NOTARY PUBLIC

A person appointed by the court whose duty is to attest to the genuineness of any deed or writing in
order to render them available as evidence of facts stated therein and who is authorized by the statute to
administer various oaths.

A.M. No. 02-8-13-SC: Rules on Notarial Practice of 2004 (August 1, 2004)

QUALIFICATIONS OF A NOTARY PUBLIC
1. Must be citizen of the Philippines
2. Must be over twenty-one (21) years of age
3. Must be a resident in the Philippines for at least one (1) year and maintains a regular place of work or
business in the city or province where
4. Must be a member of the Philippine Bar in good standing with clearances from the Office of the Bar
Confidant of the Supreme Court and the Integrated Bar of the Philippines
5. Must not have been convicted in the first instance of any crime involving moral turpitude (Rule
III, Section 1)

JURISDICTION AND TERM

A notary public may perform notarial acts in any place within the territorial jurisdiction of the
commissioning court for a period of two (2) years commencing on the 1st day of January of the year in
which the commissioning is made UNLESS earlier revoked or the notary public has resigned according to
these Rules and the Rules of Court (Rule III, Section 11).

POWERS AND LIMITATIONS OF NOTARIES PUBLIC

POWERS
A notary public is empowered to do the following acts:
(JAOSAC)
1. Acknowledgments;
2. Oaths and affirmations;
3. Jurats;
4. Signature witnessing;
5. Copy certifications; and
6. Any other act authorized by these Rules.

A notary public is authorized to certify the affixing of a signature by thumb or other mark on an
instrument or document presented for notarization if:
1. The thumb or other mark is affixed in the presence of the notary public and of two (2) disinterested
and unaffected witnesses to the instrument or document;
2. Both witnesses sign their own names in addition to the thumb or other mark;
3. The notary public writes below the thumb or other mark: “Thumb or Other Mark affixed by (name of
signatory by mark) in the presence of (names and addresses of witnesses) and undersigned notary
public”, and
4. The notary public notarizes the signature by thumb or other mark through an acknowledgment, jurat
or signature witnessing.

A notary public is authorized to sign on behalf of a person who is physically unable to sign or make a
mark on an instrument or document if:
1. The notary public is directed by the person unable to sign or make a mark to sign on his behalf;
2. The signature of the notary public is affixed in the presence of two (2) disinterested and unaffected
witnesses to the instrument or document;
3. Both witnesses sign their own names;
4. The notary public writes below his signature: “Signature affixed by notary in the presence of (names
and addresses of person and two (2) witnesses)”, and
5. The notary public notarizes his signature by acknowledgment or jurat (Rule IV, Section 1).

PROHIBITIONS
General Rule: A notary public shall not perform a notarial act outside his regular place of work or
business.
Exceptions: A notarial act may be performed at the request of the parties in the following sites located
within his territorial jurisdiction:

a. Public offices, convention halls and similar places where oaths of office may be administered;
b. Public function areas in hotels and similar places for the signing of instruments or documents
requiring notarization;
c. Hospitals and medical institutions where a party to the instrument or document is confined for
treatment; and
d. Any place where a party to the instrument or document requiring notarization is under detention.

A person shall not perform a notarial act if:

1. the person involved as signatory to the instrument or document
a. Is not in the notary’s presence at the time of the notarization; and
b. Is not personally known to the notary public or otherwise identified by the notary public through
competent evidence of identity as defined by these Rules (Rule IV, Section 2).
2. the certificate containing an information known or believed to be false; and
3. he shall not affix an official signature or seal on a notarial certificate that is incomplete (Rule IV,
Section 5).

DISQUALIFICATIONS
A notary public is disqualified from performing a notarial if he:
1) Is a party to the instrument or document;
2) Will receive, as a direct or indirect result any commission, fee, advantage, right, title, interest, cash,
property, or other consideration, except as provided that is to be notarized;
3) Is a spouse, common-law partner, ancestor, descendant, or relative by affinity or consanguinity of the
principal within the fourth civil degree (Rule IV, Section 3).

When notary public may refuse to notarize even if appropriate fee is tendered:
1) When the notary knows or has good reason to believe that the notarial act or transaction is
unlawful or immoral.
2) When the signatory shows a demeanor, which engenders in the mind of the notary public reasonable
doubt as to the former’s knowledge of the consequences of the transaction requiring a notarial act.
3) If in the notary’s judgment, the signatory is not acting in his/her own free will (Rule IV, Section 4).
4) If the document or instrument to be notarized is considered as an improper document by these Rules.
NOTE: A blank or incomplete instrument or document OR an instrument or document without
appropriate notarial certification is considered an Improper Instrument/Document (Rule IV, Section
6).

NOTARIAL CERTIFICATES
Contents of the Concluding part of the Notarial Certificate:
1) The name of the notary public as exactly indicated in the commission;
2) The serial number of the commission of the notary public;
3) The words “Notary Public” and the province or city where the notary public is commissioned,
the expiration date of the commission and the office address of the notary public; and
4) The Roll of Attorneys’ number, the Professional Tax Receipt number and the place and date
of issuance thereof and the IBP Membership number (Rule VIII, Section 2).

REVOCATION OF COMMISSION
The Executive Judge shall revoke a commission for any ground on which an application for a commission
may be denied. In addition, the Executive Judge may revoke the commission of or impose sanctions upon
any notary public who:
1) Fails to keep a notarial register;
2) Fails to make the appropriate entry or entries in his notarial register concerning his notarial acts;
3) Fails to send the copy of the entries to the Executive Judge within the first ten (10) days of the month
following;
4) Fails to affix to acknowledgments the date of expiration of his commission;
5) Fails to submit his notarial register, when filled, to the Executive Judge;
6) Fails to make his report, within a reasonable time, to the Executive Judge concerning the
 performance of his duties, as may be required by the Judge;
7) Fails to require the presence of the principal at the time of the notarial act;
8) Fails to identify a principal on the basis of personal knowledge or competent evidence;
9) Executes a false or incomplete certificate under Section 5, Rule IV;
10) Knowingly performs or fails to perform any other act prohibited or mandated by these
Rules; and
11) Commits any other dereliction or act which in the judgment of the Executive Judge constitutes good
cause for the revocation of the commission or imposition of administrative sanction (Rule XI, Section 1).

PUNISHABLE ACTS
The Executive Judge shall cause the prosecution of any person who:
1) Knowingly acts or otherwise impersonates a notary public;
2) Knowingly obtains, conceals, defaces, or destroys the seal, notarial register, or official records of a
notary public; and
3) Knowingly solicits, coerces, or in any way influences a notary public to commit official misconduct (Rule
XII, Section 1).

Jurat
Part of a sworn statement of affiant where the officer of the court certifies that the instrument was sworn
before him.

Section 6, Rule II of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice (RNP) (effective August 2004), however, defines a
jurat as an act in which an individual on a single occasion:
(a) appears in person before the notary public and presents an instrument or document;
(b) is personally known to the notary public or identified by the notary public through competent
evidence of identity as defined by these Rules;
(c) signs the instrument or document in the presence of the notary; and
(d) takes an oath or affirmation before the notary public as to such instrument or document. (This means
that the declarant vows under penalty of law to the whole truth of the contents of his statement. Note
also that the elements of a jurat are connected by a conjunctive “and”. As such, each one act should be
reflected in the jurat.)

SIGNED AND SWORN before me this 14 August 2008 at Manila,

after affiant exhibited to me his Passport JJ2003*, issued on 09
January 2007 at Manila.

The
(SGD) JUAN C. MENDOZA
Notarial
Notary Public for Manila
Certificate Suite 212 Burke Building, Escolta, Manila
Commission Serial 54342
Doc. 12; Until Dec. 31, 2008 Jurat

Page 8; Roll of Attorney 38718

PTR 56789; 1-12-08; Manila
Book II; IBP 24680; 1-12-08; Manila

Series of 2008.
It appears from the foregoing that a community tax certificate (also called residence tax
certificate) issued to individuals under Section 156 of Republic Act 7160, as amended
(Local Government Code), is no longer a competent evidence of identity for purposes of
carrying out the notarial acts mentioned in Section 1, Rule 4 of the RNP. The Supreme
Court’s resolution issued on 19 February 2008 confirms this position when it excluded
the community tax certificate from a list of possible documents that can be presented to
a notary public.

Acknowledgment
Section 1, Rule II of the 2004 RNP defined acknowledgment as an act in which an
individual on a single occasion:
(a) appears in person before the notary public and presents an integrally complete
instrument or document;
(b) is attested to be personally known to the notary public or identified by the notary
public through competent evidence of identity as defined by the Rules; and,
(c) 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.
From the foregoing, it becomes clear that a notary public speaks in this part of the
deed or contract. He confirms that each of the acts mentioned above took place in one
occasion.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
BEFORE ME, personally appeared:

Name Passport Date/ Place Issued

1. Tomas S. Balatan CC123330 1-05-2006/ Baguio City

2. Juan N. Buelta JJ200345 1-17-2007/ Manila

They are known to me to be the same persons who presented the foregoing contract and
acknowledged to me that the signatures they affixed in it are their voluntary acts for the
purposes stated in their document.

SIGNED AND SEALED in Manila, 15 August 2008.

 (SGD) Juan C. Mendoza
Notary Public for Manila
Suite 212 Burke Building, Escolta, Manila
Commission Serial 54342
Until Dec. 31, 2008
Roll of Attorney 38718
PTR 56789; 1-12-08; Manila
IBP 24680; 1-12-08; Manila
Doc. 12;
Page 8;
Book II;
Series of 2008.

JOINT ACKNOWLEDGMENT (Notarial will)

BEFORE ME, personally appeared:

Name Passports Date/ Place Issued

1. Tomas S. Balatan CC123330 1-05-2004/ Baguio City
2. Juan N. Buelta JJ200345 1-17-2005/ Manila
3. Enrique C. Abergas BB947556 4-23-2006/ Manila
4. Marivic J. Cabron DC234348 8-14-2005/ Manila

all known to me to be the same persons who signed the foregoing Will, the first as Testator,
and the last three as instrumental witnesses, and they respectively acknowledged to me
that they signed the same as their own free deed.
This will consists of two pages, including the page on which this acknowledgment is
written, and has been signed on the left margin of each and every page of it by the testator
and his witnesses, and sealed with my notarial seal.

SIGNED AND SEALED on 16 August 2007, Manila.

JOINT ACKNOWLEDGMENT (Deed of Sale of Land)

BEFORE ME, personally appeared:

Name Passports Date/ Place Issued

1. Tomas S. Balatan CC123330 1-05-2004/ Baguio City
2. Juan N. Buelta JJ200345 1-17-2005/ Manila
3. Enrique C. Abergas BB947556 4-23-2006/ Manila
4. Marivic J. Cabron DC234348 8-14-2005/ Manila

all known to me to be the same persons who executed the foregoing instrument and hereby
acknowledged to me that they signed the same as their free and voluntary act.
This Deed of Salel consists of two pages, including the page on which this
acknowledgment is written, and has been signed by the parties and their witnesses, and
sealed with my notarial seal.

SIGNED AND SEALED on 16 August 2007, Manila.

SGD) Juan C. Mendoza

Notary Public for Manila
Suite 212 Burke Building, Escolta, Manila
Commission Serial 54342
Until Dec. 31, 2008
Roll of Attorney 38718
 PTR 56789; 1-12-08; Manila
IBP 24680; 1-12-08; Manila
MCLE Compliance No
Doc. 12;
Page 8;
Book II;
Series of 2008.
I. AFFIDAVITS or SWORN STATEMENTS
An affidavit is a sworn declaration of facts known to a declarant or affiant. It consists of
the following parts: the venue of execution, title, person’s bona fides, the oath,
statement, the signature and the jurat. (Code: VeTiPe-OSta-SiJu)

Sample:
Republic of the Philippines)
City of Manila ) S.S.

AFFIDAVIT OF LOSS

I, RAUL C. SALONGA, of legal age, married, residing at 505 V.G. Cruz,

Sampaloc, Manila, state under oath that:

1. Statement that he is the lawful owner (state the card number and issuance)
2. Circumstances before the loss ( happening, time and place)
3. That despite the diligent search and effort to locate, it cannot be found.
4. (If it is driver’s license, it must be stated that it is not confiscated by LTO for
any violation of the traffic law)
(If atm card, it must be stated that it is not offered as collateral for any loan)
5. That he is executing this affidavit to attest the truth of the foregoing facts
to request for the replacement of the thing.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this

(day/month/year), place where the affidavit executed

(SGD.) RAUL C. SALONGA

Affiant

----JURAT----
General Power v. Special Power of Attorney

General Power of Attorney grants the agent to make all personal and business decisions on
behalf of the principal. Special power of Attorney grants the agent to act on principal’s behalf on certain
specified circumstances.

Parts:
1. Venue
2. Title
3. Announcement
4. Persons Bonafides ( Principal’s name, age, civil status and address), do hereby name, constitute
and appoint, ( agent’s name, age, civil status and address), to be his true and lawful _______, for me and
in my name, place, and stead, to do and perform the following acts and things to with:
5. General Power
6. Granting Power Operative – Hereby giving and granting
7. Acknowlegment
 e. g.
Republic of the Philippines)
City of Makati ) ss

GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:

I JUAN DELA CRUZ, of legal age, single, resident of Mayaman St. Millyon Village, Makati City, do
hereby name, constitute and appoint Atty. Pedro Gil of legal age, married, resident 112 Legaspi St.
Makati City, to be my true and lawful legal representative, for me and in my name, place and stead to do
and perform the following act to with:

To ask, demand and collect any and all sums of money, sue to recover debts, dues accounts and
other things of value payable belonging to me and to make any lawful means for the recovery thereof by
suit, attachment, compromise or otherwise.

HEREBY GIVING AND GRANTING unto my said attorney full power and authority whatsoever
requisite or necessary to be done in and about the premises as fully to all intent and purposes of this
General Power of Attorney.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this (day/month/year), place where
the affidavit executed.

(SGD.) JUAN DELA CRUZ

Principal

Atty. PEDRO GIL

Agent

Signed in the Presence of

1. 2.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
Before me, this ____ day of ____ , 20___, in the munipality of _______, personally appeared
_______________, with passport no. __________, issued at _____ on ____________,
known to me to be the same person who signed the foregoing instrument and hereby
acknowledged to me that they signed the same as their free and voluntary act.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature and notarial seal this
(day/month/year), place where the instrument executed.

JURATXXX
NOTARIAL CERT:
XXX
 II. DEED FORMS

A Deed Form indicates an agreement of at least two parties but made to appear as a unilateral
act of a person disposing his property or right in favor of another after his receipt of a consideration. The
transaction is terminated by the conveyance of the thing or right. A typical deed has the following parts:
Title, Announcement, First Party, Consideration, Act or Conveyance, Second Party, Signature and
Acknowledgment (Code: TAF-CAS-SA).

DEED OF SALE

I, (Vendor’s name, age, civil status, residence), and in consideration of ________________ paid to
me by (Vendee’s name, age, civil status, residence) do hereby sell, convey and transfer my ________
particularly described as follows:

(Description of Object)

Of which I am the registered owner as evidence by _________________