This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2015-10-14 |
PERLAS-BERNABE, J. |
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| A notary public exercises duties calling for carefulness and faithfulness.[20] Notaries must inform themselves of the facts they certify to; most importantly, they should not take part or allow themselves to be part of illegal transactions.[21] In line with this mandate, a notary public should not notarize a document unless the person who signed the same is the very person who executed and personally appeared before him to attest to the contents and the truth of what are stated therein.[22] By failing in this regard, the notary public permits a falsehood which does not only transgress the Notarial Rules but also Rule 1.01, Canon 1 of the Code of Professional Responsibility, which provides that "[a] lawyer shall not engage in unlawful, dishonest, immoral or deceitful conduct."[23] Verily, a notarized document is, by law, entitled to full faith and credit upon its face; and it is for this reason that a notary public must observe with utmost care the basic requirements in the performance of his duties; otherwise, the public's confidence in the integrity of a notarized document would be undermined. | |||||