Overview of Forensic Science in the Philippines and roles of Forensic Handwriting Examination in Legal Proceedings

The Importance of Handwriting Examination in Legal Proceedings

An individual can be identified through his/her handwriting. Just as no  two individuals have identical fingerprints, no two persons write exactly alike, and even the same individual cannot make exact duplicates of his/her own handwritings/signatures. Between the writings/signatures of two different persons, there will be significant or fundamental differences. 

Example: In a forgery of a signature, the forgery, when compared to the standard signatures of the owner of the signature, will have significant or fundamental variations. In an effort to simulate the signature, there may be superficial similarities to the standard signature, but the individual characteristics will betray the forger. 

On the other hand, there will be no exact identity of two writings/signatures even when written by one and the same person.  There will be superficial variation, or slight changes in size and proportion of letters or strokes, and the degree of care given in the writing process. The individual handwriting characteristics, however, remain the same. For, if there would be exact identity of the handwritings/signatures, leaving only one outline when one is placed on top of the other, then it is a certainty that one or all are traced from one model.

Legal Framework Supporting Handwriting Examination in Legal Proceedings

In the Philippines, we have Republic Act 6506, an Act Creating the Board of Criminology, as amended by Republic Act 11131. Both laws, by fiat, bestowed on criminologist the privilege to be employed in the government among others, as Document Examiner without further qualifying examinations.

Forensic Handwriting Examination is both a science and an art. The requirement of the number of standard specimen signatures or exemplars for comparative analysis largely depends on the appearance or state of the questioned handwriting/signature. If it is a bungled forgery, even one competent standard signature will suffice. For a fairly simulated forgery, three, five or more may be sufficient. 

Vast experience is a must in the examination of genuine handwritings/signatures before one can correctly identify a forgery. In all forensic handwriting examinations,  original documents containing both the questioned and the standard are preferred. 

However, with the advent of photocopiers, good photo copies may be sufficient for the conduct of forensic handwriting examination. Linton A. Mohammed in his book entitled: Forensic Handwriting of Signatures (2019), page 85 (Chapter 6, The Examination of Signatures on Nonoriginal Documents), said: “ Morton(1989) looked at the output of several photocopier brands and models. She found that the nonoriginals produced were of sufficient quality for examination. Interestingly, she found that simulations, both freehand and traced, were copied better as they tended to have heavier, more even pen pressure than the original documents.”

Likewise, our Rules of Court, Paragraphs (b) and (c), Section 4, Rule 130, states that duplicates or photocopies may be admissible to the same extent as the originals. Moreover, Section 2, Rule 4, Rules on Electronic Evidence, A.M. No. 01-7—01—SC-August 1, 2001, amplifies the same said provisions.

Expert opinions of Forensic Handwriting Specialist/Document Examiners are, by themselves, only an assistance to the court in determining issues on the genuineness of handwritings/signatures and it is the court that ultimately declares whether the signature or writing is genuine or forgery. But as a Friend of Court or Amicus Curiae, document examiners are duty-bound to possess the utmost competence and integrity in advising the court on whether the handwriting/signature is genuine or a forgery.