TESTACY OF SIXTO LOPEZ, JOSE LOPEZ VS.

LIBORO
(GR No. L-1787; Aug. 27, 1978)
FACTS:
The will subject of the controversy is the last will and testament of Don Sixto Lopez
who died at the age of 83 in Balayan, Batangas on March 3, 1947. Only one of the objections
raised in the lower court was raised on appeal: that the said will (Exhibit A) was not executed
in accordance with requirements under the law. The fatal defect pertained to by the
oppositor is the absence of a page in the first sheet, either in letters or in Arabic numerals.
In the case of Abangan, the purpose of the law in prescribing the paging of wills is to guard
against fraud, and to afford means of preventing the substitution or of detecting the loss of any of
its pages. Another, the Supreme Court dwelled on the issue also of putting his thumbmark by the
testator instead of a signature. Lastly, Supreme Court raised that appellant impugns the will
because of its silence on the testators understanding of the language used in the testament which
is Spanish.
Issues: (1) WON the will was validly executed despite the absence of a page number.
(2) WON the thumbmark used by the testator is sufficient in lieu of his signature.
(3) WON the testators knowledge of the Spanish language used in the will is material.
Held:
(1) Yes. The will is still valid despite the absence of a page number on the first sheet.
The omission to put a page number on the first sheet, if that be necessary, is supplied
by other forms of identification more trustworthy than the conventional numeral
words or characters. The Supreme Court determined the first sheet as the first page by
virtue of the documents (will) contents for which the said sheet was logically and
coherently a precedent of the second one and the two cannot be interchanged since
there were only two sheets.
(2) Yes. The thumbmark was sufficient in lieu of his signature. The Court took notice
of the fact that the testator was suffering from partial paralysis. The Court added that
it was a matter of taste or preference. A statute requiring a will to be "signed" is
satisfied if the signature is made by the testator's mark. (De Gala vs. Gonzales and
Ona, 53 Phil., 108)
(3) No. The knowledge of Spanish language of the testator is immaterial according to

the Supreme Court.

There is no statutory requirement that such knowledge be

expressly stated in the will itself. Citing Gonzales vs. Laurel (46 Phil 781), there is a
presumption that the testator knew the language.