GR L 15025; (March, 1920) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-15025; March 15, 1920
In the matter of the estate of REMIGIA SAGUINSIN, deceased. ARCADIO DEL ROSARIO, applicant-appellant, JOSE A. DEL PRADO, ET. AL., legatees-appellants, vs. RUFINA SAGUINSIN, opponent-appellee.
FACTS:
Arcadio del Rosario presented for probate in the Court of First Instance of Manila an instrument purported to be the last will and testament of Remigia Saguinsin. The document, dated October 3, 1918, was a manuscript written by Lino Mendoza at the request and under the direction of the alleged testatrix. It was signed by the testatrix and three attesting witnesses. The signatures of the testatrix and the witnesses appeared on the left margin of the first and third pages (folios), but not on the second page (the reverse side of the first folio), where part of the will’s text was written. The attestation clause at the end of the document failed to state the number of sheets or pages upon which the will was written. Rufina Saguinsin, a sister of the deceased, opposed the allowance of the will. The trial court, after taking the declarations of the signatories, denied probate, declaring the document could not be allowed as a will. The petitioner and the alleged legatees appealed.
ISSUE:
Whether the document presented complies with the formal requisites for the execution of a notarial will under Act No. 2645 (amending Section 618 of the Code of Civil Procedure), such that it may be allowed probate.
RULING:
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the denial of probate, holding the document fatally defective for non-compliance with mandatory statutory formalities.
2. Failure to Sign All Pages: The law required the testator (or person requested by the testator) and the instrumental witnesses to sign each and every page of the will on the left margin. The English text of the law used the word “pages,” while the Spanish text used “hojas” (folios). The Court held the English text, which is controlling under the Administrative Code, clearly required signing every page, not just every folio. Since the second page (the verso of the first folio) contained part of the will’s text but lacked the marginal signatures of the testatrix and witnesses, a radical and fatal defect was present. This omission left the contents of that page without the guarantee of authenticity the law intended to provide, opening the possibility that text could have been added after the execution. The will was therefore null and void.
The judgment of the lower court was affirmed.