2020 Interim Rules on Remote Notarization of Paper Documents

Section 1

These rules shall be known as the 2020 Rules on Remote Notarization of Paper Documents and may be referred to as the "RON Rules" (the "Rules").

Section 2

These Rules shall be limited to the notarization of paper documents and instruments with handwritten signatures or marks through the use of videoconferencing facilities as defined herein. These Rules shall not apply to the execution of notarial wills.

Section 3

Until the Supreme Court directs otherwise, these Rules shall apply to permit the performance of notarial acts through the use of videoconferencing facilities in cases where the notary public or at least one of the principals resides, holds office, or is otherwise situated in a locality that is under community quarantine due to COVID-19, as directed by the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging and Infectious Diseases (IATF), the provincial governors with regard to component cities and municipalities, or mayors of cities and municipalities with regard to barangays, both governors and mayors having the concurrence of the relevant regional counterpart body of the IATF.

Section 4

A notary public with a valid and existing notarial commission issued under the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice can perform the notarial acts authorized by these Rules.

Section 5

Any notarial act performed through the use of videoconferencing facilities pursuant to these Rules shall have the same validity, force, effect and may be relied upon to the same extent as any other notarial act performed under the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice.

Section 6

The definition of terms in the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice are hereby adopted as part of these Rules. In addition, the following definitions are hereby adopted: a) 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice — refer to the 2004 Rules on Notarial Practice, hereinafter referred to as the "2004 Notarial Rules"; b) Competent Evidence of Identity — refers to the identification of an individual based on: i. at least one current identification document (ID) issued by an official government agency bearing the photograph and signature of the individual, such as the following: passport, driver's license, Professional Regulations Commission (PRC) ID, Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) ID, National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) clearance, police clearance, postal ID, voter's ID, Government Service and Insurance System (GSIS) e-card, Social Security System (SSS) card, PhilHealth card, senior citizen card, Overseas Workers Welfare Administration (OWWA) ID, Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) ID, seaman's book, alien certificate of registration/immigrant certificate of registration, government office ID, certification from the National Council for the Welfare of Disabled Persons (NCWDP), Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) certification, Tax Identification Number (TIN) ID, and Unified Multi-Purpose ID (UMID) Card; or ii. the oath or affirmation of one (1) credible witness not privy to the instrument, document, or transaction who is personally known to the notary public and who personally knows the individual, or of two (2) credible witnesses not privy to the instrument, document, or transaction who personally know the individual being identified, and who show to the notary public any of the IDs enumerated in the immediately preceding paragraph. c) Courier Service — refers to on-demand express delivery services (such as, but not limited to, Lalamove, GrabExpress, and Transportify), as well as door-to-door express delivery services (such as, but not limited to, LBC, JRS, DHL Express, FedEx, and 2go) including those services offered by private express and/or messengerial delivery service (PEMEDES) or courier service providers authorized by the Department of Information and Communications Technology (DICT), provided they are equipped with shipment tracking facilities which enable users to track the movement of shipments in real time. d) Geolocation — refers to the geographical location of a computer, networking device, or equipment determined on the basis of geographical coordinates and measurements. e) Locality — refers to a barangay, municipality, city, province, or country. f) "Personal appearance," "appears in person," or "in the presence of the notary public" means that the principal, witnesses, and the notary public can see, hear, and communicate with each other, and present and confirm competent evidence of identity to each other in real time through the use of videoconferencing facilities and other devices or technologies that achieve the same purposes. g) Principal — refers to the person appearing before the notary public whose act is the subject of notarization under these Rules including the person requesting copy certification by videoconference. h) Quarantine — refers to the restriction of movement of persons within, into, and out of a locality under quarantine designed to reduce the likelihood of transmission of COVID-19 among persons in and to persons outside the affected area as declared by the IATF, the provincial governors with regard component cities and municipalities, or mayors of cities and municipalities with regard to barangays, both governors and mayors having the concurrence of the relevant regional counterpart body of the IATF. The term "Quarantine" may refer to General Community Quarantine (GCQ), Modified General Community Quarantine (MGCQ), Enhanced Community Quarantine (ECQ), and Modified Enhanced Community Quarantine (MECQ) as defined by the proper authorities referred to herein. i) Videoconferencing facilities — refers to any tool, device, system, application, and technology that has sufficient interactive audio-video capabilities that allow all the parties physically located in different locations to see, hear and communicate with, and present and confirm competent evidence of identity to each other in real time. These facilities include Webex, Zoom, Google Meet, Microsoft Teams, and other similar web conferencing platforms.

Section 7

In the absence of any applicable provision in these Rules, the pertinent provisions of the 2004 Notarial Rules may be applied by analogy or in a suppletory manner.