Remedial Law, Legal and Judicial Ethics, with Practical Exercises

X. Practical Exercises

D. Practical Exercises (part 1 of 3)

All names, places, numbers and facts in these samples are fictitious. Any resemblance to real persons or cases is coincidental.

The 2027 syllabus lists ten drafting exercises: a demand letter; a special power of attorney; a contract of sale or lease; a deed of extrajudicial settlement of estate; a judicial affidavit; a verification and certification against forum shopping; a petition for the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus; a complaint for forcible entry or unlawful detainer; a motion for authority to litigate as an indigent; and a motion to participate through videoconferencing (A.M. No. 24-11-02-SC, Sec. 5). Each has its own topic. This note gives a checklist for any instrument and three samples.

Checklist for any legal instrument

  1. Title the document by what it is (for example, "Special Power of Attorney", "Deed of Absolute Sale").
  2. Identify every party fully: name, citizenship, age or majority, civil status and address, and for a juridical person its registration and the authority of its signatory.
  3. Put each operative act, promise or allegation in its own numbered paragraph.
  4. Define any term used in a special sense, then use it the same way throughout.
  5. Refer to parties by name or defined term wherever a pronoun could be read two ways.
  6. State amounts in words and figures, and describe property the way the title or tax declaration does.
  7. End with the place and date of signing, the signatures, and the notarial part the instrument needs: an acknowledgment for a deed or power of attorney, a jurat for an affidavit (2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC).

Sample 1: Special Power of Attorney

SPECIAL POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS:

I, LORNA P. VILLAREAL, Filipino, of legal age, single, residing at 12 Mabini Street, Barangay Poblacion, Municipality of Sta. Lucia, Province of Nueva Aurora, appoint DANILO P. VILLAREAL, Filipino, of legal age, married, of the same address, as my attorney-in-fact, to do the following in my name and for my account:

1. To sell, for not less than Two Million Pesos (₱2,000,000.00), the parcel of land covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-00000 of the Registry of Deeds for the Province of Nueva Aurora, with an area of three hundred (300) square meters, located in Barangay San Isidro, Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora;

2. To sign the deed of absolute sale, receive the purchase price and issue receipts for it; and

3. To sign, file and receive the papers needed to pay the taxes on the sale and to transfer the title to the buyer before the Bureau of Internal Revenue, the Registry of Deeds and the local assessor.

I give my attorney-in-fact full power to do every act needed to carry out these powers, as fully as I could if personally present, and I confirm all that he lawfully does under this instrument.

Signed on 5 October 2026 in Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora.

LORNA P. VILLAREAL
Principal

With my conformity:
DANILO P. VILLAREAL
Attorney-in-fact

Signed in the presence of: ____________ and ____________

ACKNOWLEDGMENT [before a notary public, who records the competent evidence of identity of the principal and states that she personally appeared and acknowledged the instrument as her free and voluntary act]

Points to note. A special power is required for any contract that transmits or acquires ownership of an immovable (Civil Code, Art. 1878(5)). When land is sold through an agent, the agent's authority must be in writing, or the sale is void (Civil Code, Art. 1874). The acknowledgment makes the power of attorney a public document, which the Registry of Deeds requires before it registers the sale.

Sample 2: Deed of Extrajudicial Settlement of Estate

DEED OF EXTRAJUDICIAL SETTLEMENT OF ESTATE

KNOW ALL PERSONS BY THESE PRESENTS:

This deed is made by ELENA R. SALCEDO, widow; RAMON R. SALCEDO, married; and CARMINA S. DOMINGO, married, all Filipinos, of legal age and residing at 45 Rizal Avenue, Barangay Poblacion, Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora (the "Heirs"), who state:

1. ERNESTO M. SALCEDO (the "Decedent") died intestate in Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora, on 3 March 2026. A copy of his death certificate is attached as Annex "A".

2. The Heirs are the Decedent's surviving spouse and his only two children, who are his only legal heirs.

3. The Decedent left no will and no debts.

4. The Decedent left the following property, which he inherited before his marriage and which was his exclusive property:

(a) a parcel of land covered by Transfer Certificate of Title No. T-11111 of the Registry of Deeds for the Province of Nueva Aurora, with an area of five hundred (500) square meters, located in Barangay San Isidro, Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora; and

(b) a savings deposit of Three Hundred Thousand Pesos (₱300,000.00) with a bank in Sta. Lucia.

5. The Heirs divide the estate among themselves in equal shares of one-third (1/3) each. The land shall be held by them in common, each owning an undivided one-third share, and the deposit shall be paid to them in equal amounts.

6. Since the estate includes personal property, the Heirs shall file with the Register of Deeds, together with this deed, a bond of Three Hundred Thousand Pesos (₱300,000.00), the value of the personal property as certified by them under oath.

7. The Heirs shall cause this deed to be published once a week for three consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Nueva Aurora.

Signed on 12 October 2026 in Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora.

ELENA R. SALCEDO    RAMON R. SALCEDO    CARMINA S. DOMINGO

ACKNOWLEDGMENT [before a notary public]

Points to note. An extrajudicial settlement needs: no will; no debts; heirs who are all of age, or minors represented by their judicial or legal representatives; a public instrument filed with the Register of Deeds; a bond equal to the value of the personal property, filed with the Register of Deeds; and publication once a week for three consecutive weeks (Rules of Court, Rule 74, Sec. 1). A sole heir uses an affidavit of self-adjudication instead. The settlement does not bind anyone who did not take part in it or had no notice of it (Rule 74, Sec. 1). For two years, an heir or creditor unduly deprived of a lawful share may still claim against the distributed property (Rule 74, Sec. 4). Here the surviving spouse takes the same share as each legitimate child (Civil Code, Art. 996). The estate tax must be paid before the Register of Deeds transfers the title.

Sample 3: Judicial Affidavit

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
Branch 00, Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora

MARIANO T. LEGASPI, Plaintiff,
– versus –
ROWENA C. ALBA, Defendant.
Civil Case No. 0000 · For: Sum of Money

JUDICIAL AFFIDAVIT OF MARIANO T. LEGASPI

I, MARIANO T. LEGASPI, 52 years old, married, businessman, residing at 8 Luna Street, Barangay Poblacion, Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora, with business address at the same place, answer the questions below under oath. I am examined by Atty. PAOLO R. MENDEZ, of Mendez Law Office, 3/F Aurora Building, Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora, in his office. I answer fully aware that I am under oath and that I may face criminal liability for false testimony or perjury.

Q1: Why are you giving this affidavit?
A1: To prove that the defendant borrowed ₱500,000.00 from me and has not paid it.

Q2: Do you know the defendant?
A2: Yes. She is a supplier of my hardware store.

Q3: What happened on 2 January 2026?
A3: She borrowed ₱500,000.00 from me, payable on 2 July 2026. She signed a promissory note in my presence.

Q4: Showing you a promissory note dated 2 January 2026, marked as Exhibit "A", what is that document?
A4: That is the note she signed. I recognize her signature because I saw her sign it.

Q5: What happened when the loan fell due?
A5: She did not pay. On 15 July 2026 I sent her a demand letter by registered mail, marked as Exhibit "B", and she received it on 20 July 2026, as shown by the registry return card marked as Exhibit "C".

Q6: Has she paid any part of the loan since then?
A6: No.

I sign this judicial affidavit on 1 October 2026 in Sta. Lucia, Nueva Aurora.

MARIANO T. LEGASPI
Affiant

JURAT [subscribed and sworn to before the officer, who records the affiant's competent evidence of identity]

ATTESTATION

I, Atty. PAOLO R. MENDEZ, state under oath that I examined the witness faithfully; that I recorded his questions and answers truly; and that neither I nor anyone else present coached him on his answers.

Atty. PAOLO R. MENDEZ [with the jurat for the attestation]

Points to note. The judicial affidavit takes the place of direct testimony and is filed and served at least five days before the pre-trial or preliminary conference (Judicial Affidavit Rule, A.M. No. 12-8-8-SC, Sec. 2). It must contain the witness's personal details, the examining lawyer and place of examination, the statement that the witness answers under oath aware of liability for false testimony or perjury, numbered questions and answers identifying the exhibits, the witness's signature and a jurat (Sec. 3), and the lawyer's sworn attestation (Sec. 4). Attached documents are marked as exhibits in the affidavit itself.