1. Salient features of the
NOTARIAL LAW & the 2004
Rules
Legal ethics
Atty. JFL Risonar

2. Relevant provisions
 The Notarial Law (cf. provisions of the
Revised Administrative Code)
 A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC (2004 Rules on
Notarial Practice)

3. BASES: §251 of the Revised Administrative
Code
 The Notarial Law is explicit on the
obligations and duties of notaries public.
They are required to certify that the party
to every document acknowledged before
them has presented the proper residence
certificate (or exemption from the
residence tax); and to enter its number,
place of issue and date as part of such
certification.

4. BASES: §246 of the Revised Administrative Code.
 They are also required to maintain and
keep a notarial register; to enter therein
all instruments notarized by them; and to
“give to each instrument executed, sworn
to, or acknowledged before [them] a
number corresponding to the one in
[their] register [and to state therein] the
page or pages of [their] register, on which
the same is recorded.

5. BASES: §249 of the Revised
Administrative Code
 Failure to perform these duties would
result in the revocation of their
commission as notaries public.
 See: Protacio v. Mendoza, 395 SCRA 10,
17, January 13, 2003.

6. Purpose of the 2004 Notarial Rules:
 (a) to promote, serve, and protect public
interest;
 (b) to simplify, clarify, and modernize the
rules governing notaries public; and
 (c) to foster ethical conduct among
notaries public.

7. Who may be a Notary public?
 (1) must be a citizen of the Philippines;
 (2) must be over twenty-one (21) years of age;
 (3) must be a resident in the Philippines for at least one
(1) year and maintains a regular place of work or
business in the city or province where the commission is
to be issued;
 (4) must be a member of the Philippine Bar in good
standing with clearances from the Office of the Bar
Confidant of the Supreme Court and the Integrated Bar
of the Philippines; and
 (5) must not have been convicted in the first instance of
any crime involving moral turpitude. (section 1, Rule 3
AM 02-18-13-SC.)

8. Form & contents of petition
 Every petition for a notarial commission shall be in writing, verified,
and shall include the following:
 (a) a statement containing the petitioner's personal qualifications,
including the petitioner's date of birth, residence, telephone
number, professional tax receipt, roll of attorney's number and IBP
membership number;
 (b) certification of good moral character of the petitioner by at
least two (2) executive officers of the local chapter of the
Integrated Bar of the Philippines where he is applying for
commission;
 (c) proof of payment for the filing of the petition as required by
these Rules; and
 (d) three (3) passport-size color photographs with light
background taken within thirty (30) days of the application. The
photograph should not be retouched. The petitioner shall sign his
name at the bottom part of the photographs. (section 2, Rule 3
Ibid.)

9. Other matters
 Payment of application fee
 Hearing of the petition SUMMARY in
nature
 Notice shall be posted in the designated
court areas and published in a newspaper
of general circulation
 Any person who has cause to oppose the
same may file a written opposition

10. Jurisdiction and term of a notary
public
A person commissioned as notary public
may perform notarial acts in any place
within the territorial jurisdiction of the
commissioning court for a period of two
(2) years commencing the first day of
January of the year in which the
commissioning is made, unless earlier
revoked or the notary public has resigned
under these Rules and the Rules of Court.
(section 11, Rule 3, ibid.)

11. May the term be renewed?
YES.
 A notary public may file a written application with the
Executive Judge for the renewal of his commission
within forty-five (45) days before the expiration thereof.
A mark, image or impression of the seal of the notary
public shall be attached to the application.
 Failure to file said application will result in the deletion of
the name of the notary public in the register of notaries
public.
 The notary public thus removed from the Register of
Notaries Public may only be reinstated therein after he is
issued a new commission in accordance with these
Rules. (section 13, Rule 3, ibid.)

12. Powers and limitations of a notary
public
 POWERS: A notary public is empowered to
perform the following notarial acts:
 (1) acknowledgments;
 (2) oaths and affirmations;
 (3) jurats;
 (4) signature witnessings;
 (5) copy certifications; and
 (6) any other act authorized by these Rules.
(section 1, Rule IV, ibid. )

13. Nadayag vs. Grageda (09-27-94)
Notarization is not an empty routine.
Notarization of a private document
converts such document into a public one
and renders it admissible in court without
further proof of its authenticity. A notary
public should therefore be conscientious in
seeing to it that justice permeated every
transaction for which his services had been
engaged, in conformity with the avowed duties
of a worthy member of the Bar. S/he must fully
explain the intricacies and consequences of the
subject transaction.

14. Function of a notary public
- To guard against any illegal or immoral
arrangements. That function would be defeated
if the notary public were one of the signatories
to the instrument. For then, he would be
interested in sustaining the validity thereof as it
directly involves himself and the validity of his
own act, and the very purpose of the
acknowledgment, which is to minimize fraud
would be thwarted. (Villarin vs. Sabate, Feb. 9,
2000)

15. What constitutes competent
evidence of “identity”?
 (a) at least one current identification document issued
by an official agency bearing the photograph and
signature of the individual; or
 (b) the oath or affirmation of one credible witness not
privy to the instrument, document or transaction who is
personally known to the notary public and who
personally knows the individual, or of two credible
witnesses neither of whom is privy to the instrument,
document or transaction who each personally knows the
individual and shows to the notary public documentary
identification. (section 12 Rule 2 AM 02-18-13-SC)

16. A notary public is authorized to certify the
affixing of a signature by thumb or other mark
on an instrument or document presented for
notarization if:
 (1) the thumb or other mark is affixed in the presence
of the notary public and of two (2) disinterested and
unaffected witnesses to the instrument or document;
 (2) both witnesses sign their own names in addition to
the thumb or other mark;
 (3) the notary public writes below the thumb or other
mark: "Thumb or Other Mark affixed by (name of
signatory by mark) in the presence of (names and
addresses of witnesses) and undersigned notary public";
and
 (4) the notary public notarizes the signature by thumb
or other mark through an acknowledgment, jurat, or
signature witnessing. (ibid.)

17. A notary public is authorized to sign on
behalf of a person who is physically unable
to sign or make a mark on an instrument or
document if:
 1) the notary public is directed by the person unable to
sign or make a mark to sign on his behalf;
 (2) the signature of the notary public is affixed in the
presence of two disinterested and unaffected witnesses
to the instrument or document;
 (3) both witnesses sign their own names;
 (4) the notary public writes below his signature:
"Signature affixed by notary in presence of (names and
addresses of person and two [2] witnesses)"; and
 (5) the notary public notarizes his signature by
acknowledgment or jurat. (ibid.)

18. Prohibitions
 a) A notary public shall not perform a notarial act
outside his regular place of work or business;
provided, however, that on certain exceptional occasions
or situations, a notarial act may be performed at the
request of the parties in the following sites located
within his territorial jurisdiction:
 (1) public offices, convention halls, and similar places
where oaths of office may be administered;
 (2) public function areas in hotels and similar places for
the signing of instruments or documents requiring
notarization;
 (3) hospitals and other medical institutions where a
party to an instrument or document is confined for
treatment; and
 (4) any place where a party to an instrument or
document requiring notarization is under detention.

19. Recent case: Judge Laquindanum versus
Atty. Nestor Q. Quintana (A.C. No. 7936)
Q: May a lawyer notarize documents beyond
the territorial jurisdiction of the
commissioning court that issued his
commission?
Q2: may such lawyer, allow his spouse to do
notarial acts in his absence?

20. HELD:
 NO.
 the Supreme Court, thru an en banc
decision rendered on June 29, 2009
additionally imposed the penalty of
revoking the lawyer’s notarial commission
and disqualified him from discharging
duties as a notary public for an additional
period of two years

21. Ruling:
 The act of notarizing documents outside one’s area of
commission is not to be taken lightly. Aside from being a
violation of Sec. 11 of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, it
also partakes of malpractice of law and falsification.
 Since the public is deceived into believing that he has been
duly commissioned, it also amounts to indulging in deliberate
falsehood, which the lawyer's oath proscribes.
 Finally, Atty. Quintana is personally accountable for the
documents that he admitted were signed by his wife. He
cannot relieve himself of liability by passing the blame to his
wife. He is, thus, guilty of violating Canon 9 of the Code of
Professional Responsibility, which requires lawyers not to
directly or indirectly assist in the unauthorized practice of law.

22. Other prohibitions
 (b) A person shall not perform a notarial act if
the person involved as signatory to the
instrument or document —
 (1) is not in the notary's presence personally at
the time of the notarization; and
 (2) is not personally known to the notary public
or otherwise identified by the notary public
through competent evidence of identity as
defined by these Rules.

23. A notary public cannot notarize a
document if s/he:
 (a) is a party to the instrument or document that
is to be notarized;
 (b) will receive, as a direct or indirect result, any
commission, fee, advantage, right, title, interest,
cash, property, or other consideration, except as
provided by these Rules and by law; or
 (c) is a spouse, common-law partner, ancestor,
descendant, or relative by affinity or
consanguinity of the principal within the fourth
civil degree.

24. Other prohibited acts
 A notary public shall not perform any notarial act
described in these Rules for any person requesting such
an act even if he tenders the appropriate fee specified
by these Rules if:
 (a) the notary knows or has good reason to believe that
the notarial act or transaction is unlawful or immoral;
 (b) the signatory shows a demeanor which engenders in
the mind of the notary public reasonable doubt as to the
former's knowledge of the consequences of the
transaction requiring a notarial act; and
 (c) in the notary's judgment, the signatory is not acting
of his or her own free will.

25. Bon vs. Atty. Ziga and Arcangel
 Q: May a lawyer notarize a document (“Waiver
and Quitclaim”) w/o the party appearing before
him?
 HELD: acknowledgments must be made before a
notary public who shall certify that the person
acknowledging the instrument is known to him
and that he is the same person who executed it
and acknowledged that the same is his free act
and deed.

26. Santuyo vs. Atty. Hidalgo
Q: may a lawyer notary public delegate to his
secretary the task of filling up his notarial register?
HELD: Respondent lawyer is negligent in his practice
of tolerating the secretary of their law office to
handle the aforementioned notarial activities. For
having wholly entrusted the preparation and other
mechanics of the document for notarization to the
secretary there can be a possibility that even the
respondent’s signature which is the only one left for
him to do can even be done by the secretary or
anybody for that matter.

27. SLU vs. Atty. Dela Cruz
 Q: What is the effect is a lawyer notarizes
documents despite the expiration of his notarial
commission?
 HELD: where the notarization of a document
done by a member of the Philippine Bar at a
time when he has no authorization or
commission to do so, the offender may be
subjected to disciplinary action and also
constitutes a violation of the lawyer’s oath to
obey the laws, more specifically the Notarial
Law.