Rey v. Cartagena
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Rosario Rey filed a petition for the probate of the alleged last will and testament of the deceased Agustina Celiz and for her appointment as administratrix. Procedural History: Guillermo Cartagena and four others filed an opposition, asserting that the will was not the genuine last will of the deceased, that the signature was not hers, and that it was not executed in accordance with legal formalities. The Court of First Instance of Iloilo, after trial, found the will to be the last will and testament of Agustina Celiz, executed in accordance with legal formalities, and admitted it to probate. The Petition: The opponents appealed the decision, alleging that the lower court erred in declaring that the will was executed in compliance with legal requisites, specifically questioning the sufficiency of the attestation clause.
Issue(s)
Whether the attestation clause sufficiently complies with the requirements of Section 618 of Act No. 190 when it uses the word 'also' ('tambien') to describe the witnesses' signatures without repeating the phrase 'on all its margins.'
Ruling
The judgment of the lower court admitting the will to probate is affirmed.
Ratio Decidendi
On Issue 1: The Supreme Court held that the attestation clause is in substantial conformity with the requirements of Section 618 of Act No. 190, as amended. The Court noted that the clause explicitly states that the will is composed of six pages and that the testatrix signed on all the margins in the presence of the witnesses. By using the word 'also' (tambien in Spanish, man in Visayan), the clause establishes a close connection between the testatrix's act of signing and the witnesses' act of signing. The Court reasoned that 'also' must be given its full meaning, indicating that the witnesses signed the will in the same manner as the testatrix did, which includes signing on all the margins. Citing Abangan v. Abangan, the Court emphasized that the object of the law is not to restrain the right to make a will but to prevent fraud; thus, once authenticity is assured, interpretations that demand unnecessary and frustrating requisites must be disregarded. The Court further distinguished this case from Rodriguez v. Alcala, where a will was disallowed because the clause failed to state in whose presence the signing occurred, a defect not present in the current case. Consequently, the phrasing of the attestation clause, when examined as a whole, clearly indicates that all parties signed every page and margin of the instrument.
Main Doctrine
An attestation clause that substantially complies with the requirements of Section 618 of Act No. 190, as amended, and obviates the possibility of bad faith and fraud, should be admitted to probate, even if not every single formality is explicitly stated, provided the language taken as a whole clearly indicates compliance.