On January 30, 1920, the board of directors  of the corporation  Arrocera de Pototan authorized its treasurer, the now deceased Francisco Echevarria, to  obtain  for the corporation a credit on current account for the sum of P100,000 from the Bank of the Philippine Islands.   The credit was granted and though no formal  document to that effect was executed until March 27, 1920, it appears from the testimony of the  witness Eugenio  Rocha, then cashier  of the Iloilo branch of the  bank  that the  defendant  corporation began to draw against the credit as early as February 9, 1920. The document  of March  27, 1920, reads as follows:

"Bank of the Philippine Islands "agreement for credit in current account "This Agreement, made this 27th day of March of 1920, between Mr. Francisco "Echevarria,  as Director-Treasurer of the Arrocera de Pototaii of Iloilo, Philippine Islands, of the first part and the Bank of the  Philippine  Islands, of Iloilo, Philippine  Islands, of the second part.

"WlTNESSETH

"That whereas the party of the second part agrees to grant and hereby does grant to the party of the first part a loan by way of a  credit in current account of not to exceed the sum of one hundred thousand pesos  (P100,000) which said sum, or so much as may be desired by said first party, is to be advanced to the said first party upon his/its checks drawn upon the said second party.

"Now, therefore, said first party for self hereby agrees to pay, to said second party, interest upon all sums so taken, computed upon average daily balances and payable upon the last day of each quarter of the  calendar year, at the rate of  eight percent per  annum.

"Said first party further agrees to furnish security for said loan by pledge or mortgage  of real estate or  chattels or assignments of securities, as  may be  desired  by said second party, to an  amount sufficient at all times amply to secure said second party for the  principal and interest of said loan, and in  case said first party fails to furnish the amount of security or additional security deemed necessary and demanded by said second party, said second party may declare  the  whole principal and interest immediately  due and  payable, anything  in  these presents  to the contrary notwithstanding.

"It is hereby further agreed that the  principal and interest of said loan shall in any event be and become due and payable on sixty days from demand.

"For the Arrocera DE POTOTAN

(Sgd.)  "Francisco Echevarria

"Director-Treasurer

"THE BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS

"By  (Sgd.)  "Illegible

"Witnesses:

(Sgd.)  "Illegible

"Miguel Gargollo"

Simultaneously  with  the  execution of  the  document quoted,  Echevarria gave the following bond:

"BANK OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS
"BOND

"Know all men by these. presents, that  we Mr.. Francisco Echevarria,  Director-Treasurer of  the Arrocera de Pototan  in the name  of the latter as well  as in his own name as surety are hereby held and bound  unto  the Bank of the Philippine Islands, of Iloilo, Philippine Islands, in the sum  of one hundred thousand pesos  (P100,000), Philippine currency, for the payment of which,  well  and truly to be made, we hereby jointly and severally,  bind ourselves, our heirs, executors, administrators and assigns,  firmly by these presents.

"The conditions of this obligation are such, that;

"Whereas, the said Bank of the Philippine  Islands  has advanced to the said Arrocera de Pototan by  way of a credit on current account the sum of one hundred thousand pesos (P100,000).

"Now, therefore, if the said Arrocera  de Pototan shall duly pay, or cause to be  paid, to the said Bank of the Philippine Islands, on demand, at sixty days from demand, the said sum of one hundred thousand pesos  (P100,000),  and shall duly pay, or  cause to be paid, quarterly, on the  last days of  March,  June, September,  and  December of each year,  until the principal and interest are paid in full, interest on said sum and  on all sums from time to time remaining  unpaid at the  rate  of eight per cent (8%) per annum, then this obligation shall be void, otherwise it shall remain in full force and effect.

"In  witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands at Iloilo, Philippine Islands, this 27th day of March of 1920.

"For the ARROCERA DE POTOTAN

(Sgd.)   "FRANCISCO ECHEVARRIA

"Director-Treasurer

"FRANCISCO ECHEVARRIA

"Surety

"Witnesses:
(Sgd.)   "Illegible
            "Illegible"

The Arrocera de Pototan continued to draw against its credit with the plaintiff Bank until December 8, 1921, when its  overdraft  amounted to P77,944.40,  of  which amount the plaintiff  then  demanded  payment within sixty days. The Arrocera was  able to pay only Pi,000 and on the 30th of November, 1923, the amount  due with interest up to September 30, 1923, reached  the sum of P84,922.98.  The plaintiff thereupon brought an action against the Corporation as a result of which it was able on January 26, 1925, to collect the sum of P43,100, leaving a balance of P45,751.37 due and  unpaid.   In the  meantime and while the  action against the Arrocera de Pototan was pending, the plaintiff by virtue of the bonds above quoted presented a claim to the committee of claims against the estate of the then deceased Francisco Echevarria for the full amount of the debt of the Arrocera de Pototan to  the bank.  The  committee allowed the claim and the  administrator of the  estate appealed to the Court' of First Instance, which on  January 30, 1926, rendered a decision in which it was held that the bond given on March 27, 1920, had no retroactive  effect and did not cover the amounts received from the Bank prior to the date of the instrument; that  the amount received subsequent to that  date was only P25,429.15; that the money collected by the aforesaid action against the Arrocera de Pototan should first be applied to the payment of the debt incurred subsequent to March 27, 1920, and that by so applying the money collected the amount due upon the bond was more than  covered.  The court therefore dismissed the case and thereupon the present appeal was taken by  the plaintiff.

In  our opinion, the appealed judgment is erroneous.  It is very true that bonds or other contracts of suretyship are ordinarily not to be construed as retrospective,  but that rule must yield to the intention of the  contracting parties as revealed by the evidence, and does not interfere with the use of the ordinary tests and canons of interpretation which apply in regard to other contracts.  (21 R.  C. L., 977.)

In the present case the circumstances  so clearly indicate that the bond given by Echevarria was intended to  cover all of the indebtedness of the Arrocera upon its current account with the plaintiff Bank that we cannot possibly adopt the view of the court below in regard to the effect of the bond.

Echevarria was director-treasurer of  the Arrocera corporation and was familiar with its financial affairs.   The corporation  had  only one current credit account, a fact which was known to Echevarria, and there can be no doubt whatever that the bond was intended by all parties to  cover the entire account.   The Arrocera's credit on current ac count  was limited to P100,000 not to  that  amount plus previous overdrafts and Echevarria bound himself to respond for the full amount of that credit, well knowing that at the time the bond was executed a large portion of the credit secured by the  bond had already been exhausted.  In such circumstances,  the defendant  can hardly be heard to say that the bond was executed merely to cover future advances and was not intended to cover the entire credit.  The situation would have been different if Echevarria at the time of the execution of the bond had been ignorant of the fact that a part of the credit had already been utilized; in that case we should have been  justified in regarding  the bond as merely prospective.

For the reasons  stated, and it appearing that  all of the assets of the  Arrocera de Pototan are exhausted, the appealed judgment is reversed and it is ordered that the plaintiff have and  recover judgment against the defendant for the sum of P45,751.37, with  interest at the  rate of 8 per cent per annum from January 26, 1925, but without costs. So  ordered.

Avanceña, C. J.,  Street, Villamor, Johns,  Romualdez, and Villa-Real, JJ.,  concur.