A.C. No. 11870 - HEIRS OF ODYLON UNITE TORRICES, REPRESENTED BY SOLE HEIR MIGUEL B. TORRICES, COMPLAINANT, VS. ATTY. HAXLEY M. GALANO.

Ruling

Accordingly, Commissioner Robles recommended Atty. Galano's suspension from the legal profession for a period of three years. [10] IBP Board of Governors Resolution In a Resolution [11] dated June 30, 2015, the IBP Board of Governors adopted the Recommendation of IBP Commissioner Robles. The dispositive portion of the said Resolution states: RESOLVED to ADOPT and APPROVE, as it is hereby ADOPTED and APPROVED, the Report and Recommendation of the Investigating Commissioner in the above-entitled case, herein made part of this Resolution as Annex "A", and finding the recommendation to be fully supported by the evidence on record and applicable laws, and considering Respondent's violation of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, Ally, Haxley M. Galano is hereby SUSPENDED from the practice of law for three (3) years. [12] Issue The issue raised in the instant case is whether or not Atty. Galano is administratively liable for violating the rules on notarial practice, as well as Rule 10.01 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, and the Lawyer's Oath. Ruling of the Court The Court agrees with the finding that Atty. Galano is administratively liable, but modifies the penalty recommended by the IBP. Essentially, the conferment of a notarial commission embodies the correlative duty to observe the basic requirements in the performance of notarial duties with utmost care to avoid the erosion of the public's confidence in the integrity of a notarized document. [13] Lest it be forgotten, notarization is an act invested with substantive public interest, as it results to the conversion of a private document into a public instrument, thereby making it admissible in evidence without further proof of its authenticity. [14] By law, a notarized document is entitled to full faith and credit. [15] Accordingly, to preserve the sanctity of a notarized document, the Notary Public must require the presence of the parties executing the instrument. [16] In addition, the Notary Public must ensure that the parties appearing in the document are the same persons who executed it, that they signed freely and voluntarily, and that the provisions embodied in the instrument express their true agreement. [17] These may not be achieved unless the parties are physically present before the Notary Public. [18] In this regard, Section 1 of the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice highlights the importance of having the affiant appear in person before the Notary Public, viz .: SECTION 1. Acknowledgment. "Acknowledgment" refers to 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 these 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 th