Consulting contract

As a general caution to all.... 

Be very careful what is presented to any Officer of the Court here (i.e., Atty) as many will want to insist on the "Notarization" of a private, personal or business matter to make it appear legal.  In the USA, Notaries are not members of the bar or required to have a JDL degree. 

Example: In California, the State requirements are:

"Every person appointed as a notary public shall:

- be 18 years of age or older (there is no maximum age set by statute)
- be a legal California resident
- complete a course of study approved by the Secretary of State
- satisfactorily complete and pass a written examination prescribed by the Secretary of State
- clear a background check"

In the PI, all Notary Publics must be practicing attorneys (with current lic/bar cards) and some have been know to take a person's well crafted document and utilize both content and context for the next occasion/client where the charge can include both the doc preparation fee (borrowed from a previous client's document) and the notarization fee. 

The expat must understand that their private document is not private in most cases, even if the atty here says it will remain a confidential document kept in his/her office only (despite the fact that the book is a public record in which every document not protected is in the public domain).  Some Atty's here claim the document remains private and is safe with them.  Yet, the Supreme Court here ruled many years ago that:

"Documents consisting of entries in public records made in the performance of a duty by a public officer are prima facie evidence of the facts therein stated.  Public documents are (i) the written official acts, or records of the official acts of the sovereign authority, official bodies and tribunals, and public officers, whether of the Philippines, or of a foreign country; (ii) documents acknowledged before a notary public except last wills and testaments; and (iii) public records, kept in the Philippines, of private documents required by law to be entered therein."  [G.R. No. 146550]

If a person has a document processed or notarized by an Atty, except as noted above, it is in the public record and can be the "prima facie evidence" in a case against an expat. 

The expat may not understand the simple looking document (perhaps intended to be a private or confidential business matter) he/she has executed is or can be self incriminating in any case where the expat did not realize the act, agreement or document violates a law (when acted upon or intended to be acted upon by the expat, without proper authorization to act, agree or engage in such employment or activity.

Remaining attorney adverse for this and many other reasons can be considered good advice for some.  YMMV