This has reference to your September 20, 2016 memorandum requesting opinion

on whether the Records Management Division can issue a Certified True Copy
(CTC) based on a photocopy of the document, and if not, what can the said
Division do in order to avoid any offenses that the DPWH Records Officer may
commit.
In this regards, please be informed that your Office can issue a CTC only if the
original document is within your custody. Sections 24 and 25, Rule 132 of the
Revised Rules on Evidence (Rules of Court) provides that:
Section 24.
Proof of official record. The record of public documents
referred to in paragraph (a) of Section 19, when admissible for any
purpose, may be evidenced by an official publication thereof or
by a copy attested by the officer having the legal custody of
the record, or by his deputy, and accompanied, if the record is
not kept in the Philippines, with a certificate that such officer has
the custody. If the office in which the record is kept is in foreign
country, the certificate may be made by a secretary of the embassy or
legation, consul general, consul, vice consul, or consular agent or by
any officer in the foreign service of the Philippines stationed in the
foreign country in which the record is kept, and authenticated by the
seal of his office. (25a)
Section 25.
What attestation of copy must state. Whenever a copy
of a document or record is attested for the purpose of evidence, the
attestation must state, in substance, that the copy is a correct copy
of the original, or a specific part thereof, as the case may be. 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. (26a)

Applying the afore-quoted provisions, a Records Office r may issue a Certified

copy on two instances:
1. If he has a legal custody of the record;
2. If the document is evidenced by an official publication thereof.
For DPWH Records Officer, he/she may issue a CTC for all documents that is
within the legal custody of your Office. A similar certification may also be issued
for all DPWH publications, i.e. Department Orders, Circulars, Memorandums, etc.
even if he/she does not have custody of the original thereof provided that the
DPWH caused the official publication of said document in the DPWH website,
newspaper of general circulation or the Official Gazette, as required under the
law.
Further, should your Office keeps a photocopy rather than the original document,
your Office can issue a Certify Xerox Copy instead for a CTC as proof of the
document/s within your custody. The Records Officer may also request a
concerned Office which he/she believes to have the custody of the original to

Legal Opinion Concerning Authentication of Records

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issue the CTC. Otherwise, the responsible officer may be exposed to an offense
for falsification of public records for making untruthful narration of the fact that
the original is under the custody of said Office.
We hope that we have sufficiently addressed your concern on the matter.