By Philip M. Lustre Jr.
(Author's Note: This article was written three years ago. I am reposting it as part of my bogs to enable netizens to realize how important and critical are those we affix signatures to official documents.)
LAWMAKERS should craft and enact a law that outlaws public contracts with fine prints and requires contracting parties to use readable prints with size of at least ten points of commonly used and publicly acceptable printing fonts.
The proposed legislation should declare as crime or an act of an swindling or fraud the use of fonts with size less than ten points of any of those commonly used and publicly acceptable fonts in all public contracts.
The proposed legislation should declare as crime or an act of an swindling or fraud the use of fonts with size less than ten points of any of those commonly used and publicly acceptable fonts in all public contracts.
This is to prevent contracting parties, mostly commercial establishments, from taking advantage of ordinary citizens. The commonly used and publicly acceptable fonts refer to what have been called and technically known as Times Roman, Arial, Bookman, Garamond, Bodoni, among others, which printers consider as friendly to the readers' eyes.
The minimum size of ten points of any of those fonts is regarded as a convenient and reader friendly. Newspapers, bookmakers, and publishing companies have been using that minimum size to lessen the burden of reading.
Banks, pawnshops, lending institutions, and other commercial establishments have been notorious for requiring ordinary citizens to sign contracts with public fine prints.
These are public contracts that are not meant to be read by the ordinary citizens.
Yet, in case of contractual disputes, they invoke these contracts as legally binding. This is an act of swindling, plain and simple. These commercial establishments have been hoodwinking hapless citizens for many years.
It is ridiculous to use a magnifying lens to see and understand the provisions as terms of reference.
All public contracts with provisions printed smaller than the required size of at least ten points of popular fonts should be regarded as invalid.
Top officials of the contract-issuing commercial establishments should face criminal charges of estafa and penalties under the Revised Penal Code.
For signed contracts that have fine prints, commercial establishments would have to issue and provide the other contracting parties with copies that have bigger and reader-friendly prints.
Failure to make updated changes should invalidate the contract parties and those responsible should face the penalties.
The minimum size of ten points of any of those fonts is regarded as a convenient and reader friendly. Newspapers, bookmakers, and publishing companies have been using that minimum size to lessen the burden of reading.
Banks, pawnshops, lending institutions, and other commercial establishments have been notorious for requiring ordinary citizens to sign contracts with public fine prints.
These are public contracts that are not meant to be read by the ordinary citizens.
Yet, in case of contractual disputes, they invoke these contracts as legally binding. This is an act of swindling, plain and simple. These commercial establishments have been hoodwinking hapless citizens for many years.
It is ridiculous to use a magnifying lens to see and understand the provisions as terms of reference.
All public contracts with provisions printed smaller than the required size of at least ten points of popular fonts should be regarded as invalid.
Top officials of the contract-issuing commercial establishments should face criminal charges of estafa and penalties under the Revised Penal Code.
For signed contracts that have fine prints, commercial establishments would have to issue and provide the other contracting parties with copies that have bigger and reader-friendly prints.
Failure to make updated changes should invalidate the contract parties and those responsible should face the penalties.
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