Marriage; Annulment; Judicial Declaration (1993)

Maria and Luis, both Filipinos, were married by a

Catholic priest in Lourdes Church, Quezon City in
1976, Luis was drunk on the day of his wedding. In fact, he slumped at the altar
soon after
the ceremony. After marriage, Luis never had a steady
job because he was drunk most of the time. Finally,
he could not get employed at all because of drunkenness.
Hence, it was Maria who had to earn a living to support
herself and her child begotten with Luis. In 1986, Maria
filed a petition in the church matrimonial court in
Quezon City to annul her marriage with Luis on the ground
of psychological incapacity to comply with his marital
obligation. Her petition was granted by the church matrimonial court.
1) Can Maria now get married legally to another man
under Philippine laws after her marriage to Luis was annulled
by the church matrimonial court? Explain.
2) What must Maria do to enable her to get married lawfully
to another man under Philippine laws?
SUGGESTED ANSWER:
1) No, Maria cannot validly contract a subsequent marriage
without a court declaration of nullity of the first marriage.
The law does not recognize the church declaration of nullity
of a marriage.
2) To enable Maria to get married lawfully to another man.
she must obtain a judicial declaration of nullity of the prior
marriage under Article 36 Family Code