G.R. No. L-53194 March 14, 1988 the sum of P2,000.

the sum of P2,000.00 as attorney's fees and to pay the costs of this
suit.
PHILIPPINE NATIONAL BANK petitioner,
vs. Not satisfied therewith, the bank now filed this petition for review on certiorari in this
HON. ROMULO S. QUIMPO, Presiding Judge, Court of First Instance of Rizal, Court raising the sole legal issue that —
Branch XIV, and FRANCISCO S. GOZON II, respondents.
THE ACT OF RESPONDENT FRANCISCO GOZON, II IN PUTTING
HIS CHECK BOOK CONTAINING THE CHECK IN QUESTION INTO
THE HANDS OF ERNESTO SANTOS WAS INDEED THE
GANCAYCO, J.: PROXIMATE CAUSE OF THE LOSS, THEREBY PRECLUDING HIM
FROM SETTING UP THE DEFENSE OF FORGERY OR WANT 0F
On July 3, 1973, Francisco S. Gozon II, who was a depositor of the Caloocan City AUTHORITY UNDER SECTION 23 OF THE NEGOTIABLE
Branch of the Philippine National Bank, went to the bank in his car accompanied by INSTRUMENTS LAW, ACT NO. 3201
his friend Ernesto Santos whom he left in the car while he transacted business in the
bank. When Santos saw that Gozon left his check book he took a check therefrom, The petition is devoid of merit.
filled it up for the amount of P5,000.00, forged the signature of Gozon, and
thereafter he encashed the check in the bank on the same day. The account of This Court reproduces with approval the disquisition of the court a quo as follows:
Gozon was debited the said amount. Upon receipt of the statement of account from
the bank, Gozon asked that the said amount of P5,000.00 should be returned to his A bank is bound to know the signatures of its customers; and if it
account as his signature on the check was forged but the bank refused. pays a forged check, it must be considered as making the payment
out of its own funds, and cannot ordinarily change the amount so paid
Upon complaint of private respondent on February 1, 1974 Ernesto Santos was to the account of the depositor whose name was forged' (San Carlos
apprehended by the police authorities and upon investigation he admitted that he Milling Co. vs. Bank of the P.I., 59 Phil. 59).
stole the check of Gozon, forged his signature and encashed the same with the
Bank. This rule is absolutely necessary to the circulation of drafts and
checks, and is based upon the presumed negligence of the drawee in
Hence Gozon filed the complaint for recovery of the amount of P5,000.00, plus failing to meet its obligation to know the signature of its
interest, damages, attorney's fees and costs against the bank in the Court of First correspondent. ... There is nothing inequitable in such a rule. If the
Instance of Rizal. After the issues were joined and the trial on the merits ensued, a paper comes to the drawee in the regular course of business, and he,
decision was rendered on February 4, 1980, the dispositive part of which reads as having the opportunity ascertaining its character, pronounces it to be
follows: valid and pays it, it is not only a question of payment under mistake,
but payment in neglect of duty which the commercial law places upon
WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered in favor of the plaintiff. him, and the result of his negligence must rest upon him (12 ALR
The defendant is hereby condemned to return to plaintiff the amount 1901, citing many cases found in I Agbayani, supra).
of P5,000.00 which it had unlawfully withheld from the latter, with
interest at the legal rate from September 22, 1972 until the amount is Defendant, however, interposed the defense that it exercised
fully delivered. The defendant is further condemned to pay plaintiff diligence in accordance with the accepted norms of banking practice
 when it accepted and paid Exhibit "A". It presented evidence that the In reference to the allegation of the petitioner that it is the negligence of private
check had to pass scrutiny by a signature verifier as well as an officer respondent that is the cause of the loss which he suffered, the trial court held:
of the bank.
The act of plaintiff in leaving his checkbook in the car while he went
A comparison of the signature (Exhibit "A-l") on the forged check out for a short while can not be considered negligence sufficient to
(Exhibit "A") with plaintiffs exemplar signatures (Exhibits "5-N" and "5- excuse the defendant bank from its own negligence. It should be
B") found in the PNB Form 35-A would immediately show the home in mind that when defendant left his car, Ernesto Santos, a long
negligence of the employees of the defendant bank. Even a not too time classmate and friend remained in the same. Defendant could not
careful comparison would immediately arrest one's attention and have been expected to know that the said Ernesto Santos would
direct it to the graceful lines of plaintiffs exemplar signatures found in remove a check from his checkbook. Defendant had trust in his
Exhibits "5-A" and "5-B". The formation of the first letter "F" in the classmate and friend. He had no reason to suspect that the latter
exemplars, which could be regarded as artistic, is completely different would breach that trust .
from the way the same letter is formed in Exhibit "A-l". That alone
should have alerted a more careful and prudent signature verifier. We agree.

The prime duty of a bank is to ascertain the genuineness of the signature of the Private respondent trustee Ernesto Santos as a classmate and a friend. He brought
drawer or the depositor on the check being encashed. 1 It is expected to use him along in his car to the bank and he left his personal belongings in the car.
reasonable business prudence in accepting and cashing a check presented to it. Santos however removed and stole a check from his cheek book without the
knowledge and consent of private respondent. No doubt private respondent cannot
In this case the findings of facts of the court a quo are conclusive. The trial court be considered negligent under the circumstances of the case.
found that a comparison of the signature on the forged check and the sample
signatures of private respondent show marked differences as the graceful lines in WHEREFORE, the petition is DISMISSED for lack of merit with costs against
the sample signature which is completely different from those of the signature on the petitioner.
forged check. Indeed the NBI handwriting expert Estelita Santiago Agnes whom the
trial court considered to be an "unbiased scientific expert" indicated the marked SO ORDERED.
differences between the signature of private respondent on the sample signatures
and the questioned signature. Notwithstanding the testimony of Col. Fernandez,
witness for petitioner, advancing the opinion that the questioned signature appears
to be genuine, the trial court by merely examining the pictorial report presented by
said witness, found a marked difference in the second "c" in Francisco as written on
the questioned signature as compared to the sample signatures, and the separation
between the "s" and the "c" in the questioned signature while they are connected in
the sample signatures.2

Obviously, petitioner was negligent in encashing said forged check without carefully
examining the signature which shows marked variation from the genuine signature
of private respondent.