General Power of Attorney (Philippines) — Sample, Limits, Free Generator

GENERAL POWER OF ATTORNEY

KNOW ALL MEN BY THESE PRESENTS:

That I, [ROBERTO L. AQUINO], of legal age, Filipino, married, and a resident of [Al Nahda Street, Deira, Dubai, United Arab Emirates], hereinafter referred to as the PRINCIPAL,

do hereby NAME, CONSTITUTE and APPOINT [CARMEN A. LIM], of legal age, Filipino, married, and a resident of [12 Mabini Street, Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu City], hereinafter referred to as my ATTORNEY-IN-FACT, to be my true and lawful attorney, for me and in my name, place and stead, to manage and administer my affairs and property in the Philippines, and in particular:

1. To administer, manage and take charge of my residential units located at [12 Mabini Street, Barangay Kamputhaw, Cebu City], including the maintenance, repair and upkeep thereof;

2. To lease the said units to such persons and on such terms as my attorney-in-fact may deem reasonable, for a period not exceeding one (1) year at a time, and to sign the corresponding contracts of lease;

3. To collect and receive rentals, deposits and other sums due to me from the said units, and to issue the corresponding receipts therefor;

4. To pay, out of the sums collected, the real property taxes, association dues, utilities, and other charges due on the said property;

5. To institute and prosecute, or defend, any action for the collection of rentals or for the ejectment of any tenant, and to engage counsel for that purpose;

6. To represent me before the Office of the City Assessor, the City Treasurer, the Bureau of Internal Revenue, utility providers, and any homeowners' or condominium association in connection with the said property;

7. To open and maintain a bank account for the deposit of the sums collected, and to deposit and withdraw therefrom for the purposes stated above.

HEREBY GIVING AND GRANTING unto my said attorney-in-fact full power and authority to do and perform every act of administration necessary to carry out the foregoing, as fully as I might or could lawfully do if personally present, and HEREBY RATIFYING AND CONFIRMING all that my said attorney-in-fact shall lawfully do by virtue of these presents.

PROVIDED, that this General Power of Attorney does not authorise my attorney-in-fact to sell, mortgage, donate, or otherwise dispose of or encumber any of my property, or to perform any of the acts enumerated in Article 1878 of the Civil Code of the Philippines, for which a special power of attorney shall be required.

This General Power of Attorney shall remain in full force and effect until revoked by me in writing.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this ____ day of __________, 20____, at [Dubai, United Arab Emirates].

                                        ______________________________
                                        [ROBERTO L. AQUINO]
                                        Principal

CONFORME:

                                        ______________________________
                                        [CARMEN A. LIM]
                                        Attorney-in-Fact

SIGNED IN THE PRESENCE OF:

______________________________          ______________________________
Witness                                  Witness

[ACKNOWLEDGMENT before a Philippine consular officer, or before a local notary
public followed by an apostille, where executed abroad.]

General versus special — the line that matters

A general power of attorney gives your representative authority over acts of administration: managing, preserving, leasing short-term, collecting, paying, and generally keeping things running. A special power of attorney is needed for acts of ownership and for the specific acts listed in article 1878 of the Civil Code.

When a general power of attorney is the right tool

How to write one that offices will actually accept

1. 1

   Enumerate anyway

   Even though it is 'general', list the administration acts you want covered — collect rent, pay taxes, sign one-year leases, represent you before named offices. A GPA that just says 'to manage my affairs' gets questioned at every counter.

2. 2

   Name the properties and accounts

   Addresses, title numbers, bank and account numbers. Third parties need to match the document to what is in front of them.

3. 3

   Include the express limitation

   The PROVIDED clause excluding article 1878 acts protects you. It also reassures banks and registries that you understood the limits.

4. 4

   Cap the lease term

   A lease of real property for more than one year is an article 1878 act. Writing 'for a period not exceeding one (1) year at a time' keeps the GPA within its lane.

5. 5

   Add an accounting duty

   Requiring your attorney-in-fact to render an accounting of collections and disbursements is prudent and is consistent with the agent's obligations under the Civil Code.

Legal basis: Civil Code of the Philippines, arts. 1876–1878 (general and special agency, and the acts requiring a special power); art. 1874 (written authority for the sale of land through an agent); arts. 1891 and 1897 (the agent's duty to account and liability for acting beyond authority); arts. 1919–1921 (revocation and notice).

Choosing an attorney-in-fact you will not regret

A general power of attorney hands a person your income stream, your tenants and your dealings with government offices, usually while you are thousands of kilometres away. Most of the disputes that follow are not fraud — they are ordinary drift: money commingled with the agent's own, no records kept, decisions made that the owner would not have made. A few clauses prevent nearly all of it.

The agent's duties — and your exposure

An attorney-in-fact is an agent, and the Civil Code imposes real duties: to act within the scope of the authority, to render an account of the transaction, and to deliver to the principal everything received by virtue of the agency. An agent who acts beyond the authority is personally liable to the third party unless the principal ratifies. That protection matters both ways — it is also why a bank or a registry checks the SPA so carefully before letting an agent act.

What if…

1. 1

   …the bank refuses your GPA

   Banks almost always require their own authorisation form and often will not accept a general power for account transactions at all. Ask the branch what they need before you have anything notarised abroad.

2. 2

   …you need a sale after all

   Execute a separate SPA naming the sale, the property and the title number. Do not amend the GPA by hand — a written change on a notarised instrument invalidates it in practice.

3. 3

   …your attorney-in-fact misuses the authority

   Revoke in writing immediately, serve the revocation with proof of receipt, and notify every office and counterparty. Then take advice — an agent who exceeds the authority is liable, and depending on what was done, estafa may be in play.