CTC Invalid For Notarization

A Philippine notary public is now required by law to demand "competent evidence of identity" from parties who need certain documents like contracts of sale to be acknowledged or who may want to swear an oath to attest the truth of statements in an affidavit.

The court defined "competent evidence of identity" as the iden-tification of an individual based on at least one current identification document issued by an official agency bearing the photograph and signature of the individual. The oath or "affirmation of one credible witness not privy to the instrument, document or transaction who is personally known to the notary public and who personally knows the individual, or of two credible witnesses neither of whom is privy to the instrument, document or transaction who each personally knows the individual and shows to the notary public documentary identification."

Community Tax Certificate (CTC) or Cedula which was originally required by the Notarial Law as proof of identity is anymore not acceptable as proof of identity. CTC does not include a picture of a person to whom it is issued and that CTC is easily obtained by anyone without any supporting papers, thereby debasing its value as an identity document.

Some suggested identity documents that Philippine Notary public may accept, according to Atty. Ronquillo C. Tolentino, a practicing lawyer, are: 1. Driver’s License issued by the Land Transportation office; 2. Passport issued by the Department of Foreign Affairs; 3. GSIS or SSS Identification Card; 4. PRC Identification Card; 5. TIN issued by the BIR; and 6. Postal ID issued by the Philippine Postal Corporation.

In an article "A Manual for Filipino Notaries," Anna Leah T. Castañeda wrote: "The notarial act is a solemn one fraught with serious consequences. As a natural and logical effect, the commission of acts which flout the safeguards imposed by law on the notarial act is met with severe penalties for the notary. The safeguards are not empty ceremonies, for they are meant to guard against fraud and guarantee to the courts, to administrative agencies, and to public at large that documents upon which the signature and seal of the notary appear may be relied upon."

Moreover, "Notari-zation converts a private document into a public document and renders the document admissible in court as evidence without need for further proof of its authenticity. A notarized document also vests upon the document the presump-tion of regularity unless it is impugned by strong, complete and conclusive proof." /MP