals erred in reversing the Regional Trial Court. The Court reinstated the May 31, 2005 Decision of the Regional Trial Court and reversed and set aside the Court of Appeals’ July 9, 2012 Decision. The Court concluded that petitioners proved by clear and convincing evidence that the thumbmarks on the Deed of Absolute Sale were forged and that the presumption of regularity attaching to notarized documents was successfully rebutted.

Legal Reasoning on Standards of Review and Exceptions

The Court noted the general Rule 45 limitation against reviewing factual issues but observed that recognized exceptions applied because the Court of Appeals’ findings conflicted with the trial court’s and misappreciated the evidence. The Court recalled the ten exceptions enumerated in Pascual v. Burgos and applied them where appropriate. It reiterated that notarized documents enjoy a presumption of regularity pursuant to authorities such as Nunga v. Atty. Viray, but that such presumption is disputable and may be overcome by clear and convincing evidence as explained in Heirs of Trazona v. Heirs of Canada and other precedents.

Evidentiary Analysis and Expert Testimony

The Court analyzed the NBI examination and the testimony of fingerprint examiner Eriberto B. Gomez, Jr. It treated expert opinion as admissible under Rule 130, Section 49 and assessed the weight of Gomez’s testimony in light of the trial court’s opportunity to observe the witness and the documents. The Court accepted Gomez’s First Report that the questioned thumbmarks were not Rufina’s and found his Second Report to be a clarification rather than a contradiction; Gomez testified that the three requisites for fingerprint comparison — fingerprint pattern, flow of ridges, and location and relationship of characteristic ridge features — were established and that the limitations identified in the Second Report did not undermine the First Report’s conclusion. The Court further found institutional endorsement of Gomez’s competence in that the NBI itself designated him to conduct the examination, and it relied on the Court’s prior recognition of Gomez’s credibility in Rojales v. Dime.

Assessment of Notary’s Testimony and Documentary Evidence

The Court scrutinized the testimony of the notary public, Atty. Arcadio Espiritu, who claimed to have notarized the Deed of Absolute Sale and to have seen Rufina affix her thumbmarks. The Court found Atty. Espiritu’s credibility to be doubtful because trial evidence established that he had prepared and notarized an affidavit of self-adjudication in suspicious circumstances and admitted indifference to the truthfulness of entries

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