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Chapter III
FORGERY

An act of counterfeiting documents, signatures, with intent to deceive or

derud Forgery may be prodund by the forger under many processes. It may e
from the mere writing of the name without any attempt to resemble the gene
signature, or the more complicated process of simulation or tracing to produce
a close resemblance or facsimile of the genuine signature.
Legal Definition of Forgery (Revised Penal Code Art. 169)
By giving to a treasury of bank note or any instrument pirable to bearer or
to order mentioned therein, the appearance of a true and genuine document
by erasing, substituting, counterfeiting or atering by any means thie
signuatures letter, words or sign contained therein.
What are the crimes called forgeries?
They are:
1. Counterteing the great seal of the Government of the
Philippine Islands, forging the signature or stamp of the Chief
Executive.The penalty reclusionmporal shall be imposed Revised
Penal Code Art 161)
2 Counterfeiting coins- Making and importing and uttering fase
coins shall aurier Prison mayor, Prision comeccional in minimum
and medium period with a coresponding fine (RPC 163)
3 Mutilation of coins- importation and Utterance of mutilated
coins. The penalty of prision correccional in its minimum
period and a corresponding fine RPC 104).
4 Forging treasury or bank notes or other documents
payable to bearer, importing, and uttering such false or forged notes and
documents shall be punished as follows:

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A. By reclusion temporal in its minimum period and a corresponding fine, if

the document which has been falsified, counterfeited, or altered is an
obligation or security of the (United States) or of the Philippines Islands.
B. By prision mayor in its maximum period and a corresponding fine, it the
falsified or altered document is a circulating note issued by the banking
association duly authorized by law to issue the same.
5. Counterfeit In importing, and uttering instruments
not payable to the bearer - Any person who shall forge,
import, or utter, in connivance with the forger or importers,
any instrument payable to order or other document of
credit not payable to bearer shall suffer the penalties of
prision correccional in its medium and minimum periods
with a corresponding fine. (RPC 167).
6. Falsification of Legislative documents - The penalty of prision
correccional in its maximum period and a corresponding fine shall be imposed
upon any person who, without proper authority therefore, alters any bill
resolution of ordinances enacted or approved or pending approval by either
House of the Legislature nor any provincial board or municipal council. (RPC
170).
7. Falsification by public officer, employee or notary or ecclesiastical
minister. (RPC 171) The penalty of prision mayor and a corresponding fine
shall be imposed upon any public officer, employee, or notary who, taking
advantage of his official position, shall falsify a document by committing any of
the following acts:
a. Counterfeiting or imitating any handwriting, signature, or rubric;
b. Causing it to appear that persons have participated in any act or proceeding
when they did not in fact so participate
A. Attributing to persons who have participated in an act or proceeding
statements other than in fact made by them;
d. Making untruthful statements in a narration of facts:
e Altering true dates:
f. Making any alteration or intercalation in a genuine document which changes
its meaning;

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g. Issuing in an authenticated form of a document purporting to be a copy of

an original document when no such copy a statement to, or different from, that
of the genuine original; or
h. Intercalating any instrument or note relative to the issuance thereof in a
protocol, registry, or official book.
8. Falsification by private individuals and use of falsified documents.
(RPC 172) - The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum
periods and a corresponding fine shall be imposed upon:
A. Any private individual who shall commit any of the falsifications
enumerated in the next preceding article in any public or officia document
or letter of exchange or any other kind of commercial document; and
B.Any person who, to the damage of a third party, or with the intent to use
such damage, shall in any private document commit any of the act of
falsification enumerated in the next preceding article
C.Any person who shall knowingly introduce in evidence in any judicial
proceeding or to the damage of another or who, with the intent to cause such
damage, shall use any of the false documents embraced in the next preceding
article.
9. Falsification of wireless, cable, telegraph and telephone messages,
and use of paid falsified messages- The penalty of prision correccional in its
medium and maximums shall be imposed upon any officer or employee of the
Goverment or of any private corporation or concem engaged in the service of
sending or receiving wireless, cable, telegraph, or telephone messages who
utlers a fictitious wireless, telegraph, or telephone message of any system or
falsifies the same. (RPC 173).
10. False medical certificates, faise carificates of merit of service, etc.
(RPC 174) - The penalties of arresto mayor in its maximum period to prision
correccional in its minimum period with a corresponding fine, shall be
Imposed upon:
1. Any physician or surgeon who, in connection with the practice of his
profession, shall issue a false certificate; and
2. Any public officer who shall issue a false certificate of merit or service, good
conduct, or similar circumstances.

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Kinds of forgery
1. Simulated Forgery
This type refers to the act of
simulation, copying or imitation of a
genuine signature of writing.
The forger avails himself of a model
genuine signature which he places
before him in order to copy the same. Oftentimes, the forger undertakes some
practice before proceeding to do his work simulation or imitation.
In other instances, where the forger could not avail of a genuine signature
for a model, he merely relies on his recollection of the pattern of the signature
which he may have by virtue of long association with said signature.
2. Traced Forgery
This type, as it implies, is the
result of an attempt to transfer to
a fraudulent document an exact
facsimile or outline of a genuine
signature or writing by some
tracing process. It is, therefore, any fraudulent signature which was executed
by actually following the outline of a genuine, signature with any writing
instrument.

Kinds of Tracing Process

1. Carbon Process or Carbon Outline Process - A carbon paper is
interleaves between the genuine signature (which is placed on top) and the
document intended to be forged (which is at the bottom). The outline of the
model signature is traced with a dry pen or sharp pointed instrumen with
considerable pressure to make a carbon offset on the fraudule document. The
carbon outline is at timed passed on as the genuine signature by the forger
Other forger will improve it by reacting the carbon outline with suitable ink
stroke before passing the same as genuine.
2. Indentation process - An indented or canal like outline of the genuine
signature is produced on the fraudulent document (which is placed at the
bottom) by tracing with considerable pressure the outline of the genuine

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signature with a sharp pointed instrument. The indented outline is then directly
inked in and some instances, first retracted with pencil very lightly before it is
finally "inked-in".
3 Projection or "Transmitted Light process - The fraudulent document is
placed immediately above the genuine signature. With strong light directed
through the two sheets of paper either from below or behind, the outline which
is seen thru the upper sheet is then retraced with any suitable writing
instrument.
3. Simple Forgery
This is the type of forgery commonly
known as "Spurious" signature. The forger
who is confronted with the absence of a
model signature will not attempt to produce
facsimile of the genuine signature but merely
signs the same either in his own devise, ways
and means of passing the document for his own personal gain and profit
before the obvious fraud is detected. This is commonly used if Mictitious
persons cases and invariably used by the CHECK-THIEF who purloins,
endorses and passed government, corporation or company checks, or who
produces printed check forms, complete and endorses them with fictitious
signatures in order to make them pass as genuine.
The determination of the fraudulent nature of this type of forgery becomes
very elementary the moment standards of the genuine signature of the
individual whose signature had been forged are obtained. Comparison with
two or more genuine ones would be enough in arriving at preliminary findings.
The underlying principles upon which identity of two signature or writings is
interpreted as an indication of forgery is that no two genuine signature or
writings of the same person will exactly coincide with each other in design,
sized and proportion, that is, the large number of all the rare (separate) events
will not accidentally coincide if they are thus combined, then the result may be
due to the design and not the accident and this is especially true when the
traced forgery and the model are made up of a number of separated parts, or
when a model and a tracing, or two or more traced forgeries occupy exactly
the same positions on a printed form.

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It is actually impossible to write two signatures precisely alike so that if

such case exists, it can be concluded that one of them is the model and the
other is the tracing or that both were traced from the same model.
Close similarity of suspected signature to a possible design, sized,
proportions and position, is a suspicious identity especially if the resemblance
is very close and similar to a rubber stamp impression.
Even a traced forgery will NOT BE MATHEMATICALLY EXACT
REPRODUCTION of the model or genuine from which it was traced. There
may be some divergence due an attempt to improve the model more or less, or
that the outline of the model is not very clear and therefore difficult to trace
closely, or that divergence in sized or position in undoubtedly intentional in rare
instance).

4.Alterations
Change or alterations, which usually affect the original meaning of
documents are made either at the state of preparation and are already of the
document when it signed, sealed and witnessed, or fraudulent after its
execution.
A change that appears should not be readily fraudulent, the alterations
should be considered in a through, careful manner to be able to determine
what the reasonable inference is from all the facts. It is therefore, necessary to
distinguish which is fraudulent from that which is genuine alteration.
An obvious necessary change in a document often is evidence not of fraud
but of genuineness.
A delicate and partly concealed change may be very suspicious, and
therefore, fraudulent.
Fraudulent changes are naturally made in a hidden manner and they may
never be discovered if special attention is not directed to this matter.

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MEANS (METHODS) OF ALTERATION

1. Erasures
The removal of writing, typewriting or printing from a document.
A. Chemical Erasures
The writing is effaced by the use of liquid ink eradicator or other bleaching
solutions.
b. Mechanical Erasures
The writing is effaced by rubbing - off with rubber eraser or scrapping - of
with sharp metal.
2. Addition
Any matter made a part of the document after its original preparation.
3. Subtraction
Any matter rubbed out strike out and/or scratched out after its original
preparation.
4.Interlineations or intercalation
The term insertion and interlineations include the addition of writing and
other material between the line or paging or the addition of whole page to a
document,
5. Obliteration
Smeared-over-writing with black or opaque material.

Video Links:
 Enumerate the crimes called Forgeries:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_f5Y4aPTNrQ
 Define the kinds of Forgery:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ls043aFau_0

 Familiarize the means of

Alteration:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MUtNQHTVYH0

References: Questioned Document Examination: Dr.Lilee

Galeon