Short answer. Yes, if the new agent is appointed for the same business or transaction — but only from the day the old agent is notified of it. Until that notice reaches him, the earlier authority stands, and outsiders who were never told may still be protected.

What the law says

The appointment of a new agent for the same business or transaction revokes the previous agency from the day on which notice thereof was given to the former agent, without prejudice to the provisions of the two preceding articles.

Civil Code, Article 1923 — Appointment of a New Agent. Read the full provision →

The revocation is implied, not automatic on signing

You do not have to write a separate revocation. Appointing someone else to handle the same matter says clearly enough that the first appointment is over, and the law reads it that way. But the article fixes the moment carefully: the earlier agency ends from the day on which notice thereof was given to the former agent. Signing the new document in your lawyer's office changes nothing by itself. Until the first agent learns of the new appointment, he is still your agent, and what he does in that window is done with your authority.

Same business or transaction

The rule only bites where the two appointments cover the same ground. Naming someone to sell your Quezon City lot does not disturb an earlier authority to collect rents on a different property, or to process a licence, or to represent you in an unrelated matter. Overlapping mandates are common and often deliberate. Where you actually intend to replace the earlier agent, do not rely on a court later reading two documents as covering the same business — say so in the new instrument, in plain words, and identify the earlier authority by its date.

Notice to the old agent is not notice to the world

The closing clause preserves the two preceding provisions, and they matter a great deal in practice. Under Art. 1921, where an agency was given for the purpose of contracting with specified persons, revoking it does not prejudice those persons if they were not notified. There is a companion rule for agencies made known to the public generally. So there are two circles of notice to close: the agent himself, which ends his authority, and the people he was dealing with, which is what stops you from being bound to them. Doing only the first is the usual and expensive mistake.

Closing it properly

Give the former agent written notice and keep proof it was received — hand delivery against signature, registered mail, or a message thread you can produce later. Write separately to the bank, buyer, registry, tenant or supplier he was dealing with. Ask for the return of the original power of attorney and of any documents, keys or property of yours that he holds, remembering that he may lawfully keep things connected with the agency until he is reimbursed for what he advanced. And require an accounting of what he did and collected before the notice took effect, because that period is yours to answer for.

Related provisions

Note. Statute text quoted on this page is reproduced from the official enactment and is linked to the full provision. The explanation around it is general legal information from Vivas & Nobles Law Office, not legal advice. Whether it applies to your situation depends on facts only a lawyer reviewing them can assess.