Estabillo & Otaza Law Offices

29/01/2026

Happy 21st Birthday Atty Bob Terra Boom 🎂🧁🍾

22/12/2025

𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐲 𝐒𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐝𝐮𝐥𝐞 𝐍𝐨𝐭𝐢𝐜𝐞 ✨

As the holiday season approaches, please be advised that our office will be open on the dates indicated below.

Thank you for your continued trust, and we look forward to serving you!

𝑴𝒂𝒚 𝒚𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒊𝒅𝒂𝒚𝒔 𝒃𝒆 𝒇𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒆𝒅 𝒘𝒊𝒕𝒉 𝒋𝒐𝒚, 𝒑𝒆𝒂𝒄𝒆, 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒄𝒉𝒆𝒆𝒓! 🎄😊

15/10/2025

SUPREME COURT: NOTARY PUBLIC CANNOT NOTARIZE DOCUMENTS WITHOUT THE SIGNATORY’S PRESENCE

| The Supreme Court (SC) has suspended a lawyer from notarial practice for six months after he notarized a document despite the absence of one of its signatories.

In a decision penned by Chief Justice Alexander Gesmundo, the SC First Division found Atty. Arnulfo Manigos guilty of violating the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice. He was barred from receiving a notarial commission for six months.

The case arose from disbarment complaints filed by Macario Mina against Attys. Arnulfo Manigos, Florencio Anchuvas, and Roberto Arca, alleging that they committed falsehood and sought to mislead the Court. Mina claimed that Atty. Manigos notarized an instrument without requiring one of the signatories to personally appear before him. He pointed out that the supposed signatory could not have been present as he had already traveled to the United States on the date of notarization.

Atty. Manigos admitted notarizing the document without the signatory’s appearance but argued that he was convinced of its authenticity after personally examining the document. Meanwhile, Atty. Arca denied the accusations, while Atty. Anchuvas failed to file a response.

The Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) Board of Governors, in its report and recommendation, found Attys. Manigos and Arca liable for violating Rule 4, Section 2 of the Notarial Rules but cleared Atty. Anchuvas of liability.

The High Court sustained the IBP’s findings against Atty. Manigos, stressing that notarizing a document without the personal appearance of the signatory is a clear breach of the notarial rules. The Court cited the 2004 Notarial Rules, which strictly prohibit notarization if:

The signatory is not personally present before the notary at the time of notarization; and

The signatory is neither personally known to the notary nor identified through competent evidence of identity.

“The requirement of personal appearance is the most effective safeguard in verifying the authenticity of documents. It ensures that the person executing or signing the instrument directly affirms before the notary their participation and the genuineness of their signature,” the Court emphasized.

As for the charges against Attys. Arca and Anchuvas, the SC dismissed them due to the complainant’s failure to provide sufficient proof.

03/07/2025

https://www.facebook.com/share/19wPHFLTpR/

The (SC) has found two managers of a pizza restaurant guilty of simple theft for having kept service charges that should have been paid to the restaurant’s employees.

In a Decision written by Associate Justice Antonio T. Kho, Jr., the SC’s Second Division sentenced Janice Teologo and Jennifer Delos Santos, two store managers at the Shakey’s branch in Angono, Rizal, to 6 months in prison. It also ordered them to pay their fellow employees the withheld service charges.

One of Teologo and Delos Santos’ duties as managers was to give the employees their salaries and shares in the service charges. However, employees of Shakey’s Angono branch reported to franchise owner Big G Philfoods & Entertainment that they had not been receiving their share of service charges.

The employees claimed that notwithstanding this, they had been made to sign payroll documents indicating that they received their shares. They said that according to the store managers, this was pursuant to an alleged company policy.

While the trial court and the Court of Appeals convicted Teologo and Delos Santos of qualified theft, the SC modified the conviction to simple theft.

The 𝘙𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘗𝘦𝘯𝘢𝘭 𝘊𝘰𝘥𝘦 provides that the crime of theft is committed by one who takes something that belongs to another without permission, intending to benefit from it, without using violence or force. Theft becomes qualified when it involves the abuse of trust or confidence.

In this case, while the store managers took the service charges meant for the employees, the SC clarified that the victims were the employees, not the employer Big G Philfoods & Entertainment, Inc.

Since there is no special trust relationship between managers and rank-and-file workers, there was no abuse of trust or confidence in this case that would have qualified the theft.

Read the full text of the Press Release at https://tinyurl.com/2f6a4tvb.

Read the full text of the Decision at https://tinyurl.com/36vavmjv.

Copying of this content is subject to the SC PIO’s Credit Attribution Policy: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/credit-attribution-policy/.

16/05/2025

#𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙄𝙣𝙋𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩
𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙫𝙨. 𝙓𝙓𝙓262846
𝙂.𝙍. 𝙉𝙤. 262846, 𝙁𝙚𝙗𝙧𝙪𝙖𝙧𝙮 18, 2025.

Sa niaging mga tuig, mandato sa Korte Suprema sa pipila na mga kaso nga bag-o mapriso sa kasong Attempted R**e, kinahanglan mapamatud-an nga adunay kontak sa kinatawo (Ge***al Contact).

Kini nga mando 𝗴𝗶𝗮𝗯𝗮𝗻𝗱𝗼𝗻𝗮 na sa Korte Suprema sa kasong 𝙋𝙚𝙤𝙥𝙡𝙚 𝙤𝙛 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙋𝙝𝙞𝙡𝙞𝙥𝙥𝙞𝙣𝙚𝙨 𝙫𝙨. 𝙓𝙓𝙓262846.

Matod pa sa Korte Suprema, tungod kay maklaro ang intensyon sa akusado nga buhaton ang pagpanglugos sa biktima, maski pag walay kontak sa kinatawo tungod kay nakaikyas ang biktima, magpabiling guilty ang akusado sa kasong Attempted R**e.

Alang sa dugang kasayuran, mao kini ang kumpletong diskusyon sa Korte Suprema:
https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/262846.pdf

"𝑲𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆, 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒘"

08/04/2025

#𝘾𝙖𝙨𝙚𝙄𝙣𝙋𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙩
April 7, 2025

📢 𝐌𝐀𝐆-𝐈𝐆𝐌𝐀𝐓 𝐔𝐆 𝐌𝐀𝐆-𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐀 𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓 𝐔𝐆 𝐘𝐔𝐓𝐀 📢

Ang Korte Suprema naghatag og hinungdanong pahimangno sa mga mopalit og yuta nga sigurohon nga susihon ang mga dokumento sa ilang paliton. Sumala sa SC sa kasong 𝑴𝒂𝒏𝒂𝒍𝒆𝒔𝒆 𝒆𝒕. 𝒂𝒍., 𝒗𝒔. 𝑭𝒆𝒓𝒓𝒆𝒓𝒂𝒔 nga napakyas ang mag-asawang Manalese sa pag-susi og maayo kung kinsa ang tinuod nga tag-iya sa yuta bago nila kini napalit. Giingon sa Korte nga dili igo ang pagsalig lamang sa titulo, labi na kung adunay mga timailhan sa pagoangatik o iregularidad. Tungod niini, kinahanglan nga susihon ang titulo ug ang records sa Registry of Deeds sa dili pa mopalit og yuta ang bisan kinsa.

Gidugang pa sa Korte nga walay good faith kung kwestyonable o kahina-hinala ang transaksyon pero kini gipasagdan lang sa mopalit.

Ilalom sa 𝙋𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙞𝙙𝙚𝙣𝙩𝙞𝙖𝙡 𝘿𝙚𝙘𝙧𝙚𝙚 (𝙋𝘿) 𝙉𝙤. 1529 o ang Property Registration Decree, ang usa ka re-issued nga titulo kay duplicate ra ug walay legal nga gahum kumpara sa orihinal nga titulo.

Tungod kay ang mag-asawang Manalese naghawid og mga duplicate nga sertipiko, ang ilang angay buhaton mao ang pag-verify niini sa Registry of Deeds dayon.

mag-amping ug siguroha nga legal ang matag transaksyon.

📢𝐌𝐀𝐆-𝐈𝐆𝐌𝐀𝐓 𝐔𝐆 𝐌𝐀𝐆-𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐈𝐍𝐆 𝐒𝐀 𝐏𝐀𝐆𝐏𝐀𝐋𝐈𝐓 𝐔𝐆 𝐘𝐔𝐓𝐀. 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐔𝐑𝐎𝐇𝐀 𝐍𝐆𝐀 𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐀𝐋 𝐀𝐍𝐆 𝐌𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐆 𝐓𝐑𝐀𝐍𝐒𝐀𝐊𝐒𝐘𝐎𝐍📢

Kini ang 𝐄𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨 & 𝐎𝐭𝐚𝐳𝐚 𝐋𝐚𝐰 𝐎𝐟𝐟𝐢𝐜𝐞𝐬 nagadasig kaninyo nga
"𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒆, 𝒌𝒏𝒐𝒘 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒍𝒂𝒘"

08/01/2025

Welcome, ATTY. RUSSELL KATE CABALQUINTO LOREJO, we are thankful that you are now part of Estabillo and Otaza Law Offices family 🩷

08/01/2025

We are happy and honored to announce to you that our office has grown bigger. Aside from Atty. Eva Lorraine Estabillo and Atty. Potenciano Bob Q. Otaza, Jr., ATTY. RUSSELL KATE CABALQUINTO LOREJO, would be able to cater to all of your concerns. Thank You!

26/12/2024

A happy and merry Christmas everyone ♥️♥️♥️

04/08/2024

https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fsearch.app%2Fst6P1DKbhLVMCodk7%3Ffbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3pse7amgKtK-JHzDL3X2qhPs80YaCkiDZWb-WlnBwpmjJsUWo4ebw1Iu0_aem_lYUgCSp3iGBkEy0ccAO2vA&h=AT3MWcePUIV_ECuEpM_sc6DMXMHYkXxmQYCX8lbQfTI5ZxppVSG4D8sUXuEE-OCy-InHmGId93u2-qE1RwVIzUOIcgFL7KBsTJ5oVMtw8Brj2ZMwXqN-GuC_YZlRmOp05aB0UcEGnG--&s=1

MANILA – A Supreme Court (SC) ruling has dismissed the petition of the Iloilo Electric Cooperative, Inc. I, II, and III (ILECOs) challenging the validity of Republic Act (RA) 11918, which expanded the franchise of another electricity provider, MORE Electric and Power Corp. (MORE), to areas…

11/06/2024

To our clients, We will be open tomorrow June 12, 2024 from 8:00am to 12:00 noon only. FYI