Republic of the Philippines

SUPREME COURT
Manila

SECOND DIVISION

A.C. No. 5377 June 15, 2006

VICTOR LINGAN, Complainant,

vs.
ATTYS. ROMEO CALUBAQUIB and JIMMY P. BALIGA, Respondents.

RESOLUTION

CORONA, J.:

This is a complaint for disbarment1 filed by Victor Lingan against Attys. Romeo
Calubaquib and Jimmy Baliga on November 16, 2000. Complainant alleged that
respondents, both notaries public, falsified certain public documents.

The case has its roots in a complaint for annulment of title with damages 2 filed by
Isaac Villegas against complainant with the Regional Trial Court of Tuguegarao,
Cagayan, docketed as Civil Case No. 5036. Respondent Calubaquib signed the
verification and certification of non-forum shopping3 of the complaint as notary
public and entered the same as Doc. No. 182; Page No. 38; Book No. CLXXII; Series
of 1996. Complainant alleges that this document was falsified because according to
the records of the National Archives, the document entered as Doc. No. 182; Page 38;
Book No. CLXXII; Series of 1996 in respondent Calubaquib’s notarial register was
an affidavit of one Daniel Malayao.4

The trial court decided Civil Case No. 5036 in favor of complainant5 and, as a result,
the plaintiff there, through respondent Calubaquib, appealed it to the Court of
Appeals, where it was docketed as CA-G.R. CV No. 55837.

On file with the records of this case is a special power of attorney6 dated September
10, 1996 executed by Isaac Villegas appointing respondent Calubaquib as his
attorney-in-fact to "enter into a compromise agreement under such terms and
conditions acceptable to him" which was notarized by respondent Baliga and entered
as Doc. No. 548, Page No. 110; Book No. VIII; Series of 1996.7 Complainant alleged
that this special power of attorney was also falsified because, according to respondent
Baliga’s notarial register, Doc. No. 548; Page No. 110; Book No. VIII; Series of 1996
pertains to an affidavit of loss of one Pedro Telan,8 dated August 26, 1996.

In addition, on January 2, 1995, respondent Baliga filed a petition for reappointment

as notary public for and in Tuguegarao, Cagayan, which was notarized by respondent
Calubaquib and entered in his notarial register as Doc. No. 31, Page No. 08, Book No.
CXXX, Series of 1995. However, Notarial Register Book No. CXXX was for the year
1996 and entered there as Doc. No. 31, Page No. 08 was a cancellation of real estate
mortgage dated January 11, 1996.
In his answer,9 respondent Baliga admitted the incorrectness of the entries and simply
attributed them to the inadvertence in good faith of his secretary to whom he had left
the task of entering all his notarial documents.

Respondent Calubaquib’s comment,10 however, contained a much lengthier account of

the alleged events leading up to this case, the bulk of which was meant to cast
complainant and his motives in a sinister light. In a nutshell, he made it appear that
the reason for the complaint was that he (respondent) thwarted a fraudulent attempt by
complainant to grab a parcel of land. He also stated that complainant had filed a case
for falsification of documents against him with the Ombudsman but it was dismissed.

In the end, however, he (like his co-respondent Baliga) admitted to the mistaken
entries and also ascribed the same to his "legal assistants." Similarly, by way of
defense, he pointed out that the Notarial Law "provides that only contracts need to
have their copies included in the notarial records. It does not require affidavits,
verifications or subscriptions of petitions which are mere allegations of facts to be
entered in the Notarial Register, despite widespread practice to the contrary."

Upon receipt of respondents’ comments, we referred the case to the Integrated Bar of
the Philippines (IBP) for investigation, report and recommendation.

In the course of the proceedings before the IBP, complainant alleged that respondent
Calubaquib, with the help of respondent Baliga and several other persons, was trying
to deprive him (complainant) of a parcel of land he had bought from Isaac Villegas’
mother-in-law. According to complainant, respondent impersonated Villegas, who
was in hiding due to several civil and criminal cases pending against him, by forging
his signature in all documents and pleadings related to the civil case filed against him
(complainant). He pointed to the incorrect notarial entries as proof of this falsification.

He presented in evidence a motion for withdrawal11 filed in the Court of Appeals,

apparently by Villegas, disavowing any involvement in the case filed by respondent
Calubaquib.

To further buttress his allegations of falsification, complainant pointed out that

respondent Calubaquib seemed unable to physically produce Villegas. For example,
when the Ombudsman ordered him to produce Villegas, respondent Calubaquib
merely presented an affidavit12 supposedly executed by Villegas and sworn to before a
"highly regarded [Department of Justice] official."

In the IBP’s report and recommendation,13 dated December 7, 2001, Commissioner

Rebecca Villanueva-Maala found respondents "liable for inexcusable negligence" and
recommended the revocation of the commission of respondents Calubaquib and
Baliga as notaries public for two years from receipt of the final decision.
Commissioner Maala’s report did not touch on complainant’s allegations of forgery.

When the IBP resolved14 to adopt Commissioner Maala’s report and recommendation,
both complainant15 and respondent Baliga16 filed motions for reconsideration17 with
this Court. Respondent Calubaquib opposed18 complainant’s motion for
reconsideration.
In his motion for reconsideration, complainant assailed the penalty recommended by
the IBP as grossly inadequate. Reiterating his allegation of forgery, he attached
documents bearing Villegas’ allegedly forged signature as well as documents with his
supposed real signature19 for comparison.

In his opposition/comment, respondent Calubaquib refuted complainant’s scathing

accusations of fraud and abuse of his public position, and prayed for the dismissal of
the complaint. In his motion for reconsideration, respondent Baliga decried the
penalty imposed as disproportionate to the infraction he had committed.

The respondents having admitted responsibility for the notarial entries, the question
now is whether these were the product of a mere mistake or evidence of larger scheme
to defraud complainant whose allegations, if true, are serious enough to merit the
disbarment of both respondents.

The missing link, as it were, between the admitted infractions of respondents and the
nefarious machinations alleged by complainant is whether or not the latter was able to
prove that Villegas’ signature on the documents notarized by respondents was in fact
forged.

Forgery cannot be presumed. It must be proved by clear, positive and convincing

evidence. Mere allegation thereof is not evidence.20 One who alleges forgery has the
burden of proving the same.21 We find that complainant failed to discharge this
burden.

Complainant alleged mainly that Villegas could not possibly have signed the
documents in question because he was a fugitive from justice, with "several civil and
criminal cases pending against him." Assuming this allegation to be true, it proved
nothing. The mere fact that Villegas was a fugitive from justice did not preclude the
possibility that he might have secretly met with his lawyer for purposes of filing a
suit. It would have been different had complainant presented evidence that Villegas
was, at the time the questioned documents were executed, definitely somewhere else.
But the bare argument that Villegas’ being a fugitive rendered it impossible for him to
sign some documents was simply too nebulous to inspire belief.

As additional evidence, complainant presented, as attachments to his motion for

reconsideration, a number of documents purportedly bearing Villegas’ real signature,
the latest of which was the motion to withdraw allegedly filed by Villegas himself.
However, the veracity of the last of those documents was vigorously contested by an
affidavit also purportedly filed by Villegas. The two documents, both notarized,
effectively cancelled each other out, absent some other credible proof.

It is true that there were dissimilarities between the signatures purportedly belonging
to Villegas and his genuine signature on the conforme of the general power of
attorney22 executed by his wife in favor of his mother-in-law. However, the fact of
forgery cannot be presumed simply because there are dissimilarities between the
standard and the questioned signatures.23 If complainant was so sure the signatures
were fake, he should have submitted them for expert analysis to the National Bureau
of Investigation, the Philippine National Police or some other handwriting expert. The
records are bereft of any such analysis or even any attempt to have the signatures
examined.

Furthermore, all the documents on which the contested signature appeared were
notarized. Notarial documents carry the presumption of regularity. To contradict
them, the evidence presented must be clear, convincing and more than merely
preponderant.24 Complainant’s uncorroborated theory of an entire conspiracy of
lawyers and government officials beholden to respondent Calubaquib did not
constitute such evidence.

The forgery of Villegas’ signature having remained unproven, we can only hold
respondents liable for their omissions that have actually been proved.

In this respect, we find that the recommendations of IBP Commissioner Maala

adopted by the IBP were supported by the evidence on record, particularly the
documents themselves as well as the respondents’ own admission.

In response, on the other hand, to respondents’ feeble attempts to deflect the blame
from themselves and onto their staff, we call their attention to Sections 245, 246 and
249(b) of the Notarial Law.25

Sections 245 and 246 of the Notarial Law provided:

SEC. 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 therefore. (emphasis supplied)

xxx xxx xxx

SEC. 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 execution, oath, or
acknowledgment of the instrument, the fees collected by him 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.

xxx xxx xxx

In this connection, Section 249(b) stated:

SEC. 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:

xxx xxx xxx

(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.

xxx xxx xxx

From the language of the subsection, it is abundantly clear that the notary public is
personally accountable for all entries in his notarial register. Respondents cannot be
relieved of responsibility for the violation of the aforesaid sections by passing the
buck to their secretaries, a reprehensible practice which to this day persists despite our
open condemnation.26 Respondents, especially Calubaquib, a self-proclaimed
"prominent legal practitioner," should have known better than to give us such a
simple-minded excuse.

We likewise remind respondents that notarization is not an empty, meaningless or

routinary act but one invested with substantive public interest, such that only those
who are qualified or authorized to do so may act as notaries public. The protection of
that interest necessarily requires that those not qualified or authorized to act must be
prevented from inflicting themselves upon the public, the courts and the
administrative offices in general.27

Notarization by a notary public converts a private document into a public one and
makes it admissible in evidence without further proof of its authenticity.28 Notaries
public must therefore observe utmost care with respect to the basic requirements of
their duties.29

Being not only lawyers but also public officers, respondents should have been acutely
aware of their responsibilities. Respondents’ acts did not amount to mere simple and
excusable negligence. Having failed to perform their sworn duty, respondents were
squarely in violation of Rule 1.01 of Canon 1 of the Code of Professional
Responsibility30 and Section 27, Rule 138 of the Rules of Court which provides:

SEC. 27. Disbarment or suspension of attorneys by Supreme Court; grounds

therefore.—A member of the bar may be disbarred or suspended from his office as
attorney by the Supreme Court for any deceit, malpractice or other gross misconduct
in such office, grossly immoral conduct or by reason of his conviction of a crime
involving moral turpitude, or for any violation of the oath which is required to take
before admission to practice, or for a willful disobedience of any lawful order of a
superior court, or for corruptly and willfully appearing as an attorney for a party to a
case without authority to do so. The practice of soliciting cases at law for the purpose
of gain, either personally or through paid agents or brokers, constitutes malpractice.

WHEREFORE, in view of the foregoing, respondents Atty. Romeo I. Calubaquib

and Atty. Jimmy P. Baliga are hereby found guilty of violation of Rule 1.01, Canon 1
of the Code of Professional Responsibility and of their lawyer’s oath. They are both
ordered SUSPENDED from the practice of law for ONE YEAR effective
immediately, with a warning that another infraction shall be dealt with more severely.

Their present commissions as notaries public, if any, are hereby REVOKED, with
DISQUALIFICATION from reappointment as notaries public for a period of two
years.

Let a copy of this Resolution be attached to the personal records of Atty. Romeo I.
Calubaquib and Atty. Jimmy P. Baliga, and copies furnished the Integrated Bar of the
Philippines, the Office of the Court Administrator and Office of the Bar Confidant for
dissemination to all courts nationwide.

This Resolution is immediately executory.

SO ORDERED.

RENATO C. CORONA
Associate Justice

WE CONCUR:

REYNATO S. PUNO
Associate Justice
Chairperson

ANGELINA SANDOVAL-
ADOLFO S. AZCUNA
GUTIERREZ
Asscociate Justice
Associate Justice

CANCIO C. GARCIA
Associate Justice