"x x x.
In Francisco v. Court of Appeals,[10] we laid out the nature and purpose of guardianship in the following wise:
A guardianship is a trust relation of the most sacred character, in which one person, called a “guardian” acts for another called the “ward” whom the law regards as incapable of managing his own affairs. A guardianship is designed to further the ward’s well-being, not that of the guardian. It is intended to preserve the ward’s property, as well as to render any assistance that the ward may personally require. It has been stated that while custody involves immediate care and control, guardianship indicates not only those responsibilities, but those of one in loco parentis as well.[11]
In a guardianship proceeding, a court may appoint a qualified guardian if the prospective ward is proven to be a minor or an incompetent.
A reading of Section 2, Rule 92 of the Rules of Court tells us that persons who, though of sound mind but by reason of age, disease, weak mind or other similar causes, are incapable of taking care of themselves and their property without outside aid are considered as incompetents who may properly be placed under guardianship. The full text of the said provision reads:
Sec. 2. Meaning of the word “incompetent.” – Under this rule, the word “incompetent” includes persons suffering the penalty of civil interdiction or who are hospitalized lepers, prodigals, deaf and dumb who are unable to read and write, those who are of unsound mind, even though they have lucid intervals, and persons not being of unsound mind, but by reason of age, disease, weak mind, and other similar causes, cannot, without outside aid, take care of themselves and manage their property, becoming thereby an easy prey for deceit and exploitation.
We have held in the past that a “finding that a person is incompetent should be anchored on clear, positive and definite evidence.”[12] We consider that evidentiary standard unchanged and, thus, must be applied in the case at bar.
In support of his contention that respondent is incompetent and, therefore, should be placed in guardianship, petitioner raises in his Memorandum[13] the following factual matters:
a. Respondent has been afflicted with several maladies and has been sickly for over ten (10) years already;
b. During the time that respondent was hospitalized at the St. Luke’s Medical Center after his stroke, he purportedly requested one of his former colleagues who was visiting him to file a loan application with the Armed Forces of the Philippines Savings and Loan Association, Inc. (AFPSLAI) for payment of his hospital bills, when, as far as his children knew, he had substantial amounts of money in various banks sufficient to cover his medical expenses;
c. Respondent’s residence allegedly has been left dilapidated due to lack of care and management;
d. The realty taxes for respondent’s various properties remain unpaid and therefore petitioner and his sister were supposedly compelled to pay the necessary taxes;
e. Respondent allegedly instructed petitioner to sell his Nissan Exalta car for the reason that the former would be purchasing another vehicle, but when the car had been sold, respondent did not procure another vehicle and refused to account for the money earned from the sale of the old car;
f. Respondent withdrew at least $75,000.00 from a joint account under his name and his daughter’s without the latter’s knowledge or consent;
g. There was purportedly one occasion where respondent took a kitchen knife to stab himself upon the “orders” of his girlfriend during one of their fights;
h. Respondent continuously allows his girlfriend to ransack his house of groceries and furniture, despite protests from his children.[14]
Respondent denied the allegations made by petitioner and cited petitioner’s lack of material evidence to support his claims. According to respondent, petitioner did not present any relevant documentary or testimonial evidence that would attest to the veracity of his assertion that respondent is incompetent largely due to his alleged deteriorating medical and mental condition. In fact, respondent points out that the only medical document presented by petitioner proves that he is indeed competent to run his personal affairs and administer his properties. Portions of the said document, entitled “Report of Neuropsychological Screening,”[15] were quoted by respondent in his Memorandum[16]to illustrate that said report in fact favored respondent’s claim of competence, to wit:
General Oropesa spoke fluently in English and Filipino, he enjoyed and participated meaningfully in conversations and could be quite elaborate in his responses on many of the test items. He spoke in a clear voice and his articulation was generally comprehensible. x x x.
x x x x
General Oropesa performed in the average range on most of the domains that were tested. He was able to correctly perform mental calculations and keep track of number sequences on a task of attention. He did BEST in visuo-constructional tasks where he had to copy geometrical designs using tiles. Likewise, he was able to render and read the correct time on the Clock Drawing Test. x x x.
x x x x
x x x Reasoning abilities were generally intact as he was able to suggest effective solutions to problem situations. x x x.[17]
With the failure of petitioner to formally offer his documentary evidence, his proof of his father’s incompetence consisted purely of testimonies given by himself and his sister (who were claiming interest in their father’s real and personal properties) and their father’s former caregiver (who admitted to be acting under their direction). These testimonies, which did not include any expert medical testimony, were insufficient to convince the trial court of petitioner’s cause of action and instead lead it to grant the demurrer to evidence that was filed by respondent.
Even if we were to overlook petitioner’s procedural lapse in failing to make a formal offer of evidence, his documentary proof were comprised mainly of certificates of title over real properties registered in his, his father’s and his sister’s names as co-owners, tax declarations, and receipts showing payment of real estate taxes on their co-owned properties, which do not in any way relate to his father’s alleged incapacity to make decisions for himself. The only medical document on record is the aforementioned “Report of Neuropsychological Screening” which was attached to the petition for guardianship but was never identified by any witness nor offered as evidence. In any event, the said report, as mentioned earlier, was ambivalent at best, for although the report had negative findings regarding memory lapses on the part of respondent, it also contained findings that supported the view that respondent on the average was indeed competent.
In an analogous guardianship case wherein the soundness of mind of the proposed ward was at issue, we had the occasion to rule that “where the sanity of a person is at issue, expert opinion is not necessary [and that] the observations of the trial judge coupled with evidence establishing the person’s state of mental sanity will suffice.”[18]
Thus, it is significant that in its Order dated November 14, 2006 which denied petitioner’s motion for reconsideration on the trial court’s unfavorable September 27, 2006 ruling, the trial court highlighted the fatal role that petitioner’s own documentary evidence played in disproving its case and, likewise, the trial court made known its own observation of respondent’s physical and mental state, to wit:
The Court noted the absence of any testimony of a medical expert which states that Gen. Cirilo O. Oropesa does not have the mental, emotional, and physical capacity to manage his own affairs. On the contrary, Oppositor’s evidence includes a Neuropsychological Screening Report which states that Gen. Oropesa, (1) performs on the average range in most of the domains that were tested; (2) is capable of mental calculations; and (3) can provide solutions to problem situations. The Report concludes that Gen. Oropesa possesses intact cognitive functioning, except for mildly impaired abilities in memory, reasoning and orientation. It is the observation of the Court that oppositor is still sharp, alert and able.[19] (Citation omitted; emphasis supplied.)
x x x."
