1. WILLS; TESTATRIX’S FAILURE TO SIGN LEFT MARGIN. — Where a will consist of two pages and the last page had been duly signed by the testatrix and the three testimonial witnesses who also signed the first page but the testatrix failed to sign the left margin of the first page, Held: that the will was not executed in accordance with law. Section 618 of Act 190, as amended, requires that the testator sign the will and each and every page thereof in the presence of the testator and of each other, which requirement should be expressed in the attestation clause. This requirement is mandatory, for failure to comply with it is fatal to the validity of the will (Rodriguez v. Alcala, 55 Phil., 150). It has been held that "statutes prescribing the formalities to be observed in the execution of wills are very strictly construed.

This concerns the probate of a document which purports to be the last will and testament of one Petronila Tampoy. After the petition was published in accordance with law and petitioner had presented oral and documentary evidence, the trial court denied the petition on the ground that the left hand margin of the first page of the will does not bear the thumbmark of the testatrix. Petitioner appealed from this ruling but the Court of Appeals certified the case to us because it involves purely a question of law.

The facts of this case as found by the trial court are as follows:jgc:chanrobles.com.ph

"De las pruebas resulta que Petronila Tampoy, ya viuda y sin hijos, rogó a Bonifacio Miñoza que la leyera el testamento Exhibito A y la explicara su contenido en su casa en la calle San Miguel, del municipio de Argao, provincia de Ceb