Short answer. Yes. The law gives you the right to require the agent to present the power of attorney or the instructions covering the agency before you contract. Asking is not an insult — it is the step that protects you, and refusing to proceed without it is entirely proper.
What the law says
A third person with whom the agent wishes to contract on behalf of the principal may require the presentation of the power of attorney, or the instructions as regards the agency.
Civil Code, Article 1902 — Third Person May Require the Power. Read the full provision →
The right, and the protection that comes with it
Two ideas sit in this article, and the second is the reason the first matters. You may require the agent to show the power of attorney or the instructions. And once he does, the principal cannot afterwards defeat you with limits he kept to himself: "Private or secret orders and instructions of the principal do not prejudice third persons who have relied upon the power of attorney or instructions shown them." So if the document you were shown authorised the sale at a stated price, a later claim that the owner had privately told the agent to hold out for more does not touch you. What you were shown is what binds. What you were never shown cannot be used against you.
Read the document, do not merely receive it
Presentation is worth little if nobody reads it. Check that the principal's name matches the registered owner or the party to be bound. Check that the specific act you are about to do is inside the authority — a power to administer or lease property is not a power to sell or mortgage it, and the Civil Code requires a special power for acts of strict dominion. Check for a period or condition. Check whether it authorises receipt of the price, since paying money to someone not authorised to collect it is a frequent and expensive mistake. Keep a copy with the file.
The limits of relying on the paper
This protection covers you against secret instructions. It does not cover you against a power that is forged, revoked, or expired, nor against one signed by someone who had already died or lost capacity. Nor does good faith cure an authority that plainly does not stretch to the transaction — if the document says lease and you sign a sale, the article gives you nothing. Where land is involved, verify the title at the registry as well; where the principal is a company, a corporate authority such as a board resolution or secretary's certificate does the work that a power of attorney does for an individual.
Practical steps before you sign
Ask for the original or a notarised copy and compare the signatures against an identification document. Where the power was executed abroad, look for consular authentication or an apostille. Where it concerns registered land, ask whether it is annotated on the title. If the principal is reachable, a short direct confirmation costs nothing and settles most doubts. If the agent resists any of this, treat the resistance itself as the answer. None of this guarantees a transaction will hold up, and it is general information rather than advice on a particular deal.
Cases citing this provision
These Supreme Court decisions cite the provision above. We list them so you can read them yourself; the summaries of what each decided are not ours to give.
- The Consortium of Hyundai Engineering Co., Ltd. and Hyundai Corporation vs. National Grid Corporation of the Philippines, G.R. No. 214743, December 4, 2023 — read the decision on LawPhil →
- Caravan Travel and Tours International, Inc. vs. Ermilinda R. Abejar, G.R. No. 170631, February 10, 2016 — read the decision on LawPhil →