Gan v.

Yap
August 30, 1958
Bengzon J
Digest by Martin ag!ay
"opi# an$ %rovisions& 'o(ograp)i# *i((
+a#ts&
Felicidad Yap died of a heart failure, leaving properties in Pulilan,
Bulacan, and in Manila
Fausto E. Gan, her nephew, initiated the proceedings in the CFI
with a petition for the probate of a holographic will allegedl
e!ecuted b the deceased
"he will was not presented because Felicidad#s husband, Ildefonso,
supposedl too$ it. %hat was presented were witness accounts of
relatives who $new of her intention to &a$e a will and allegedl
saw it as well. 'ccording to the witnesses, Felicidad did not want
her husband to $now about it, but she had &ade $nown to her
other relatives that she &ade a will
(pposing the petition, her surviving husband Ildefonso Yap
asserted that the deceased had not left an will, nor e!ecuted an
testa&ent during her lifeti&e
'fter hearing the parties and considering their evidence, the )udge
refused to probate the alleged will on account of the discrepancies
arising fro& the facts saing that it is strange that Felicidad &ade
her will $nown to so &an of her relatives when she wanted to
$eep it a secret
,ssue&
*. %(+ a holographic will &a be probated upon the testi&on of
witnesses who have allegedl seen it and who declare that it was in the
handwriting of the testator,
-. %(+ Felicidad could have e!ecuted the holographic will.
.eld/ +o. +o.
Dispositive/ %herefore, the re0ection of the alleged will &ust be
sustained.
)udg&ent a1r&ed, with costs against petitioner.
-atio&
"he +ew Civil Code e2ective in *345 revived holographic wills in its
arts. 6*576*8. 9' person &a e!ecute a holographic will which
&ust be entirel written, dated, and signed b the hand of the
testator hi&self. It is sub0ect to no other for& and &a be &ade in
or out of the Philippines, and need not be witnessed.:
%ith regard to holographic wills, no such guaranties of truth and
veracit are de&anded li$e in notarial wills, since as stated, the
need no witnesses; provided however, that the are 9entirel
written, dated, and signed b the hand of the testator hi&self.:
9In the probate of a holographic will: sas the +ew Civil Code, 9it
shall be necessar that at least one witness who $nows the
handwriting and signature of the testator e!plicitl declare that the
will and the signature are in the handwriting of the testator. If the
will is contested, at least three such witnesses shall be re<uired. In
the absence of an such witnesses, and if the court dee& it
necessar, e!pert testi&on &a be resorted to.:
"he witnesses need not have seen the e!ecution of the holographic
will, but the &ust be fa&iliar with the decedent#s handwriting.
(bviousl, when the will itself is not sub&itted, these &eans of
opposition, and of assessing the evidence are not available. 'nd
then the onl guarant of authenticit = the testator#s handwriting
= has disappeared.
>panish co&&entators agree that one of the greatest ob0ections to
the holographic will is that it &a be lost or stolen = an i&plied
ad&ission that such loss or theft renders it useless
's it is universall ad&itted that the holographic will is usuall
done b the testator and b hi&self alone, to prevent others fro&
$nowing either its e!ecution or its contents, the above article ?3-
could not have the idea of si&pl per&itting such relatives to state
whether the $now of the will, but whether in the face of the
docu&ent itself the thin$ the testator wrote it. (bviousl, this
the can#t do unless the will itself is presented to the Court and to
the&
"he courts will not distribute the propert of the deceased in
accordance with his holographic will, unless the are shown his
handwriting and signature and the contents of a lost or destroed
holographic will &a not be proved b the bare testi&on of
witnesses who have seen and@or read such will
't this point, before proceeding further, it &ight be convenient to
e!plain wh, unli$e holographic wills, ordinar wills &a be proved
b testi&onial evidence when lost or destroed. "he di2erence lies
in the nature of the wills. In the Arst, the onl guarantee of
authenticit is the handwriting itself; in the second, the testi&on
of the subscribing or instru&ental witnesses
"he loss of the holographic will entails the loss of the onl &ediu&
of proof; if the ordinar will is lost, the subscribing witnesses are
available to authenticate