A.C. No. 12709 - LILIA YUSAY-CORDERO,COMPLAINANT, VS. ATTY. JUANITO AMIHAN, JR..

Ruling

Accordingly, Quirico, Sr. mortgaged the property to the bank and surrendered the certificate of title. On January 22, 2004, Hector passed away. In 2015, Lilia finished paying the loan and received back the certificate of title from the bank. However, Lilia noticed that there is an annotation [2] on the title pertaining to a "Deed of Portion Sale" between her, as seller, represented by her father Quirico Sr., and Quirico Y. Yusar, Jr. and Alberto Y. Yusay, as buyers. The deed was notarized on December 11, 2003 by Atty. Juanito S. Amihan, Jr. (Atty. Amihan, Jr.). [3] Upon verification, however, Lilia discovered that Atty. Amihan, Jr. is not a commissioned notary public in 2003 and that no copy of the deed was recorded with the Office of the Clerk of Court of the Regional Trial Court (RTC). [4] Accordingly, Lilia filed an administrative complaint [5] against Atty. Amihan, Jr. before the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) for violation of the Lawyer's Oath and the Canons of Professional Responsibility (CPR). As evidence, Lilia presented the corresponding certifications from the clerk of court. On the other hand, Atty. Amihan, Jr. claimed that he is authorized to notarize documents in 2003. Atty. Amihan, Jr. presented imprints of his rubber stamps indicating the details of his notarial commission for the year 2003, [6] the recommendation letter stating that his appointment expired on December 31,2003, [7] and the oath of office [8] and appointment as notary public in 2004. [9] Nevertheless, Lilia maintained that the rubber stamps do not establish that Atty. Amihan, Jr. has a valid commission in 2003. [10] On November 21, 2018, the Commission on Bar Discipline found that Atty. Amihan, Jr. is not a commissioned notary public in 2003, absent a certificate of authority and notarial reports/register for that year. Moreover, it gave credence to the certification of the clerk of court over the recommendation letter and the rubber stamps which do not prove a valid commission. The investigating commissioner also confirmed with the RTC that Atty. Amihan, Jr. has no notarial commission in 2003. As such, Atty. Amihan, Jr. committed deliberate falsehood in violation of the Lawyer's Oath and Rule 1.01 of the CPR. The Commission recommended a penalty of immediate revocation of notarial commission, disqualification from being commissioned as a notary public for two years, and suspension from practice of law for two years, thus: Contrary to his claim, Respondent does not appear that he was commissioned as a notary public for and in the City of Bacolod. The Respondent, for his part, has been completely unable to submit any kind of proof of his claim that he had a commission as a notary public for and in the City of Bacolod in 2003, or of his submission of notarial reports and notarial register during the said period. Respondent has only presented the imprints of his rubber stamps indicating his notarial commission details for the year 2003. He failed to establish