FIRST DIVISION

G.R. Nos. 75005-06 February 15, 1990

JOSE RIVERA petitioner,
vs.
INTERMEIATE A!!E""ATE #O$RT a%& AE"AIO J. RIVERA, respondents.
Lorenzo O. Navarro, Jr. for petitioner.
Regalado P. Morales for private respondent.

#R$', J.:
Was there only one Venancio Rivera in Mabalacat, Papan!a, or "ere there t"o#
On May $%, &'(), a proinent and "ealthy resident o* that to"n naed Venancio Rivera
died. On +,ly -., &'(), +ose Rivera, claiin! to be the only s,rvivin! le!itiate son o* the
deceased, *iled a petition *or the iss,ance o* letters o* adinistration over Venancio/s
estate. Doc0eted as SP No. &%(1, this petition "as opposed by 2delaido +. Rivera, "ho
denied that +ose "as the son o* the decedent. 2delaido averred that Venancio "as his
*ather and did not die intestate b,t in *act le*t t"o holo!raphic "ills.
1
On Noveber (, &'(), 2delaido +. Rivera *iled, also "ith the Re!ional Trial 3o,rt o*
2n!eles 3ity, a petition *or the probate o* the holo!raphic "ills. Doc0eted as SP No. &%'&,
this petition "as in t,rn opposed by +ose Rivera, "ho reiterated that he "as the sole heir o*
Venancio/s intestate estate.
(
On Noveber &&, &'(), the t"o cases "ere consolidated. 2delaido +. Rivera "as later
appointed special adinistrator. 2*ter 4oint trial, +,d!e 5liodoro 6. 7,into *o,nd that +ose
Rivera "as not the son o* the decedent b,t o* a di**erent Venancio Rivera "ho "as arried
to Maria Vital. The Venancio Rivera "hose estate "as in 8,estion "as arried to Maria
+ocson, by "ho he had seven children, incl,din! 2delaido. +ose Rivera had no clai to
this estate beca,se the decedent "as not his *ather. The holo!raphic "ills "ere also
aditted to probate.
)
On appeal, the decision o* the trial co,rt "as a**ired by the then Interediate 2ppellate
3o,rt.
*
Its decision is no" the s,b4ect o* this petition, "hich ,r!es the reversal o* the
respondent co,rt.
In s,pport o* his clai that he "as the sole heir o* the late Venancio Rivera, +ose so,!ht to
sho" that the said person "as arried in &'-. to Maria Vital, "ho "as his other. 9e
s,bitted *or this p,rpose 5:hibit 2, the arria!e certi*icate o* the co,ple, and 5:hibit 6, his
o"n baptisal certi*icate "here the co,ple "as indicated as his parents. The petitioner also
presented Doin!o Santos, "ho testi*ied that +ose "as indeed the son o* the co,ple and
that he sa" Venancio and +ose to!ether several ties.
5
+ose hisel* stressed that
2delaido considered hi a hal*;brother and 0issed his hand as a si!n o* respect "henever
they et. 9e insisted that 2delaido and his brothers and sisters "ere ille!itiate children,
sired by Venancio "ith Maria +ocson.
6
2delaido, *or his part, aintained that he and his brothers and sisters "ere born to
Venancio Rivera and Maria +ocson, "ho "ere le!ally arried and lived as s,ch *or any
years. 9e e:plained that he co,ld not present his parents/ arria!e certi*icate beca,se the
record o* arria!es *or &'<- in Mabalacat "ere destroyed "hen the to"n "as b,rned
d,rin! the "ar, as certi*ied by 5:hibit 1.
7
9e also s,bitted his o"n birth certi*icate and
those o* his sisters =enaida and >olanda Rivera, "ho "ere each described therein as the
le!iitate children o* Venancio Rivera and Maria +ocson.
+
2tty. Re!alado P. Morales, then
(& years o* a!e, a**ired that he 0ne" the deceased and his parents, Ma!no Rivera and
7ertr,des de los Reyes, and it "as d,rin! the +apanese occ,pation that Venancio
introd,ced to hi Maria +ocson as his "i*e.
9
To prove that there "ere in *act t"o persons by
the sae nae o* Venancio Rivera, 2delaido o**ered Venancio Rivera/s baptisal certi*icate
sho"in! that his parents "ere Ma!no Rivera and 7ertr,des de los Reyes,
10
as contrasted
"ith the arria!e certi*icate s,bitted by +ose, "hich indicated that the Venancio Rivera
s,b4ect thereo* "as the son o* Florencio Rivera and 5str,de? Reyes.
11
9e also denied
0issin! +ose/s hand or reco!ni?in! hi as a brother.
1(
We *ind in *avor o* 2delaido +. Rivera.
It is tr,e that 2delaido co,ld not present his parents/ arria!e certi*icate beca,se, as he
e:plained it, the arria!e records *or &'<- in the Mabalacat civil re!istry "ere b,rned
d,rin! the "ar. 5ven so, he co,ld still rely on the pres,ption o* arria!e, since it is not
denied that Venancio Rivera and Maria +ocson lived to!ether as h,sband and "i*e *or any
years, be!ettin! seven children in all d,rin! that tie.
2ccordin! to 2rticle --% o* the 3ivil 3ode@
In case o* do,bt, all pres,ptions *avor the solidarity o* the *aily. Th,s every
intendent o* the la" or *act leans to"ard the validity o* arria!e, the
indissol,bility o* the arria!e bonds, the le!itiacy o* children, ... .
The R,les o* 3o,rt, in R,le &$&, provides@
S53. $. Disputable presumptions. A The *ollo"in! pres,ptions are
satis*actory i* ,ncontradicted, b,t ay be contradicted and overcoe by other
evidence@
::: ::: :::
BaaC That a an and "oan deportin! theselves as h,sband and "i*e have
entered into a la"*,l contract o* arria!e.
6y contrast, altho,!h +ose did present his parents/ arria!e certi*icate, Venancio "as
described therein as the son o* Florencio Rivera. Pres,ably, he "as not the sae
Venancio Rivera described in 5:hibit <, his baptisal certi*icate, as the son o* Ma!no
Rivera. While "e reali?e that s,ch baptisal certi*icate is not concl,sive evidence o*
Venancio/s *iliation B"hich is not the iss,e hereC it ay nonetheless be considered to
deterine his real identity. +ose insists that Ma!no and Florencio are one and the sae
person, ar!,in! that it is not ,ncoon *or a person to be called by di**erent naes. The
3o,rt is not convinced. There is no evidence that Venancio/s *ather "as called either Ma!no
or Florencio. What is ore li0ely is that t"o or ore persons ay live at the sae tie and
bear the sae nae, even in the sae co,nity. That is "hat the co,rts belo" *o,nd in
the cases at bar.
What this 3o,rt considers partic,larly intri!,in! is "hy, i* it is tr,e that he "as the le!itiate
son o* Venancio Rivera, +ose did not assert his ri!ht as s,ch "hen his *ather "as still alive.
6y his o"n acco,nt, +ose s,pported hisel* A and pres,ably also his other Maria Vital
A as a !asoline attendant and driver *or any years. 2ll the tie, his *ather "as residin! in
the sae to"n A and obvio,sly prosperin! A and available *or s,pport. 9is alle!ed *ather
"as openly livin! "ith another "oan and raisin! another *aily, b,t this "as apparently
accepted by +ose "itho,t protest, ta0in! no step "hatsoever to invo0e his stat,s. I*, as he
insists, he and Venancio Rivera "ere on cordial ters, there is no reason "hy the *ather did
not help the son and instead le*t +ose to *end *or hisel* as a h,ble "or0er "hile his other
children by Maria +ocson en4oyed a co*ortable li*e. S,ch paternal discriination is di**ic,lt
to ,nderstand, especially i* it is considered A ass,in! the clais to be tr,e A that +ose
"as the oldest and, by his o"n acco,nt, the only le!itiate child o* Venancio Rivera.
2nd there is also Maria Vital, "hose attit,de is no less incoprehensible. 2s Venancio/s
le!itiate "i*e A i* indeed she "as A she sho,ld have ob4ected "hen her h,sband
abandoned her and *o,nded another *aily by another "oan, and in the sae to"n at
that. Seein! that the children o* Maria +ocson "ere bein! raised "ell "hile her o"n son
+ose "as practically i!nored and ne!lected, she nevertheless did not deand *or hi at
least s,pport, i* not better treatent, *ro his le!itiate *ather. It is ,nnat,ral *or a la"*,l
"i*e to say nothin! i* she is deserted in *avor o* another "oan and *or a carin! other not
to protect her son/s interests *ro his "ay"ard *ather/s ne!lect. The *act is that this *orsa0en
"i*e never deanded s,pport *ro her "ealthy i* errant h,sband. She did not *ile a
coplaint *or bi!ay or conc,bina!e a!ainst Venancio Rivera and Maria +ocson, the
alle!ed partners in crie and sin. Maria Vital "as copletely passive and coplaisant.
Si!ni*icantly, as noted by the respondent co,rt, Maria Vital "as not even presented at the
trial to s,pport her son/s alle!ations that she "as the decedent/s la"*,l "i*e. +ose says this
"as not done beca,se she "as already old and bedridden then. 6,t there "as no
ipedient to the ta0in! o* her deposition in her o"n ho,se. No e**ort "as ade to"ard
this end altho,!h her testiony "as vital to the petitioner/s ca,se. +ose disisses s,ch
testiony as erely Dc,,lative,D b,t this 3o,rt does not a!ree. 9avin! alle!ed that Maria
+ocson/s arria!e to Venancio Rivera "as n,ll and void, +ose had the b,rden o* provin!
that serio,s alle!ation.
We *ind *ro the evidence o* record that the respondent co,rt did not err in holdin! that the
Venancio Rivera "ho arried Maria +ocson in &'<- "as not the sae person "ho arried
Maria Vital, +ose/s le!itiate other, in &'-.. +ose belon!ed to a h,bler *aily "hich had
no relation "hatsoever "ith the *aily o* Venancio Rivera and Maria Vital. This "as ore
prospero,s and proinent. 5:cept *or the c,rio,s Identity o* naes o* the head o* each,
there is no evidence lin0in! the t"o *ailies or sho"in! that the deceased Venancio Rivera
"as the head o* both.
No" *or the holo!raphic "ills. The respondent co,rt considered the valid beca,se it *o,nd
the to have been "ritten, dated and si!ned by the testator hisel* in accordance "ith
2rticle .&% o* the 3ivil 3ode. It also held there "as no necessity o* presentin! the three
"itnesses re8,ired ,nder 2rticle .&& beca,se the a,thenticity o* the "ills had not been
8,estioned.
The e:istence and there*ore also the a,thenticity o* the holo!raphic "ills "ere 8,estioned
by +ose Rivera. In his o"n petition in SP No. &%(1, he declared that Venancio Rivera died
intestateE and in SP No. &%'&, he denied the e:istence o* the holo!raphic "ills presented by
2delaido Rivera *or probate. In both proceedin!s, +ose Rivera opposed the holo!raphic
"ills s,bitted by 2delaido Rivera and claied that they "ere sp,rio,s. 3onse8,ently, it
ay be ar!,ed, the respondent co,rt sho,ld have applied 2rticle .&& o* the 3ivil 3ode,
providin! as *ollo"s@
In the probate o* a holo!raphic "ill, it shall be necessary that at least one
"itness "ho 0no"s the hand"ritin! and si!nat,re o* the testator e:plicitly
declare that the "ill and the si!nat,re are in the hand"ritin! o* the testator. I*
the "ill is contested, at least three o* s,ch "itnesses shall be re8,ired.
The *la" in this ar!,ent is that, as "e have already deterined, +ose Rivera is not the son
o* the deceased Venancio Rivera "hose estate is in 8,estion. 9ence, bein! a ere
stran!er, he had no personality to contest the "ills and his opposition thereto did not have
the le!al e**ect o* re8,irin! the three "itnesses. The testiony o* =enaida and Venancio
Rivera, +r., "ho a,thenticated the "ills as havin! been "ritten and si!ned by their *ather,
"as s,**icient.
W95R5FOR5, the petition is D5NI5D and the challen!ed decision is 2FFIRM5D, "ith
costs a!ainst the petitioner.
SO ORD5R5D.
Narvasa (Cairman!, "an#a$#o, "ri%o&'(uino and Medialdea, JJ., #on#ur.

Foo,%o,es
& Ori!inal Records, Vol. I, pp. &&;&$.
- Ori!inal Records, Vol. II, pp. &);&1
$ Record on 2ppeal, pp. &1&;&(-.
< 3o8,ia, +., ponente, "ith 3astro;6artoloe and +,rado, ++., conc,rrin!.
) TSN, March &., &'.-, pp. &.;-&.
1 )bid., pp. ';&-.
( TSN, Dec. -, &'.-, pp. -%;-&.
. Folder o* 5:hibits, pp. &%, &&, &$.
' TSN, Sept. &), &'.$, pp. <;), &);-).
&% TSN, Nov. <, &'.-, pp. &(;-$.
&& TSN, Dec. -, &'.-, pp. ';&).
&- )bid p. (.