DATE OF EFFECTIVITY

JOAQUINA BASA, ET AL., vs. ATILANO G. MERCADOG.R. No. L-42226 July 26, 1935

Facts:Hon. Hermogenes Reyes, Judge of Pampanga CFI, allowed and probated thelast willand testament of Ines Basa, decedent. The same judge also approvedthe account ofthe administrator of the estate, declared him the only heir, and closed the administration proceedings. Joaquin Basa, et al., filed a motion to reopen the proceedings, alleging that the court lacked jurisdiction because there was failure to comply with the requirements as to the publication of thenotice of hearing.

They contended that the hearing took place only twenty-one days after the date of first publication instead of three full weeks. Moreover, the Ing Katipunan where the notice was published was not a newspaper of general circulation as contemplated by law.

Issues: a) Whether or not there was compliance with the publicationrequirementb) Whether or not Ing Katipunan is a newspaper of general circulation

Ruling:The language used in section 630 of the Code of Civil Procedure does not mean that the notice, referred to therein, should be published for three full weeks before the date set for the hearing of the will. In other words, the first publication of the notice need not be made 21 days before the day appointed for the hearing.

The records show that Ing Katipunan is a newspaper of general circulation in view of the fact that it is published for the dissemination of local news and general information; that it has a bona fide subscription list of paying subscribers; that it is published at regular intervals and that the trial court ordered the publication to be made in Ing Katipunan precisely because it was a newspaper of general circulation in the Province of Pampanga.