28.  G.R. No.

164273, March 28, 2007

EMMANUEL B. AZNAR v. CITIBANK, N.A., (Philippines), 
 
Facts: Aznar made an advance deposit amounting to ₱485,000.00 to its
Citibank Preferred Master Credit Card to increase his ordinary credit limit of
₱150,000 to use the card in his Asian tour with his family. When in Indonesia,
the credit card was dishonored by a travel agency and was declared over the
limit. The agency even mentioned that Aznar might be a swindler. Upon their
return in the Philippines, Aznar filed a complaint for damages alleging that
Citibank fraudulently and with gross negligence blacklisted his Mastercard
causing him injuries.
Aznar presented a print-out of a computer-generated report from the
travel agency showing that his card was declared over limit. He argued that the
Rules on Electronic Evidence provides that print-outs are also originals for
purposes of the Best Evidence Rule. He also claimed that his testimony
constituted other evidence showing integrity and reliability of the print-out as
required by the Rules on Electronic Evidence.

On the other hand, Citibank presented Warning Cancellation Bulletins showing

that the card was not placed in a hot list or not blacklisted during the travel
dates of Aznar.

Issue: Whether or not the print-out of the computer-generated document was

properly authenticated by Aznar to be admissible before the court.

Held: No, the document cannot be considered admissible as its authenticity

and due execution were not sufficiently established.

In this case, Aznar did not actually see the document executed or written,
neither was he able to provide evidence on the genuineness of the signature or
handwriting of the person who handed to him said computer print-out.

The integrity and reliability of the document was not proved since Aznar failed
to demonstrate how the information reflected on the print-out was generated
and how the said information could be relied upon as true.