Requirements for Notarial Certification of Instruments
- Every contract, deed, or document acknowledged before a notary public must contain a certification that the parties presented their cedula certificates or are exempt from the tax.
- The notarial certification must include:
- The number of each certificate of registration.
- The place of issue of each certificate.
- The date of each certificate.
Penalties for Notaries Public’s Failure to Comply
- A notary public who fails to include the cedula information in the certification incurs a penalty of one hundred Philippine pesos for each omission.
- The penalty is payable to the treasurer of the appropriate province.
- Failure to pay the penalty after notice may lead to revocation of the notary public's commission.
Duties of Public Officials Upon Identifying Non-Compliance
- Public officials receiving instruments lacking proper cedula certification must report the omission to the Attorney-General.
- The report must include:
- Character of the instrument.
- Date of the instrument.
- Purpose of the instrument.
- Probable custodian of the instrument.
- Name of the notary public who certified it.
- The Attorney-General will notify the offending notary to pay the penalty under threat of commission revocation.
- Persistent non-payment leads to escalation to the Executive Secretary for commission revocation.
Preservation of Validity of Instruments
- Failure to insert cedula information does not affect the validity of deeds, contracts, or other documents.
Election and Tax Payment Restriction
- Persons liable to pay the cedula tax but who have not paid it are not allowed to register as electors or voters.
Continuation of Existing Validation Methods
- Previous laws concerning validation of instruments that lacked proper notarial cedula certification remain effective for instruments executed before this Act.
Implementation and Effectivity
- The Act mandates expedited passage due to the public good.
- The law takes effect immediately upon passage.