Acts that may be/not be delegated to agents.

The general rule is that what a man may do in person, he

may do thru another. Thus, a stockholder may delegate to another his right to inspect the books of the
corporation because this is an act which he can lawfully do personally. (Philpotts vs. Phil. Mfg. Co., 40
Phil. 491 [1919].) Some acts, however, cannot be done through an agent.

(1) Personal acts. — If personal performance is required by law or public policy or the agreement of
the parties, the doing of the act by a person on behalf of another does not constitute
performance by the latter. (a) The right to vote during election cannot be delegated because
voting is considered a purely personal act under the law. (b) The making of a will is a strictly
personal act; it cannot be accomplished through the instrumentality of an agent or an attorney.
(Art. 784; see, however, Art. 805.) (c) Obviously, statements which are required to be made
under oath should be made personally. (d) A member of the board of directors or trustees of a
corporation cannot validly act by proxy because his right to attend the board meetings is
personal to him. (Sec. 25, last par., B.P. Blg. 68.) (e) An agent cannot delegate to a sub-agent the
performance of acts which he has been appointed to perform in person. (see Arts. 1892-1893.)
A re-delegation of the agency would be detrimental to the principal as the second agent has no
privity of contract with the former. (Baltazar vs. Ombudsman, 510 SCRA 74 [2006].)

(2) Criminal acts or acts not allowed by law. — An attempt to delegate to another authority to do an
act which, if done by the principal would be illegal, is void. There can be no agency in the
perpetration of a crime or an unlawful act. (2 C.J.S. 1039-1040.) (a) Since under our Constitution
aliens are not allowed to own private agricultural lands (Art. XII, Secs. 3, 7.), an alien cannot
purchase a land through a Filipino agent. (b) Persons who, because of their position and relation
with the persons under their charge or property under their control, are prohibited from
acquiring said property, cannot acquire the same through the mediation of another.5 (c) The law
on agency governing civil cases has no application in criminal cases. When a person participates
in the commission of a crime, he cannot escape punishment on the ground that he simply acted
as an agent of another party. (Ong vs. Court of Appeals, 401 SCRA 684 [2003].)

(3)