This case has been cited 1 times or more.
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2008-07-31 |
NACHURA, J. |
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| Despite this insistence, we find no cogent reason to deviate from the findings and conclusions of the respondent court affirming those of the trial court on this matter. Anent the forged signature of Atty. Agcaoili, the CA did not err in not giving evidentiary weight to the findings of the Document Examiner of the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on the ground that the findings were not really conclusive. In the first place, the procedure for the investigation of questionable handwriting was not properly followed. There is nothing on record that will conclusively show that the alleged standard sample signatures of Atty. Antonio Agcaoili, which were submitted to the NBI and made the basis of comparison, were the genuine signatures of the same Atty. Antonio Agcaoili. Moreover, the examiner testified that it was possible to have variations in the standard signatures of Atty. Agcaoili, caused by certain factors such as passage of time, pressure and physical condition of the writer which may have decisive influences on his handwriting's characteristics. [8] Thus, in the instant case, it cannot readily be concluded that a particular signature appearing in those documents is not genuine for lack of proper identification and a more accurate comparison of signatures. Mere allegation of forgery is not evidence and the burden of proof lies in the party making the allegation. [9] Unfortunately, in the case at bar, the petitioner failed to discharge this burden. | |||||