G.R. No. L-17304; May 22, 1922
In re will of Maria Roque y Paraiso, deceased. CEFERINO ALDABA, petitioner-appellee, vs. LUDOVICO ROQUE, opponent-appellant.

FACTS

Maria Roque y Paraiso executed her last will and testament on July 9, 1918, in Tagalog, with the assistance of lawyer Vicente Platon and in the presence of three witnesses who signed the attestation clause and each of the four pages. Upon her death on December 3, 1919, the will was presented for probate. Ludovico Roque opposed its probate, contending it was not executed in conformity with the solemnities prescribed by law. The Court of First Instance of Bulacan found the will valid and ordered its probate. The opponent appealed, assigning two errors: (1) the pages of the will were not paged correlatively in letters (e.g., “one,” “two”) but only with letters A, B, C, D; and (2) the will lacked the attestation clause required by law.

ISSUE

1. Whether the attestation clause in the will complies with the requirements of Act No. 2645.
2. Whether paging the will with letters A, B, C, D instead of “one,” “two,” “three,” etc., invalidates it.

RULING

1. YES. The attestation clause, though phrased as a declaration of the testatrix and signed by her and the witnesses, sufficiently complies with Act No. 2645. It states the number of sheets used, that the testator directed another to sign her name, and that the witnesses signed in the presence of the testator and each other.
2. NO. Paging with letters A, B, C, D complies with the spirit of the law. The object of paging is to indicate the correlation of pages and prevent loss or substitution. This purpose is served whether pages are numbered with letters or words. The law’s solemnities aim to prevent fraud and ensure authenticity, not to impose unnecessary requisites that frustrate the testator’s will. Following Abangan v. Abangan, the Court affirms the probate of the will. The judgment appealed from is affirmed.