To our valued clients,

Greetings!

One of our founding partners, Atty. Hanniyah P. Sevilla, has been appointed Deputy Registrar of Deeds of Tagum City and as such, she can no longer commit to private practice in Davao City. Hence, we have come to a difficult decision to dissolve the SGD Law beginning June 30, 2014.

The undersigned is pursuing her private practice with another seasoned lawyer, Atty. Joseph B. Go, Jr. under the name, Go De Mesa Go Law Offices (GDG Law) located at the former SGD Law office at Door 3, Diana Building, Quimpo Blvd., Davao City.

All the best to Atty. Sevilla and her new chosen path of public service. Rest assured that the undersigned and her new firm will continue to provide you with the legal services you require if you opt to continue your professional relationship with us. Attys. Sevilla and I are both grateful for the partnerships we have shared with you, our clients. Thank you for your trust.

You can reach us through our personal email addresses or you can email godemesago@gmail.com for information on how to engage the services of GDG Law under a new contract.

Thank you so much.

Natasha M. Go-De Mesa

Managing Partner

PROFILE OF LAWYERS

Atty. Hanniyah P. Sevilla obtained her law degree, cum laude, from the Ateneo de Davao University College of Law in 2009. She was admitted to the Philippine Bar on April 29, 2010. She was also a college scholar (i.e., honor student) of the University of the Philippines (Diliman) where she obtained her degree in BA Political Science.

She is currently one of the Davao City Mayor Inday Sarah Duterte-Carpio’s consultants for political affairs. She is the only lawyer in the Office of the Integrated Gender and Development Division (IGDD) who is actively handling cases for women and children victims of violence.

Hanniyah Sevilla is also engaged a partner in the Alcomendras, Cezar and Sevilla (ACS) Law. She is likewise a member of the faculty of the Ateneo de Davao University College of Law, St. Thomas More School of Law and Business Administration where she teaches Statutory Construction, Legal Writing, Legal Ethics, Labor Relations and Labor Law Review.

Previous to establishing SGD Law, Hanniyah Sevilla was a junior associate of Sycip Salazar Hernandez &Gatmaitan (“Sycip Law”), the Philippine’s largest and leading law firm. She was invited to join Sycip Law right after the Bar Examinations in 2009. Her practice in Sycip Law has exposed her to various fields of law, particularly corporate law, civil law, labor laws and criminal laws. Sycip Law has also honed her skills in litigation and in contract drafting and reviews, drafting of legal opinions, processing of requirements before administrative bodies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission, Department of Labor and Employment and handling of other corporate matters.

Prior to working in Sycip Law, Hanniyah Sevilla was a paralegal of Atty. Teodoro V. Angel for two (2) years. She also served as one of the election lawyers of the political party of Davao City Mayor Inday Sara Duterte and Vice Mayor Rody Duterte.

During her law school, she was an active member of the Ateneo Law Forensic Association, the official debate team of the College of Law. She was the team captain of the debate team which represented Ateneo de Davao in the 2009 CVC Law Debate aired on ANC Channel 45 against 14 law schools nationwide. Her team won 2^nd place beating the nation’s top law schools, Ateneo de Manila and University of the Philippines College of Law. During the debate rounds, Hanniyah Sevilla was hailed as Best Speaker (Judges’ Choice) in the rounds adjudged by Senator Franklin Drilon and Don Puno.

Atty. Natasha M. Go-De Mesa is a practicing lawyer and businesswoman. She specializes in commercial and corporate law particularly in formation and organization of corporations and other types businesses, corporate counseling, human resource management, contract drafting and reviews.

As legal counselor, Sasha helps clients ensure the legality, practicability and efficiency of commercial transactions, advising corporations on their legal rights and duties and help adapt their businesses in accordance with Philippine laws and jurisprudence. She is currently the consultant to several thriving businesses focusing on retail sales, services, marketing, advertising, and financial lending. Aside from mercantile and corporate law, her legal practice includes labor law, civil law(particularly persons and family relations, succession, obligations and contracts, laws on property),election law, and criminal law. She is also an advocate of alternative modes of dispute resolution.

Sasha was the sole AB Political Science student who graduated cum laude in her batch in Ateneo. She was consistently one of the top Asian/British Parliamentary debaters in Mindanao and gave lectures on debate technique and procedure in and outside Davao City. This love for debate also made her one of the Prime Ministers of Ateneo Law Forensic Association, the debate team of Ateneo de Davao College of Law.

She is also connected with the law firm of Go, Balleque and Completano (Cotabato City) and Tupperware Brands, Inc. as the Finance and Human Resources Head of IBD Davao Branch.She has ample experience in the field of direct selling, retail sales, human resources and marketing.

As the firm’s managing partner, Sasha is in charge of all office operations including finance and human resource management. She ensures SGD Law’s efficiency in its day-to-day operations and prepares the reviews on the firm’s status, standing and ventures.

She is an avid fan of the arts, crafts, DIY projects, gardening, and cooking and spends her spare time with her husband, their son and their six Pomeranians.

Atty. Jocelyn V. Puzon is a degree holder from both the University of the Philippines (Diliman) and Ateneo De Davao University. These degrees include Bachelors in Social Sciences (majors in Political Science and Psychology) and Bachelor of Laws.

Her academic track record is marked with excellence in terms of several qualifications for the UP Dean’s List and recognitions for literary writing.

She has served in several government institutions before finally delving into law practice. Among these institutions include the Presidential Agrarian Reform Council (PARC) of the Department of Agrarian Reform in Quezon City central office.  In her 7-year stint in said service, she was designated as the representative of the National Irrigation Administration (NIA) in the PARC-Audit Management and Investigation Committee (AMIC). As such representative, she was able to work in the performance and financial audits of CARP-related projects of the different umbrella agencies for CARP such as the LandBank of the Philippines, the Department of Public Works and Highways, the Department of Trade and Industry, the National Irrigation Administration, and the Land Registration Authority.

Her latest government service was with the Philippine Health Insurance Corporation. She served as Special Investigator on hospital and claims-related cases among others.

Early on in her career as law practitioner, Jocelyn rendered free services as counsel for various civic activities hosted and collaborated into by distinguished institutions such as the Jaycees, Women’s City Jail of Davao, and Philippine Air Force Tactical Operations Group 11.

Her experience with legal practice is taken closer to her heart as she takes care of several legal concerns on real estate properties of her family. Having been in either side of the coin so to speak, she possesses the legal judgment needed in a lawyer and the empathy needed by a client.

FAQs: NOTARIZATIONS

WHY IS THERE A NEED TO NOTARIZE DOCUMENTS?

 

Under the law (Section 19, Rule 132 of the Rules of Court), there are two classes of documents: PRIVATE or PUBLIC.

Section 19. Classes of documents.—For the purpose of their presentation in evidence, documents are either public or private.

Public documents are:

(a) The written official acts, or records of the official acts of the sovereign authority, official bodies and tribunals, and public officers, whether of the Philippines, or of a foreign country;

(b) Documents acknowledged before a notary public except last wills and testaments; and

(c) Public records, kept in the Philippines, of private documents required by law to be entered therein.

All other writings are private.

Notarization transforms a private document into a public one.

In the case of Mudlong vs. Sarmiento (G.R. No. 173857), the Supreme Court explains that whenever a document is notarized, “there is a presumption that it had been validly executed. A notarized document has in its favor the presumption of regularity, and can be contradicted only by clear and convincing evidence.” The court also adds that in the absence of clear and convincing evidence that the parties to a contract had an agreement different from that appearing in the signed document; it is presumed that the signed contract embodies their complete and true agreement. “The presumption of regularity, the evidentiary weight conferred upon public documents with respect to its execution, as well as the statements and the authenticity of the signatures thereon, therefore, stand.”

“The notarization of a document carries considerable legal effect. Notarization of a private document converts such document into a public one, and renders it admissible in court without further proof of its authenticity.”(Joson v. Baltazar, A.C. No. 575, 14 February 1991, 194 SCRA 114, 119, citing Aspacio v. Inciong, 161 SCRA 181(1988); Bermejo v. Barrios, 31 SCRA 764 (1970). See also BA Finance Corporation v. IAC, G.R. No. 76497, 20 January 1993, 217 SCRA 261, 274; Cabanilla v. Cristal-Tenerio, A.C. No. 6139, 11 November 2003, 415 SCRA 353, 361.)

WHAT IF MY DOCUMENT IS NOT NOTARIZED?

Documents that are not notarized are private documents. They are subject to the requirement of proof under Section 20, Rule 132, which states:

“Section 20. Proof of private document.—Before any private document offered as authentic is received in evidence, its due execution and authenticity must be proved either:

(a) By anyone who saw the document executed or written; or

(b) By evidence of the genuineness of the signature or handwriting of the maker.

Any other private document need only be identified as that which is claimed to be.”

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A JURAT AND AN ACKNOWLEDGMENT?

“A jurat is a distinct creature from an acknowledgment. An acknowledgment is the act of one who has executed a deed in going before some competent officer or court and declaring it to be his act or deed; while a jurat is that part of an affidavit where the officer certifies that the same was sworn before him.” (Tigno vs. Aquino [G.R. No. 129416.  November 25, 2004])

To subscribe literally means to write underneath, as one's name; to sign at the end of a document. To swear means to put on oath; to declare on oath the truth of a pleading, etc.. Accordingly, in a jurat, the affiant must sign the document in the presence of and take his oath before a notary public or any other person authorized to administer oaths. (Buenaventura vs. New Bilibid Prisons (NBP) Officials [G.R. No. 114829 March 1, 1995])

Note: Under Section 127 of the Land Registration Act, which has been replicated in Section 112 of Presidential Decree No. 1529, Deeds of Sale should be acknowledged before a notary public.

HPS in Mindanao Times

SGD Partner Hanniyah P. Sevilla* gives remarks on the different cases of violence against women and children. - iSpeak media forum. Mindanao Times, December 2, 2011.

*Atty. Sevilla is also legal consultant in the Integrated Gender and Development Office under the office of the Honorable Mayor Sara Duterte.