By Benjamin Pulta
MANILA – The Supreme Court has fined a disbarred lawyer for notarizing an agreement between siblings who passed away years before the actual signing of the document.
In an eight-page decision made public recently, the SC 2nd Division found lawyer Glenn Peralta, who was disbarred in 2022, guilty of violating the rules of notarial practice and Code of Professional Responsibility.
The complainant in the case, Loreta Hedocil-Menioria, accused Peralta of notarizing a partition agreement over a common property in Zamboanga del Sur between her brothers Melecio and Artemio in 2017, long after they died in 1984 and 2005, respectively.
In defense, Peralta claimed he had depended on the statements made by the wives of the two brothers, who are his regular clients.
The SC said the Rules on Notarial Practice provides that “a notary public should not notarize a document unless the signatory to the document is in the notary’s presence personally at the time of the notarization, and personally known to the notary public or otherwise identified through competent evidence of identity.”
Having established Peralta’s administrative liability, the SC suspended him from the practice of law for one year; revoked his incumbent commission as a notary public, if any; and prohibited him from being commissioned as a notary public for two years.
“However, considering that he has already been disbarred, the penalties herein can no longer be imposed, but nevertheless should be considered in the event that he should apply for the lifting of his disbarment. He is also ordered to pay a fine in the amount of PHP40,000,” the court said.
Peralta was disbarred in 2022 in another case for various violations of the Lawyer’s Oath and the Code of Professional Responsibility. (PNA)
