Proof of donation

DearPAO, Li no claimed that my deceased parents donated to him 1,000 squaremetersoflandin2003.My siblings and I denied the existence of the donation. Lino can not produce the deed of donation to prove his claim during our confrontation He also claimed that it was lost during the typhoon, and he presented could not be found in the notarial register of the lone notary public inourmunicipalitythatyear.Is the certification presented by Li no enough to prove the donation?

Lenery

Dear Lenery,

For a donation to be valid, it must comply with the requirements provided under Article 749 of the New Civil Code of the Philippines which states that:

“In order that the donation of an immovable may be valid, it must be made in a public document, specifying therein the property donated and the value of the charges which the donee must satisfy.

“The acceptance may be made in the same deed of donation or in a separate public document, but it shall not take effect unless it is done during the lifetime of the donor.

“If the acceptance is made in a separate instrument, the donor shall be notified thereof in an authentic form, and this step shall be noted in both instruments.”

If the deed of donation was lost, Lino can still prove the donation through the provision of Section 5, Rule 130 of the 1997 Revised Rules of Court:

“When original document is unavailable. - When the original document has been lost or destroyed, or cannot be produced in court, the offeror, upon proof of its execution or existence and the cause of its unavailability without bad faith on his part, may prove its contents by a copy, or by a recital of its contents in some authentic document, or by the testimony of witnesses in the order stated.”

However, Lino failed to prove the existence of the donation and the certification he presented only bolstered your theory that no donation was indeed made by your parents. This is in consonance with the decision of the court in the case of the Department of Education, Culture and Sports vs. Rosario, et al. (GR 146586, Jan. 26, 2005), where the Supreme Court through Chief Justice Hilario Davide Jr., stated that:

“The Notarial Law mandates a notary public to record in his notarial register the necessary information regarding the instrument acknowledged before him. The Notarial Law also mandates the notary public to retain a copy of the instrument acknowledged before him when it is a contract. The notarial register is a record of the notary public’s official acts. Acknowledged instruments recorded in the notarial register are public documents. If the instrument is not recorded in the notarial register and there is no copy in the notarial records, the presumption arises that the document was not notarized and is not a public document.”

Applying the above-cited decision in your situation, the certification presented by Lino that there is no copy of the deed of donation in the notarial records gave rise to the presumption that the document was not notarized or is not a public document. The donation of land or immovable must be made in a public document for it to be valid.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.