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.