GR 229010; (November, 2020) (Digest)
G.R. No. 229010 , November 23, 2020
ROEL P. GASPI, PETITIONER, VS. HON. JUDGE MARIA CLARISSA L. PACIS-TRINIDAD, REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, BRANCH 36, IRIGA CITY, RESPONDENT.
FACTS
Luz Gaspe Lipson, an American citizen temporarily residing in Iriga City, executed her last will and testament in the Philippines on February 23, 2011, designating Roel P. Gaspi as executor. She passed away in the Philippines on October 17, 2015. Subsequently, Gaspi filed a petition for the probate of Lipson’s will and for the issuance of letters testamentary before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Iriga City.
The RTC, however, motu proprio dismissed the petition for lack of jurisdiction. It ruled that since Lipson was an American citizen, her national law must govern the extrinsic validity of her will. The court held that the will must first be probated in the United States, and only thereafter could it be recognized in the Philippines through a petition for recognition of a foreign judgment. The RTC denied Gaspi’s motion for reconsideration, distinguishing the case from Palaganas v. Palaganas by noting that the will in question was executed in the Philippines, not abroad.
ISSUE
Whether or not the Regional Trial Court has jurisdiction to take cognizance of and conduct probate proceedings for the will of an alien executed in the Philippines, notwithstanding the absence of prior probate in the alien decedent’s country of nationality.
RULING
Yes, the Regional Trial Court has jurisdiction. The Supreme Court reversed the RTC’s orders and remanded the case for further proceedings. The Court clarified that the nationality principle under Article 16 of the Civil Code, which provides that intestate and testamentary succession shall be governed by the national law of the decedent, pertains to the intrinsic validity of the will (e.g., the capacity to inherit and the amount of successional rights). It does not apply to the extrinsic or formal validity of the will.
For the formal validity of wills, Article 17 of the Civil Code applies, which states that the forms and solemnities of wills shall be governed by the laws of the country in which they are executed. Since Lipson’s will was executed in the Philippines, its formal validity is governed by Philippine law. Consequently, a Philippine court has jurisdiction to hear its probate. The Court emphasized that an alien’s national law may be pleaded and proved in a Philippine probate proceeding to address intrinsic validity, but if not proved, Philippine law will govern by default. There is no requirement for prior probate in the alien’s home country. The RTC therefore erred in dismissing the petition for lack of jurisdiction.