38. How do you impeach judicial records?

39. What are notarial documents?

The notarization by a notary public converts a private document into a
public document, making it admissible in evidence without further proof of its
authenticity. A notarial document is, by law, entitled to full faith and credit upon its
face.

40. Is an affidavit a notarial document?

An affidavit is a notarial document. Affidavits must always be notarized by a notary
public. "Notarized" means that you have sworn under oath that the facts in the
affidavit are true, the document has been signed in front of a notary public, and a
notary public has signed and put a seal on the affidavit.

41. Is an affidavit a public document? An affidavit is a public document, since an affidavit

is needed to be notarized, and it is a well-settled rule that a document
acknowledged before a notary public is a public document that enjoys the
presumption of regularity.

42. How do you prove notarial documents?

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 or
document involved. (Sec 30, Rule 130)

43. What will you present if you want to prove an official record?
An official record may be evidence by:
a. An official publication;
b. By a copy of the documents attested by the officer having legal custody of the
record by the attestation of his deputy
(Sec 24, Rule 132)

44. How do you prove the non-existence of an official record?

Proof of lack of recird of a document consists of written statement signed by an
officer having custody of an official record or by his deputy. The written statement
must contain the following matters:
a. There has been a diligent search of the record
b. That despite the diligent search, no record of entry of a specified tenor is found
in the records of his office.

The written statement must be accompanied by a certificate that such officer has the custody
of official records.
(Sec 28, Rule 132)

45. When is a document or record required to be attested?

A document or record is required to be attested when there is necessity for showing
to the court that indeed a record of the official acts of official bodies, tribunals, or
public officer exists.

46. What should be stated in the attestation?

The contents of an attestation are:
a. State, in substance, that the copy is a correct copy of the original or a specific part
thereof
b. The attestation must be under the official seal of the attesting officer, if there be
any, or if he be the clerk of a court having a seal, under the seal of such court
(Section 25, Rule 132)
c. If the record is not kept in the Philippines, the attestation must be accompanied by a
certificate that such officer has the custody.

47. When may an altered document be admissible?

The party producing a document as genuine which has been altered and appears to
have been altered after its execution, in a part material to the question in dispute,
must account for the alteration. He may show that the alteration was made by
another, without his concurrence, or was made with the consent of the parties
affected by it, or was otherwise properly or innocent made, or that the alteration did
not change the meaning or language of the instrument. If he fails to do that, the
document shall not be admissible in evidence. (Sec 31 Rule 132B)