SC acquits Pangasinan town ex-mayor of falsification

December 26, 2025 | 12:00am

 MANILA, Philippines — The Supreme Court (SC) has acquitted former mayor Artemio Chan of falsification of a public document over his signing of a marriage certificate even when he allegedly did not conduct the wedding ceremony.

In a 22-page ruling, the SC Third Division reversed the Sandiganbayan’s conviction of Chan, a former mayor of Pozorrubio in Pangasinan, for signing the couple’s marriage certificate and making it appear that he was the solemnizing officer when the ceremony was conducted by his son, then vice mayor Kelvin Chan.

During trial, the prosecution alleged that the vice mayor, representing his father, officiated the wedding. However, the elder Chan signed the marriage certificate as the solemnizing officer.

In his defense, the former mayor said he had to leave for a medical emergency shortly before the scheduled wedding ceremony.

To save the situation, he asked the couple if he could immediately solemnize the wedding in front of his staff instead of waiting for their sponsors and other guests. The couple allegedly agreed.

Chan said that when all the sponsors and guests arrived, the couple asked for a simple wedding ceremony – a request he denied as he had already performed the rite.

He added that his son Kelvin performed an informal ceremony in front of the guests.

In ruling over the case, the SC said Chan solemnized the marriage by posting the necessary questions regarding consent and officially proclaimed them as husband and wife before the vice mayor held another wedding ceremony in front of guests.

It said a person could not be convicted of falsifying a public document if their actions are done in good faith and, in this case, there was no evidence that Chan knowingly provided false statements in the marriage certificate to mislead.

“The purported inaccurate entries in the contracting parties’ certificate of marriage are not false. Although the solemnization of the marriage may have been rushed and hurried, this does not mean that (Artemio) did not fulfill his solemn duty as the officiating officer,” the ruling read.

It said that even if Chan delegated certain tasks to his son in relation to the wedding, this does not imply that he falsified the marriage certificate.

The ruling added that Kelvin’s role was merely a symbolical aspect of the event and did not usurp the mayor’s legal authority and position. His participation also occurred only after the legally binding solemnization performed by Chan.