G.R. No. 17857 ; June 12, 1922
In re will of Josefa Zalamea y Abella, deceased. PEDRO UNSON, petitioner-appellee, vs. ANTONIO ABELLA, ET AL., opponents-appellants.

FACTS

On July 19, 1918, Josefa Zalamea y Abella executed her last will and testament with an attached inventory of her properties. The will and inventory were signed by the testatrix and three witnesses on each page. After her death, the appointed executor, Pedro Unson, filed for probate. The opponents (Antonio Abella, et al.) contested the probate, alleging the will was not executed in conformity with law because: (1) it was not paged correlatively in letters, (2) it lacked an attestation clause, and (3) it was not signed by the testatrix and witnesses in each other’s presence. The trial court overruled the opposition and ordered the probate. The opponents appealed.

ISSUE

1. Whether the will was executed with all the solemnities required by law, particularly regarding the signing in the presence of each other and the credibility of attesting witnesses.
2. Whether the probate court erred in admitting the will to probate despite the proponent’s failure to produce one of the attesting witnesses.
3. Whether the will is invalid due to the lack of an attestation clause.
4. Whether the will is invalid because its pages were numbered with Arabic numerals instead of letters.

RULING

1. Yes, the will was executed with the required solemnities. The testimonies of the attesting witnesses, Eugenio Zalamea and Gonzalo Abaya, were credible and established that the testatrix and all witnesses signed each page in the presence of each other. The impeachment of a witness’s credibility was insufficient to overturn the trial court’s findings.
2. No, the probate court did not err. While the general rule requires all attesting witnesses to be examined in a contested probate, this issue was not properly raised by the appellants in the trial court. They failed to object or take an exception when the proponent explained the absence of one witness due to hostility. Therefore, the objection was waived.
3. No, the will is not invalid for lacking a separate attestation clause. The law does not require a separate clause. The attestation can be made within the body of the will itself, as was done here where the witnesses declared their presence and signing at the end of the document.
4. No, the will is not invalid. The requirement for paging in letters is directory, not mandatory. The purpose of paging is to show correlation and prevent pages from being lost or substituted. This purpose is satisfied by using Arabic numerals (1, 2, 3) just as effectively as by using letters. The will’s validity is not impaired by this technicality. The judgment of the trial court admitting the will to probate is AFFIRMED.