563 Phil. 254
QUISUMBING, J.:
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Holographic Will of the petitioner-testator Dr. Werner J. Nittscher executed pursuant to the provision of the second paragraph of Article 838 of the Civil Code of the Philippines on January 25, 1990 in Manila, Philippines, and proved in accordance with the provision of Rule 76 of the Revised Rules of Court is hereby allowed.On September 26, 1994, Dr. Nittscher died. Hence, Atty. Nogales filed a petition for letters testamentary for the administration of the estate of the deceased. Dr. Nittscher’s surviving spouse, herein petitioner Cynthia V. Nittscher, moved for the dismissal of the said petition. However, the court in its September 29, 1995 Order denied petitioner’s motion to dismiss, and granted respondent’s petition for the issuance of letters testamentary, to wit:
SO ORDERED.[4]
In view of all the foregoing, the motion to dismiss is DENIED. The petition for the issuance of Letters Testamentary, being in order, is GRANTED.Petitioner moved for reconsideration, but her motion was denied for lack of merit. On May 9, 1996, Atty. Nogales was issued letters testamentary and was sworn in as executor.
Section 4, Rule 78 of the Revised Rules of Court, provides “when a will has been proved and allowed, the court shall issue letters testamentary thereon to the person named as executor therein, if he is competent, accepts the trust and gives a bond as required by these rules.” In the case at bar, petitioner Atty. Rogelio P. Nogales of the R.P. Nogales Law Offices has been named executor under the Holographic Will of Dr. Werner J. Nittscher. As prayed for, let Letters Testamentary be issued to Atty. Rogelio P. Nogales, the executor named in the Will, without a bond.
SO ORDERED.[5]
WHEREFORE, the foregoing considered, the appeal is hereby DISMISSED and the assailed Order is AFFIRMED in toto. The court a quo is ordered to proceed with dispatch in the proceedings below.Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration of the aforequoted decision was denied for lack of merit. Hence, the present petition anchored on the following grounds:
SO ORDERED.[6]
Petitioner contends that respondent’s petition for the issuance of letters testamentary lacked a certification against forum-shopping. She adds that the RTC has no jurisdiction over the subject matter of this case because Dr. Nittscher was allegedly not a resident of the Philippines; neither did he leave real properties in the country. Petitioner claims that the properties listed for disposition in her husband’s will actually belong to her. She insists she was denied due process of law because she did not receive by personal service the notices of the proceedings.I.
BOTH THE CA AND THE LOWER COURT ERRED IN NOT DISMISSING OUTRIGHT THE PETITION FOR LETTERS … TESTAMENTARY FILED BY ATTY. NOGALES WHEN, OBVIOUSLY, IT WAS FILED IN VIOLATION OF REVISED CIRCULAR NO. 28-91 AND ADMINISTRATIVE CIRCULAR NO. 04-94 OF THIS HONORABLE COURT.II.
THE CA ERRED IN NOT DECLARING THAT THE LOWER COURT [HAS] NO JURISDICTION OVER THE SUBJECT MATTER OF THE PRESENT SUIT.III.
THE CA ERRED IN CONCLUDING THAT SUMMONS WERE PROPERLY ISSUED TO THE PARTIES AND ALL PERSONS INTERESTED IN THE PROBATE OF THE HOLOGRAPHIC WILL OF DR. NITTSCHER.IV.
THE CA ERRED IN CONCLUDING THAT THE PETITIONER WAS NOT DEPRIVED OF DUE PROCESS OF LAW BY THE LOWER COURT.[7]
SECTION 1. Where estate of deceased persons settled. – If the decedent is an inhabitant of the Philippines at the time of his death, whether a citizen or an alien, his will shall be proved, or letters of administration granted, and his estate settled, in the Court of First Instance (now Regional Trial Court) in the province in which he resides at the time of his death, and if he is an inhabitant of a foreign country, the Court of First Instance (now Regional Trial Court) of any province in which he had estate. … (Emphasis supplied.)In this case, the RTC and the Court of Appeals are one in their finding that Dr. Nittscher was a resident of Las Piñas, Metro Manila at the time of his death. Such factual finding, which we find supported by evidence on record, should no longer be disturbed. Time and again we have said that reviews on certiorari are limited to errors of law. Unless there is a showing that the findings of the lower court are totally devoid of support or are glaringly erroneous, this Court will not analyze or weigh evidence all over again.[10]
SEC. 4. Heirs, devisees, legatees, and executors to be notified by mail or personally. – …In this case, records show that petitioner, with whom Dr. Nittscher had no child, and Dr. Nittscher’s children from his previous marriage were all duly notified, by registered mail, of the probate proceedings. Petitioner even appeared in court to oppose respondent’s petition for the issuance of letters testamentary and she also filed a motion to dismiss the said petition. She likewise filed a motion for reconsideration of the issuance of the letters testamentary and of the denial of her motion to dismiss. We are convinced petitioner was accorded every opportunity to defend her cause. Therefore, petitioner’s allegation that she was denied due process in the probate proceedings is without basis.
If the testator asks for the allowance of his own will, notice shall be sent only to his compulsory heirs.