- Act No.

2103
ACT No. 2103
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR THE ACKNOWLEDGMENT AND AUTHENTICATION
OF INSTRUMENTS AND DOCUMENTS WITHOUT THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS.
By authority of the United States, be it enacted by the Philippine Legislature, that:
Section 1. An instrument or document acknowledged and authenticated in any State,
Territory, the District of Columbia, or dependency of the United States, shall be
considered authentic if the acknowledgment and authentication are made in accordance
with the following requirements:
(a) The acknowledgment shall be made before a notary public or an officer duly
authorized by law of the country to take acknowledgments of instruments or documents
in the place where the act is done. The notary public or the officer taking the
acknowledgment shall certify that the person acknowledging the instrument or document
is known to him and that he is the same person who executed it, and acknowledged that
the same is his free act and deed. The certificate shall be made under his official seal, if
he is by law required to keep a seal, and if not, his certificate shall so state.
(b) The certificate of the notary public or the officer taking the acknowledgment shall be
authenticated by the country clerk or his deputy, or by a clerk or deputy clerk of any court
of record of the county, municipality or judicial district wherein the acknowledgment is
taken, or by the secretary of state, executive secretary, or other similar functionary of the
state, territory, the District of Columbia, or dependency of the United States, as the case
may be. The officer making the authentication shall certify under the seal of his office or
court that the person who took the acknowledgment was at the time duly authorized to act
as notary public or that he was duly exercising the functions of the office by virtue of
which he assumed to act, and that as such he had authority under the law to take
acknowledgment of instruments or documents in the place where the acknowledgment
was taken, and that his signature and seal, if any, are genuine.
Section 2. An instrument or document acknowledged and authenticated in a foreign
country shall be considered authentic if the acknowledgment and authentication are made
in accordance with the following requirements:
(a) The acknowledgment shall be made before (1) an ambassador, minister, secretary of
legation, charg daffaires, consul, vice-consul, or consular agent of the United States,1
acting within the country or place to which he is accredited, or (2) a notary public or
officer duly authorized by law of the country to take acknowledgments of instruments or
documents in the place where the act is done.
(b) The person taking the acknowledgment shall certify that the person acknowledging
the instrument or document is known to him, and that he is the same person who
executed it, and acknowledged that the same is his free act and deed. The certificate shall

be under his official seal, if he is by law required to keep a seal, and if not, his certificate
shall so state. In case the acknowledgment is made before a notary public or an officer
mentioned in subdivision (2) of the preceding paragraph, the certificate of the notary
public or the officer taking the acknowledgment shall be authenticated by an ambassador,
minister, secretary of legation,charg daffaires, consul, vice-consul, or consular agent of
the United States,2 acting within the country or place to which he is accredited. The
officer making the authentication shall certify under his official seal that the person who
took the acknowledgment was at the time duly authorized to act as notary public or that
he was duly exercising the functions of the office by virtue of which he assumed to act,
and that as such he had authority under the law to take acknowledgment of instruments or
documents in the place where the acknowledgment was taken, and that his signature and
seal, if any, are genuine.
Section 3. Instruments or documents acknowledged and authenticated in substantial
conformity with the provisions of this Act before the same takes effect shall be
considered authentic.
Section 4. This Act shall not be construed to repeal in any way any of the provisions
contained in Chapter X, Part I, of Act Numbered One hundred and ninety,3 entitled "An
Act providing a code or procedure in civil actions and special proceedings in the
Philippine Islands."
Enacted, January 26, 1912.
Footnote
1 Now Republic of the Philippines.
2 Id.
3 Now Rule 130, Rules of Court.

- Act No. 2711 Sec. 231-252

ACT NO. 2711
AN ACT AMENDING THE ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
CHAPTER 11
Notaries Public
PRELIMINARY ARTICLE
Title of Chapter
SECTION 231. Title of the chapter Title of the chapter shall be known as the Notarial
Law.

[2657265]
ARTICLE I
Appointment and Qualification of Notaries Public
SECTION 232. Appointment of notaries public. Judges of Court of First Instance in the
respective provinces may appoint as many notaries public as the public good requires,
and there shall be at least one for every municipality in each province. Notaries public in
the City of Manila shall be appointed by the Supreme Court or, during vacation, by the
Supreme Court judge assigned to vacation duty.
[2657266.]
SECTION 233. Qualifications for appointment. To be eligible for appointment as
notary public, a person must be a citizen of the (Philippine Islands) Philippines or of the
United States and over twenty-one years of age. He must, furthermore, be person who has
been admitted to the practice of law or who has completed and passed in the studies of
law in a reputable university or school of law, or has passed the examination for the office
of justice of the peace or clerk or deputy clerk of court, or be a person who has at some
time held the office of clerk or deputy clerk of court for a period of not less than two
years, or a person who had qualified for the office of notary public under the Spanish
sovereignty.
In the chartered cities and in the capitals of the provinces, where there are two or more
lawyers appointed a notaries public, no person other than a lawyer or a person who had
qualified to hold the office of notary public under the Spanish sovereignty shall hold said
office.
In municipalities or (townships) municipal, districts wherein no person reside having the
qualifications hereinbefore specified or having them; refused hold such office, judges of
first instance may appoint other persons temporarily to exercise the office of notary
public who have the requisite qualifications of fitness and morality.
[2657267; C.A. 5141.]
SECTION 234. Disqualification incident to conviction of crime. No person shall be
appointed notary public who has been convicted of any crime implying moral turpitude.
[2657268.]
SECTION 235. Restriction on right of certain officials to act as notaries public. Justices
of the peace and clerks of court shall not act as notaries public except in the character of
notaries public ex officio.
[2657269.]
SECTION 236. When oath of office to be preserved. The oath of office of a notary
public in a province shall be filed and preserved, together with the commission, in the
office of the clerk of the Court of First Instance of the province. The oath of office of a

notary public in the City of Manila shall be filed and preserved, with the commission, in
the office of the clerk of the Supreme Court.
[2657270.]
SECTION 237. Form of commission for notary public. The appointment of a notary
public shall be in writing, signed by the judge, and substantially in the following form:
GOVERNMENT OF THE PHILIPPINES)
PROVINCE OF ____________________)
This is to certify that ______________________, of the municipality of
____________________________ in said province, was, on the ________ day of
_____________________, anno Domini nineteen hundred and _____________
appointed by me a notary, public, within and for the said province, for the term ending on
the first day of January, anno Domini nineteen hundred and ________
_______________________
Judge of the Court of First
Instance of said Province
SECTION 238. Certificate of appointment to be forwarded to Bureau of Justice. Clerks
of Courts of First Instance shall make and forward to the Bureau of Justice immediately
after commission and oath of office of any notary public are recorded in said clerks
office a certificate of such appointment and the term office of the appointee. A record
shall be kept of all such certificates in the Bureau of Justice.
[2657272]
SECTION 239. Term of office. The term of office of a notary public shall end at the
expiration of the two-year period beginning upon the first day of January of the year in
which the appointment is made.
[2657273.]
ARTICLE II
Jurisdiction and Powers
SECTION 240. Territorial jurisdiction. The jurisdiction of a notary public in a province
shall be co-extensive with the province. The jurisdiction of a notary public in the City of
Manila shall be co-extensive with said city. No notary shall possess authority to do any
notarial act beyond the limits of his jurisdiction.
[2657274.]
SECTION 241. Powers of notary public. Every notary public shall have power to
administer all oaths and affirmations provided for by law, in all matters incident to his
notarial office, and in the execution of affidavits, depositions, and other documents
requiring an oath, and to receive the proof or acknowledgment of all writings relating to
commerce or navigation, such as bills of sale, bottomries, mortgages, and hypothecations

of ships, vessels, or boats, charter parties of affreightments, letters of attorney, deeds,

mortgages, transfers and assignments of land or buildings, or an interest therein, and such
other writings as are commonly proved or acknowledged before notaries; to act as a
magistrate, in the writing of affidavits or depositions, and to make declarations and
certify the truth thereof under his seal of office, concerning all matters done by him by
virtue of his office.
[2657275.]
ARTICLE III
Notaries Public Ex Officio
SECTION 242. Officers acting as notaries public ex officio. Except as otherwise
specially provided, the following officials, and none other, shall be deemed to be notaries
public ex officio, and as such they are authorized to perform, within the limits of their
territorial jurisdiction as herein below defined, all the duties appertaining to the office of
notary public:
(a) The Chief of the Division of Archives, Patents, Copyrights, and Trademarks; the Clerk
of the. Supreme Court, the Clerk of the Court of First Instance of the Ninth Judicial
District, the Chief of the General Land Registration Office, and the Superintendent of the
Postal Savings Bank Division, Bureau of Posts when acting within the limits of the City
of Manila.
[32281.]
(b) Clerks of Courts of First Instance outside of the City of Manila, when acting within
the judicial districts to which they respectively pertain.
(c) Justices of the peace, within the limits of the territory over which their jurisdiction as
justices of the peace extends; but auxiliary justices of the peace and other of who are by
law vested with the office of justice of the peace ex officio shall not, solely by reason of
such authority, be also entitled to act in the capacity of notaries ex officio.
(d) Any government officer or employee of the Department of Mindanao and Sulu
appointed notary public ex officio by the Judge of the Court of First Instance, with
jurisdiction co-extensive with the province wherein the appointee is stationed, and for a
term of two years beginning upon the first day of January of the year in which the
appointment is made.
The authority conferred in subsections (a) and (b) hereof may, in the absence of the chief
or clerk of court, be exercised by an assistant chief, acting chief, or deputy clerk of court
pertaining to the office in question.
[2657276; 266404.]
SECTION 243. Notary public ex officio required to use register. No person shall do any
act in the capacity of notary public ex officio in cases where full notarial authentication is
required unless he shall have the prescribed notarial register; but the notarial acts of an

assistant chief, acting chief, or deputy clerk shall be entered in the same register as would
be used by his principal.
[2657277.]
ARTICLE IV
Notarial Seal
SECTION 244. Seal of notary public. Every person appointed to the position of notary
public shall have a seal of office, to be procured at his own expense, which shall be
affixed to papers officially signed by him. It shall be of metal and shall have the name of
the province and the words (Philippine Islands) Philippines and his own-name
engraved on the margin thereof, and the words notary, public across the center. An
impression of such seal directly on the paper or parchment on which the writing is had
shall be as valid as if made on wax or wafer.
In the case of the Chief of the General Land Registration Office or other clerk of court
acting as notary public ex officio, it shall suffice to use the official seal of the court to
which the officer in question pertains other officials authorized to act as notaries public
ex officio are not required to keep or use a seal, unless especially so prescribed, by law.
[2657278.]
ARTICLE V
Notarial Register
SECTION 245. Notarial register. Every notary public shall keep a register to be known
as the notarial register, wherein record shall be made of all his official acts as notary; and
he shall supply a certified copy of such record, or any part thereof, to any person applying
for it and paying the legal fees therefor.
Such register shall be kept in books to be furnished by the Attorney-General to any notary
public upon request and upon payment of the actual cost thereof, but officers exercising
the functions of notaries public ex officio shall be supplied with the register at
Government expense. The register shall be duly paged, and on the first page the AttorneyGeneral shall certify the number of pages of which the book consist.
[2657279.]
SECTION 246. Matters to be entered therein The notary public shall enter in such
register, in chronological order, the nature of each instrument executed, sworn to, or
acknowledged before him, the person executing, swearing to, or acknowledging the
instrument, the witnesses, if any, to the signature, the date of the execution, oath, or
acknowledgment of the instrument, the fees collected by hint for his services as notary in
connection therewith, and; when the instrument is a contract, he shall keep a correct copy
thereof as part of his records, and shall likewise enter in said records a brief description
of the substance thereof, and shall give to each entry a consecutive number, beginning
with number one in each calendar year. The notary shall give to each instrument

executed, sworn to, or acknowledged before him a number corresponding to the one in
his register, and shall also state on the instrument the page or pages of his register on
which the same is recorded. No blank line shall be left between entries.
When a notary public shall protest any draft, bill of exchange, or promissory note, he
shall make a full and true record in his notarial register of all his proceedings in relation
thereto, and shall note therein whether the demand or the sum of money therein
mentioned was made, of whom, when, and where; whether he presented such draft, bill,
or note; whether notices were given, to whom, and in what manner; where the same was
made, and when, and to whom, and where directed; and of every other fact touching the
same.
At the end of each week the notary shall certify in his register the number of instruments
executed, sworn to, acknowledged, or protested before him; or if none such, certificate
shall show this fact.
[2657280]
A certified copy of each months entries as described in this section and a certified copy
of any instrument acknowledged before them shall within the first ten days of the month
next following be forwarded by the notaries public to the clerk of the Court of First
Instance of the province and shall be filed under the responsibility of such officer:
Provided, That if there is no entry to certify for the month, the notary shall forward a
statement to this effect in lieu of the certified copies herein required.
[30681; C.A. 721.]
SECTION 247. Disposition of notarial register. Immediately upon his notarial register
being filled, and also within fifteen days after the expiration of his commission, unless
reappointed, the notary public shall forward his notarial register to the clerk of the Court
of First Instance of the province or of the City of Manila, as the case may be, wherein he
exercises his office, who shall examine the same and report thereon to the judge of the
Court of First Instance. If the judge finds that no irregularity has been committed in the
keeping of the register, he shall forward the same to the chief of the division of archives,
patents, copyrights, and trademarks. In case the judge finds that irregularities have been
committed in the keeping of the register, he shall refer the matter to the fiscal of the
province and in the City of Manila, to the fiscal of the city for action and the sending
of the register to the chief of the division of archives, patents, copyrights, and trademarks
shall be deferred until the termination of the case against the notary public.
[2657281]
ARTICLE VI
Supervisory Authority of Judges Over Notaries Public
SECTION 248. Supervision of judges of first instance over notaries public. The judge
of the Court of First Instance in each judicial district shall at all times exercise
supervision over the notaries public within his district and shall keep himself informed of

the manner in which they perform their duties by personal inspection wherever possible,
or from reports which he may require from them, or from any other available source.
In the City of Manila such supervision shall be exercised by one of the Judges of the
Court of First Instance of the (Ninth) Fourth Judicial District (City of Manila) to be
thereunto assigned by the judges of the nine branches of said court.
[2657282.]
SECTION 249. Grounds for revocation of commission. The following derelictions of
duty on the part of a notary public, shall, in the discretion of the proper judge of first
instance, be sufficient ground for the revocation of his commission:
(a) The failure of the notary to keep a notarial register.
(b) The failure of the notary to make the proper entry or entries in his notarial register
touching his notarial acts in the manner required by law.
(c) The failure of the notary to send the copy of the entries to the proper clerk of Court of
First Instance within the first ten days of the month next following.
(d) The failure of the notary to affix to acknowledgments the date of expiration of his
commission, as required by law.
(e) The failure of the notary to forward his notarial register, when filled, to the proper
clerk of court.
(f) The failure of the notary to make the proper notation regarding cedula certificates.
(g) The failure of a notary to make report; within a reasonable time, to the proper judge of
first instance concerning the performance of his duties, as may be required by such judge.
(h) Any other dereliction or act which shall appear to the judge to constitute good cause
for removal.
[2657283; 30682.]
ARTICLE VII
Miscellaneous Provisions
SECTION 250. Affixing date of expiration of commission. Notaries public shall affix to
all acknowledgments taken and certified by them, according to law, a statement of the
date on which their commissions expire.
[2657284]
SECTION 251. Requirement as to notation of payment of (cedula) residence tax. Every
contract, deed, or other document acknowledged before a notary public shall have
certified thereon that the parties thereto have presented their proper (cedula) residence
certificates or are exempt from the (cedula) residence tax, and there shall be entered by

the notary public as a part of such certification the number, place of issue, and date of
each (cedula) residence certificate as aforesaid.
[2657285.]
SECTION 252. Compensation of notaries public. No fee, compensation, or reward of
any sort, except such as is expressly prescribed and allowed by law, shall be collected or
received for any service rendered by a notary public. Such moneys collected by notaries
public proper shall belong to them personally. Officers acting as notaries public ex officio
shall charge for their services the fees prescribed by law and account therefor as for
Government funds.
[2657286; see C.A. 661.]

- E.O. 292 (Admin Code) Book 1 Chapter 10 Sec. 41-42 as amended

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 292
INSTITUTING THE "ADMINISTRATIVE CODE OF 1987"
CHAPTER 10
OFFICIAL OATHS
Section 40. Oaths of Office for Public Officers and Employees. - All public officers and
employees of the government including every member of the armed forces shall, before
entering upon the discharge of his duties, take an oath or affirmation to uphold and
defend the Constitution; that he will bear true faith and allegiance to it; obey the laws,
legal orders and decrees promulgated by the duly constituted authorities; will well and
faithfully discharge to the best of his ability the duties of the office or position upon
which he is about to enter; and that he voluntarily assumes the obligation imposed by his
oath of office, without mental reservation or purpose of evasion. Copies of the oath shall
be deposited with the Civil Service Commission and the National Archives.
Section 41. Officers Authorized to Administer Oath. (1) The following officers have general authority to administer oath: Notaries public,
members of the judiciary, clerks of courts, the Secretary of the either House of the
Congress of the Philippines, of departments, bureau directors, registers of deeds,
provincial governors and lieutenant-governors, city mayors, municipal mayors and any
other officer in the service of the government of the Philippines whose appointment is
vested in the President.
(2) Oaths may also be administered by any officer whose duties, as defined by law or
regulation, require presentation to him of any statement under oath..

Section 42. Duty to Administer Oath. - Officers authorized to administer oaths, with the
exception of notaries public, municipal judges and clerks of court, are not obliged to
administer oaths or execute certificates save in matters of official business; and with the
exception of notaries public, the officer performing the service in those matters shall
charge no fee, unless specifically authorized by law.
- RA 7160 Sec. 156-163
Republic of the Philippines
Congress of the Philippines
Metro Manila
Eighth Congress

Republic Act No. 7160

October 10, 1991
Setion 41(b) Amended by RA 8553
Setion 43 Amended by RA 8553
AN ACT PROVIDING FOR A LOCAL GOVERNMENT CODE OF 1991
ARTICLE VI
Community Tax
Section 156. Community Tax. - Cities or municipalities may levy a community tax in
accordance with the provisions of this Article.
Section 157. Individuals Liable to Community Tax. - Every inhabitant of the Philippines
eighteen (18) years of age or over who has been regularly employed on a wage or salary
basis for at least thirty (30) consecutive working days during any calendar year, or who is
engaged in business or occupation, or who owns real property with an aggregate assessed
value of One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) or more, or who is required by law to file an
income tax return shall pay an annual additional tax of Five pesos (P5.00) and an annual
additional tax of One peso (P1.00) for every One thousand pesos (P1,000.00) of income
regardless of whether from business, exercise of profession or from property which in no
case shall exceed Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00).
In the case of husband and wife, the additional tax herein imposed shall be based upon
the total property owned by them and the total gross receipts or earnings derived by them.
Section 158. Juridical Persons Liable to Community Tax. - Every corporation no matter
how created or organized, whether domestic or resident foreign, engaged in or doing
business in the Philippines shall pay an annual community tax of Five hundred pesos
(P500.00) and an annual additional tax, which, in no case, shall exceed Ten thousand
pesos (P10,000.00) in accordance with the following schedule:

(1) For every Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) worth of real property in the Philippines
owned by it during the preceding year based on the valuation used for the payment of real
property tax under existing laws, found in the assessment rolls of the city or municipality
where the real property is situated - Two pesos (P2.00); and
(2) For every Five thousand pesos (P5,000.00) of gross receipts or earnings derived by it
from its business in the Philippines during the preceding year - Two pesos (P2.00).
The dividends received by a corporation from another corporation however shall, for the
purpose of the additional tax, be considered as part of the gross receipts or earnings of
said corporation.
Section 159. Exemptions. - The following are exempt from the community tax:
(1) Diplomatic and consular representatives; and
(2) Transient visitors when their stay in the Philippines does not exceed three (3) months.
Section 160. Place of Payment. - The community tax shall be paid in the place of
residence of the individual, or in the place where the principal office of the juridical
entity is located.
Section 161. Time for Payment; Penalties for Delinquency. (a) The community tax shall accrue on the first (1st) day of January of each year which
shall be paid not later than the last day of February of each year. If a person reaches the
age of eighteen (18) years or otherwise loses the benefit of exemption on or before the
last day of June, he shall be liable for the community tax on the day he reaches such age
or upon the day the exemption ends. However, if a person reaches the age of eighteen
(18) years or loses the benefit of exemption on or before the last day of March, he shall
have twenty (20) days to pay the community tax without becoming delinquent.
Persons who come to reside in the Philippines or reach the age of eighteen (18) years on
or after the first (1st) day of July of any year, or who cease to belong to an exempt class
or after the same date, shall not be subject to the community tax for that year.
(b) Corporations established and organized on or before the last day of June shall be
liable for the community tax for that year. But corporations established and organized on
or before the last day of March shall have twenty (20) days within which to pay the
community tax without becoming delinquent. Corporations established and organized on
or after the first day of July shall not be subject to the community tax for that year.
If the tax is not paid within the time prescribed above, there shall be added to the unpaid
amount an interest of twenty-four percent (24%) per annum from the due date until it is
paid.
Section 162. Community Tax Certificate. - A community tax certificate shall be issued to
every person or corporation upon payment of the community tax. A community tax

certificate may also be issued to any person or corporation not subject to the community
tax upon payment of One peso (P1.00).
Section 163. Presentation of Community Tax Certificate On Certain Occasions. (a) When an individual subject to the community tax acknowledges any document before
a notary public, takes the oath of office upon election or appointment to any position in
the government service; receives any license, certificate. or permit from any public
authority; pays any tax or free; receives any money from any public fund; transacts other
official business; or receives any salary or wage from any person or corporation with
whom such transaction is made or business done or from whom any salary or wage is
received to require such individual to exhibit the community tax certificate.
The presentation of community tax certificate shall not be required in connection with the
registration of a voter.
(b) When, through its authorized officers, any corporation subject to the community tax
receives any license, certificate, or permit from any public authority, pays any tax or fee,
receives money from public funds, or transacts other official business, it shall be the duty
of the public official with whom such transaction is made or business done, to require
such corporation to exhibit the community tax certificate.
(c) The community tax certificate required in the two preceding paragraphs shall be the
one issued for the current year, except for the period from January until the fifteenth
(15th) of April each year, in which case, the certificate issued for the preceding year shall
suffice.
- NIRC Sec. 201
SEC. 201. Effect of Failure to Stamp Taxable Document. - An instrument, document or
paper which is required by law to be stamped and which has been signed, issued,
accepted or transferred without being duly stamped, shall not be recorded, nor shall it or
any copy thereof or any record of transfer of the same be admitted or used in evidence in
any court until the requisite stamp or stamps are affixed thereto and cancelled.
- 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice (AM 08-13-SC)
Republic of the Philippines
SUPREME COURT
Manila

A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC

February 19, 2008

RE: 2004 RULES ON NOTARIAL PRACTICE The Court Resolved, upon the recommendation of the Sub Committee on the Revision of
the Rules Governing Notaries Public, to AMEND Sec. 12 (a). Rule II of the 2004 Rules
on Notarial Practice, to wit:
Sirs/Mesdames:
Quoted hereunder, for your information, is a resolution of the Court En Banc dated
February 19, 2008.

"A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC-Re: 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice. The Court Resolved, upon
the recommendation of the Sub Committee on the Revision of the Rules Governing
Notaries Public, to AMEND Sec. 12 (a). Rule II of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice,
to wit:
Rule II
DEFINITIONS
xxx
"Sec. 12. Component Evidence of Identity. The phrase "competent evidence of identity"
refers to the identification of an individual based on:
(a) at least one current identification document issued by an official agency bearing the
photograph and signature of the individual, such as but not limited to, passport, drivers
license, Professional Regulations Commission ID, National Bureau of Investigation
clearance, police clearance, postal ID, voters ID, Barangay certification, Government
Service and Insurance System (GSIS) e-card, Social Security System (SSS) card,
Philhealth card, senior citizen card, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA)
ID, OFW ID, seamans book, alien certificate of registration/immigrant certificate of
registration, government office ID, certification from the National Council for the
Welfare of Disable Persons (NCWDP), Department of Social Welfare and Development
(DSWD) certification; or
(b) xxxx."
Quisumbing, J., on official leave. Ynares-Santiago, J., on leave.
(adv127a)

Very truly yours.

MA. LUISA D. VILLARAMA (sgd)
Clerk of Court

- CIRCULAR NO. 1-90, February 26, 1990

CIRCULAR NO. 1-90 February 26, 1990

TO: ALL JUDGES OF THE METROPOLITAN TRIAL COURTS (METC),

MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS IN CITIES (MTCC), MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURTS
(MTC), MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURTS (MCTC) SHARI'A COURTS, AND
THE INTEGRATED BAR OF THE PHILIPPINES (IBP)
SUBJECT: POWER OF THE MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT JUDGES AND
MUNICIPAL CIRCUIT TRIAL COURT JUDGES TO ACT AS NOTARIES PUBLIC
EX OFFICIO

For the information and guidance of all concerned, quoted hereunder, is the Resolution of
the Court En Banc, dated December 19, 1989, in Administrative Matter No. 89-11-1303
MTC, "Re: Request for clarification on the power of municipal trial court judges and
municipal circuit trial court judges to act as Notaries Public Ex Officio":
Acting on a query regarding the power of municipal trial court judges and municipal
circuit trial court judges to act in the capacity of notaries public ex officio in the light of
the 1989 Code of Judicial Conduct, the Court Resolved to issue a clarification on the
matter.
Municipal trial court (MTC) and municipal circuit trial court (MCTC) judges are
empowered to perform the function of notaries public ex officio under Section 76 of
Republic Act No. 296, as amended (otherwise known as the Judiciary Act of 1948) and
Section 242 of the Revised Administrative Code. But the Court hereby lays down the
following qualifications on the scope of this power:
MTC and MCTC judges may act as notaries public ex officio in the notarization of
documents connected only with the exercise of their official functions and duties [Borne
v. Mayo, Adm. Matter No. 1765-CFI, October 17, 1980. 100 SCRA 314; Penera v.
Dalocanog, Adm. Matter No. 2113-MJ, April 22, 1981, 104 SCRA 193.] They may not,
as notaries public ex officio, undertake the preparation and acknowledgment of private
documents, contracts and other acts of conveyances which bear no direct relation to the
performance of their functions as judges. The 1989 Code of Judicial Conduct not only
enjoins judges to regulate their extra-judicial activities in order to minimize the risk of
conflict with their judicial duties, but also prohibits them from engaging in the private
practice of law (Canon 5 and Rule 5.07).

However, the Court, taking judicial notice of the fact that there are still municipalities
which have neither lawyers nor notaries public, rules that MTC and MCTC judges
assigned to municipalities or circuits with no lawyers or notaries public may, in the
capacity as notaries public ex officio, perform any act within the competency of a regular
notary public, provided that: (1) all notarial fees charged be for the account of the
Government and turned over to the municipal treasurer (Lapena, Jr. vs. Marcos, Adm.
Matter No. 1969-MJ, June 29, 1982, 114 SCRA 572); and, (2) certification be made in
the notarized documents attesting to the lack of any lawyer or notary public in such
municipality or circuit.

Feliciano, J., is on leave

February 26, 1990.
(Sgd.) MARCELO B FERNAN
Chief Justice