G.R. No. 2586

FACTS:
Jacoba Concepcion Salcedo executed a will on January 3, 1904. As she was unable to sign, Feliciano Maglaqui signed the will at her request and in her presence, as well as in the presence of the three instrumental witnesses (Ambrosio Reyes, Mariano de Leon, and Felix Polintan). However, Maglaqui signed his own name instead of the name of the testatrix, Jacoba Concepcion Salcedo. The will was subsequently presented for probate by Tomas Guison. The lower court denied the probate on the ground that the testatrix’s name was not signed to the will.

ISSUE:
Whether the will is valid despite the fact that the person who signed at the request of the testatrix wrote his own name instead of the name of the testatrix.

RULING:
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s denial of probate. Citing its prior rulings in Ex parte Pedro Arcenas ( G.R. No. 1708 ) and Ex parte Nemesio Delfin Santiago ( G.R. No. 2002 ), the Court held that for a will to be validly signed by another at the testator’s request, that person must write the name of the testator, not his own. Since Feliciano Maglaqui signed his own name, the statutory requirement for the execution of a will was not complied with. The will is therefore invalid.