Guerrero v. Giron
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Executive Judge Juanita T. Guerrero of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Muntinlupa City submitted a letter-report to the Office of the Bar Confidant (OBC) regarding the unauthorized execution of notarial acts by Atty. Ma. Eleanor La-Arni A. Giron. An inventory by the Office of the Clerk of Court revealed that Atty. Giron submitted notarial reports for documents notarized after her commission had expired on December 31, 2014. Crucially, the dates on her notarial stamps were found to have been erased or tampered with—specifically, the year '2014' was altered to '2015'—to create the appearance of a valid commission. Procedural History: The Supreme Court required Atty. Giron to comment and referred the matter to Executive Judge Guerrero for investigation. The Executive Judge found that Atty. Giron notarized twenty-eight (28) documents after her term expired. Despite Atty. Giron's claim of good faith and her apology, the Executive Judge recommended a two-year disqualification from being commissioned as a notary public. The Petition: This is an administrative matter for disciplinary action. Atty. Giron argued in her defense that she believed in good faith her commission was valid until December 31, 2015, as she received it in September 2013 and assumed it covered two full years (2014-2015). She claimed she only notarized a few documents for her firm's clients and that her continued filing of reports proved her lack of intent to deceive.
Issue(s)
Whether Atty. Giron is liable for violating the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice and the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR) for notarizing documents with an expired commission and tampering with notarial stamps.
Ruling
Atty. Ma. Eleanor La-Arni A. Giron is found GUILTY of malpractice as a notary public, and of violating the lawyer's oath as well as Rule 1.01, Canon 1 of the Code of Professional Responsibility. Accordingly, she is SUSPENDED from the practice of law for two (2) years and BARRED PERMANENTLY from being commissioned as Notary Public, with warning that a repetition of similar acts shall be dealt with more severely.
Ratio Decidendi
On Issue 1: The Court held that Atty. Giron's performance of notarial acts without a valid commission is a clear violation of her professional duties. Notarization is a substantive public interest act that converts private documents into public ones, making them admissible without further proof of authenticity. By acting without authority, she was remiss in her duties and undermined the public's confidence in the integrity of notarized documents. Her claim of good faith was explicitly rejected because the physical evidence showed the '4' in '2014' on her stamps was superimposed or altered to a '5'. This deliberate act of tampering proves bad faith and an intent to deceive the public and the courts. Consequently, applying the standards in Nunga v. Atty. Viray and Zoreta v. Atty. Simpliciano, the Court found her conduct to be a violation of Rule 1.01, Canon 1 of the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR), which prohibits dishonest or deceitful conduct. The Court increased the penalty from the recommendation to include a two-year suspension from the practice of law and a permanent bar from notarial commissions due to the gravity of the dishonesty involved.
Main Doctrine
The Court reiterates that performing notarial acts without a valid commission constitutes a violation of the Lawyer's Oath and the Code of Professional Responsibility (CPR), specifically the prohibition against unlawful, dishonest, immoral, or deceitful conduct. Such acts undermine the public's confidence in the integrity of notarized documents, which are entitled to full faith and credit. When the unauthorized notarization is accompanied by the tampering of notarial stamps to deceive the public regarding the commission's validity, the lawyer exhibits bad faith that warrants more severe disciplinary sanctions, including permanent disqualification from being a notary public.