ALMELOR VS RTC

Facts: On 29 January 1989, Manuel and Leonida Almelor got married. They are both

medical practitioners – an anesthesiologist and a pediatrician, respectively. After 11

years of marriage, Leonida filed a petition with the RTC to annul their marriage on the

ground of psychological incapacity. Leonlda stated that they first met at SLH as med

student clerks and they became sweethearts and after three years, they got married. At

first, Manuel was kind and gentle but in private life, Leonida described him as harsh

disciplinarian, unreasonably meticulous, easily angered. These are the cause of their

frequent fights as couple. Respondent also alleged her husband that the latter has deep

affection for his mother and added her woes for his husband’s concealment to her of his

homosexuality. Her suspicions were proven by incidents where in she caught her

husband kissing a male friend. At that point, she took her children and left their conjugal

abode. Since then, Manuel stopped giving support to their children. Leonida also

presented a psychologist who proved that Mauel has psychological incapacity. On his

part, Petitioner invokes that although he and Leonida had petty arguments, he

maintained that their marriage is harmonious. He countered that the true cause of

respondent’s hostility against him was their professional rivalry. He also bellied all the

allegations against him. The RTC, in its disposition, granted the petition for annulment,

however, not on the ground of Art 36 but on Art 45 of the FC. The CA likewise affirmed
the decision of the RTC. In this present case, Manuel argued that erred in its decision

annulling the marriage on the ground of psychological incapacity.

Issue: WON, THE HONORABLE COURT OF APPEALS ERRED IN UPHOLDING THE

DECISION OF THE TRIAL COURT AS REGARDS THE ORDER DECLARING THE

MARRIAGE AS NULL AND VOID ON THE GROUND OF PETITIONER’S

PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY?
Ruling: Concealment of homosexuality, not homosexuality per se, is the proper ground

to annul marriage. Citing RP v. Molina, the Court said “indeed, mere allegations of

conflicting personalities, irreconcilable differences, incessant quarrels and/or beatings,

unpredictable mood swings, infidelities, vices, abandonment, and difficulty, neglect or

failure in the performance of some marital obligations do not suffice to establish

psychological incapacity. Evidently, no sufficient proof was presented to substantiate the

allegations that Manuel is a homosexual and that he concealed this to Leonida at the

time of their marriage. Even assuming that Manuel is a homosexual, the lower court

cannot appreciate it as a ground to annul his marriage with Leonida. The law is clear – a
marriage may be annulled when the consent of either party was obtained by fraud, such

as concealment of homosexuality. Homosexuality per se is only a ground for legal

separation. It is its concealment that serves as a valid ground to annul a marriage. It is

something the respondent failed to prove.