G.R. No. 256053 - VICE MAYOR PETER BASCON MIGUEL, VS. ELIORDO USERO OGENA.

Ruling

accordingly imposed upon him the penalty of suspension from the practice of law for two years and permanently barred him to ever perform notarial service, thus: The Court agrees with the findings of the IBP except as to the penalty it imposed. To begin with, complainants' allegation of forgery was not clearly substantiated and there was no concrete proof that the complainants were prejudiced. They submitted a copy of the affidavits for falsification executed by Erlinda and Flordelisa, both subscribed before the City . . . Prosecutor on February 20, 2006; Memoranda for Preliminary Investigation issued by Office of the City Prosecutor, Koronadal, South Cotabato; Letter, Memorandum, and Order issued by the Bureau of Lands, but these do not suffice to prove the allegation of forgery and/or falsification. Atty. Ogena, however, violated the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice specifically Rule IV, Section 2(b), which provides: Section 2. Prohibitions. (a) . . . (b) A person shall not perform a notarial act if the person involved as signatory to the instrument or document - (1) is not in the notary's presence personally at the time of the notarization; and (2) 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. Doubtless, Atty. Ogena was negligent in the performance of his duty as a notary public. He failed to require the personal presence of the signatories of the documents and proceeded to notarize the aforementioned documents without the signatures of all the parties. Likewise, Atty. Ogena failed to comply with the most basic function that a notary public must do to require the parties to present their residence certificates or any other document to prove their identities. This Court, in Gonzales v. Atty. Ramos , wrote: . . . . By notarizing the aforementioned documents, Atty. Ogena engaged in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct. His conduct is fraught with dangerous possibilities considering the conclusiveness on the due execution of a document that our courts and the public accord to notarized documents. His failure to perform his duty as a notary public resulted not only in damaging complainants' rights but also in undermining the integrity of a notary public and in degrading the function of notarization. Thus, Atty. Ogena should be liable for such negligence, not only as a notary public but also as a lawyer. Pursuant to the pronouncement in Re: Violation of Rules on Notarial Practice , Atty. Ogena should be suspended for two (2) years from the practice of law and forever barred from becoming a notary public. WHEREFORE , respondent Atty. Eliordo Ogena is SUSPENDED from the practice of law for two (2) years and is BARRED PERMANENTLY from being commissioned as Notary Public. [13] (Emphasis in the original; citations omitted) In his answer with affirmative defenses, Ogena argued that the quo warranto action should have been filed befo