December 1924 - Philippine Supreme Court Decisions/Resolutions
Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence
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G.R. No. 22399 December 12, 1924 - MARIANO ANTONIO v. SANTIAGO ANTONIO, ET AL.
047 Phil 6:
047 Phil 6:
SECOND DIVISION
[G.R. No. 22399. December 12, 1924. ]
In the matter of the will of Laureana Antonio, deceased. MARIANO ANTONIO, Petitioner-Appellant, v. SANTIAGO ANTONIO ET AL., opponents-appellees, and JORGE R. NERI ET AL., opponents-appellants.
Vicente Zacarias, Antolin Frias, Del Rosario & Del Rosario, McVean & Vickers, and Camus & Delgado for Petitioner-Appellant.
No appearance for opponents-appellants.
Fisher, DeWitt, Perkins & Brady, Araneta & Zaragoza, Paredes, Buencamino & Yulo, and Palma, Leuterio & Yamzon for opponents-appellees.
SYLLABUS
1. WILLS; SIGNATURES ON MARGIN. — The fact that on the last page of the will the signatures of the testator and the subscribing witnesses do not appear on either of its margins but at the bottom of the will itself and the attestation clause, is not such a defect as would justify the denial of the probate of the will.
D E C I S I O N
AVANCEÑA, J. :
This is a proceeding for the probate of the will of Laureana Antonio. The lower court denied the probate of this will on the ground that it was not executed with the solemnities prescribed by the law.
The will in question consists of seven pages actually used. It is not denied that its first six pages are in accordance with the law, but there is a dispute as to the last page 7. In this page the will ends, and at the bottom thereof there appear the signatures of the testator and the three witnesses to the will, after which comes the attestation clause signed also at the bottom by the three witnesses. No signature whatever appears on either margin of this page, and the lower court denied the probate of the will on account of the testator and the three subscribing witnesses not having signed on the left margin.
The decision of this court in the case of Abangan v. Abangan (40 Phil., 476), is square in point. In that case the will had but two pages. The first contained entirely the whole text of the will, and the second contained the last part of the attestation clause. The first page was signed by the testator at the bottom of the text of the will with the three attesting witnesses, and the second was also signed at the bottom of the attestation clause by the three witnesses. In none of said pages was there any signature on either margin. In that case this court held that the will should be admitted to probate. On principle there is no difference between the instant, and the Abangan case. If there is any, as in fact there is, as to certain details, it is in favor of the probate of the will in the instant case. It must not be forgotten that the object of the law in prescribing certain solemnities for the execution of wills is to insure and safeguard their authenticity, and consequently the courts, in deciding the various cases that may present themselves on this matter, must not lose sight of this object of the law. In the instant case, as above indicated, the attesting witnesses signed twice on the last page of the will of Laureana Antonio, while in the Abangan case the witnesses signed only once in each of its two pages. So that the only possible objection to this page of the will of Laureana Antonio is that it was not signed on the left margin by the testator and the three attesting witnesses, it having been signed only at the bottom of the text of the will and the attestation clause. This is exactly the rule laid down in the Abangan case to the effect that under such circumstances the absence of the signatures of the testator and the attesting witnesses from the left margin is not such a defect as would justify the denial of its probate.
The judgment appealed from is reversed, and the will of Laureana Antonio admitted to probate, without special finding as to costs. So ordered.
Johnson, Street, Malcolm, Villamor, Ostrand, Johns, and Romualdez, JJ., concur.
The will in question consists of seven pages actually used. It is not denied that its first six pages are in accordance with the law, but there is a dispute as to the last page 7. In this page the will ends, and at the bottom thereof there appear the signatures of the testator and the three witnesses to the will, after which comes the attestation clause signed also at the bottom by the three witnesses. No signature whatever appears on either margin of this page, and the lower court denied the probate of the will on account of the testator and the three subscribing witnesses not having signed on the left margin.
The decision of this court in the case of Abangan v. Abangan (40 Phil., 476), is square in point. In that case the will had but two pages. The first contained entirely the whole text of the will, and the second contained the last part of the attestation clause. The first page was signed by the testator at the bottom of the text of the will with the three attesting witnesses, and the second was also signed at the bottom of the attestation clause by the three witnesses. In none of said pages was there any signature on either margin. In that case this court held that the will should be admitted to probate. On principle there is no difference between the instant, and the Abangan case. If there is any, as in fact there is, as to certain details, it is in favor of the probate of the will in the instant case. It must not be forgotten that the object of the law in prescribing certain solemnities for the execution of wills is to insure and safeguard their authenticity, and consequently the courts, in deciding the various cases that may present themselves on this matter, must not lose sight of this object of the law. In the instant case, as above indicated, the attesting witnesses signed twice on the last page of the will of Laureana Antonio, while in the Abangan case the witnesses signed only once in each of its two pages. So that the only possible objection to this page of the will of Laureana Antonio is that it was not signed on the left margin by the testator and the three attesting witnesses, it having been signed only at the bottom of the text of the will and the attestation clause. This is exactly the rule laid down in the Abangan case to the effect that under such circumstances the absence of the signatures of the testator and the attesting witnesses from the left margin is not such a defect as would justify the denial of its probate.
The judgment appealed from is reversed, and the will of Laureana Antonio admitted to probate, without special finding as to costs. So ordered.
Johnson, Street, Malcolm, Villamor, Ostrand, Johns, and Romualdez, JJ., concur.
