d. Public Documents as Evidence

Proof of electronically notarized document

A document electronically notarized in accordance with the rules promulgated by the Supreme Court shall be considered as a public document and proved as a notarial document under the Rules of Court. (REE, Rule 5, Sec. 3)

Evidence admissible when original document is a public record

The contents of the original may be proved by a certified copy issued by the public officer in custody thereof. (Rule 130, Sec. 8)

When the original is outside of the jurisdiction of the court, as when it is in a foreign country, secondary evidence is still admissible (PNB v. Olila, 98 Phil. 1002, unreported, 1956)

PUBLIC DOCUMENTS

• 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;
• Documents acknowledged before a notary public except last wills and testaments;
• Documents that are considered public documents under treaties and conventions which are in force between the Philippines and the country of source; and
• Public records, kept in the Philippines, of private documents required by law to the entered therein.

All other writings are PRIVATE (Rule 132, Sec. 19).

Public documents as evidence; proof of official record

Public documents are admissible without further proof of their genuineness and due execution.

Documents consisting of entries in public records made in the performance of a duty by a public officer are prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated. This is a hearsay exception.

All other public documents are evidence, even against a third person, of the fact which gave rise to their execution and of the date of the latter. (Rule 132, Sec. 23)

Public record of a private document

An authorized public record of a private document may be proved by:

• The original record, or
• By a copy thereof, attested by the legal custodian of the record, with an appropriate certificate that such officer has the custody. (Rule 132, Sec. 27).

Financial statements, whether audited or not, are, as general rule, private documents. However, once financial statements are filed with a government office pursuant to a provision of law, they become public documents (Salas v. Sta. Mesa Market Corporation, G.R. No. 157766, July 12, 2007). The same holds true for birth, marriage, and death certificates once submitted to the Philippine Statistics Authority.

Proof of notarial documents

Every instrument duly acknowledged or proved and certified as provided by law, may be presented in evidence without further proof, the certificate of acknowledgment being prima facie evidence of the execution of the instrument or document involved (Rule 132, Sec. 30).

Notarized documents fall under the second classification of public documents. However, not all types of public documents are deemed prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated. Hence, under Section 23, notarized documents are merely proof of the fact which gave rise to their execution (e.g., the notarized Answer to Interrogatories in the case at bar is proof that Philtrust had been served with Written Interrogatories), and of the date of the latter (e.g., the notarized Answer to Interrogatories is proof that the same was executed on October 12, 1992, the date stated thereon), but is not prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated. Additionally, under Section 30 of the same Rule, the acknowledgement in notarized documents is prima facie evidence of the execution of the instrument or document involved (e.g., the notarized Answer to Interrogatories is prima facie proof that petitioner executed the same) (Philippine Trust Company v. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 150318, 2010).

Notarial documents, except last wills and testaments, are public documents and are evidence of the facts that gave rise to their execution and of their date (Siguan v. Lim, G.R. No. 134685, 1999).

A public document duly acknowledged before a notary public, under his hand and seal with his certificate thereto attached, is admissible in evidence without further proof of its due execution and delivery until some question is raised as to the verity of said acknowledgment and certificate (Antillon v. Barcelon, G.R. No. L-12483, 1917)

The above rule presupposes that the document was notarized by a person duly authorized to perform notarial functions, as well as that the document was properly notarized in the presence of the notary public.

The improper notarization stripped the document of its public character and reduced it into a private document (Aguinaldo v. Torres, G.R. No. 225808, 2017)

“Acknowledgement” refers to an act in which an individual, on a single occasion:

• appears in person before the notary public and presents and integrally complete instrument or document;
• is attested to be personally known to the notary public or identified by the notary public through competent evidence of identity as defined by these Rules; and
• represents to the notary public that the signature on the instrument or document was voluntarily affixed by him for the purposes stated in the instrument or document, declares that he has executed the instrument or document as his free and voluntary act and deed, and, if he acts in a particular representative capacity, that he has the authority to sign in that capacity. (Coquia v. Laforteza, A.C. No. 9364, 2017)