Documents must comply with authentication rules

Documents must comply with authentication rules "My cousin designated me as her attorney-in-fact and authorized me to file cases against the tenants of her apartments who refuse to vacate the same. She sent me a Special Power of Attorney which is notarized by a notary public in California. However, it was not authenticated by the Philippine Embassy there. Will this be honored by the courts? LizaDear Liza, A power of attorney is an instrument in writing by which one person, as principal, appoints another as his agent and confers upon him the authority to perform certain specified acts or kinds of acts on behalf of the principal (De Leon and De Leon, Jr., Comments and Cases on Partnership, Agency and Trusts (5th Ed.), page 404). It may either be a General Power of Attorney if the agent is authorized to do general powers of administration or a Special Power of Attorney if the agent is authorized to do specific transactions enumerated in Article 1878 of the Civil Code of the Philippines. The authority to file and prosecute a case on behalf of another person may be effected through a Special Power of Attorney.As a rule, every instrument duly acknowledged or proved and certified as provided by law, may be presented in evidence without further proof, the certificate of acknowledgement being prima facie evidence of the execution of the instrument of document involved (Section 30, Rule 132, Rules of Court). Hence, a special power of attorney which is executed and acknowledged in the Philippines will be admitted by our courts without further proof (Lopez vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 77008 December 29, 1987). However, documents which are executed outside the Philippines will only be admitted by our courts upon compliance with the rules on authentication and proof of documents as provided in Section 24, Rule 132 of the Rules of Court: Sec. 24. Proof of official record.—The record of public documents referred to in paragraph (a) of section 19, when admissible for any purpose, may be evidenced by an official publication thereof or by a copy attested by the officer having the legal custody of the record or by his deputy, and accompanied, if the record is not kept in the Philippines, with a certificate that such officer has the custody. If the office in which the record is kept is in a foreign country, the certificate may be made by a secretary of the embassy or legation, consul-general, consul, vice-consul, or consular agent or by any officer in the foreign service of the Philippines stationed in the foreign country in which the record is kept, and authenticated by the seal of his office (emphasis supplied).The special power of attorney of your cousin which is executed or acknowledged before a notary public in California cannot be admitted in evidence unless it is certified as such in accordance with the foregoing provision. Your cousin’s failure to comply with this requirement will render the Special Power of Attorney inadmissible in evidence. Consequently, you cannot lawfully file any case on behalf of your cousin by using the same (Lopez vs. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 77008 December 29, 1987). Finally, we wish to remind you that this opinion is solely based on your narration of facts and our appreciation of the same. The opinion may vary if other facts are added or elaborated.We hope that we were able to address your concern.Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@manilatimes.net." - https://www.affordablecebu.com/