PRAC COURT 1 SEATWORK

Wednesday October 2, 2019

Prof. Rosario Olivas-Quinto

PREPARE A PETITION FOR DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF MARRIAGE

Maria Luisa Ramos comes to you and asks you to prepare a petition for declaration of nullity of
her marriage to Macario De Mesa. She says that her husband is not psychologically capacitated
to enter into marriage.

She presented a report issued by a psychiatrist, Dr. Ernesto Manalo, which states as follows:

May 2, 2018

Subject : Psychiatric evaluation report on Maria Luisa Ramos, petitioner, and Macario De
Mesa, respondent in the civil case seeking the judicial declaration of nullity of marriage
on the grounds of psychological incapacity.

Sources of information:

Maria Luisa Ramos, petitoner

Macario De Mesa, respondent
Mara Gail Ramos, sister of respondent
Maria Vina Morales, common friend of respondent and petitioner
Psychological test result of respondent

Identifying Data:

Petitioner: Maria Luisa Ramos, 45 years old, female, Filipino, Married but separated,
currently residing at 12345 Taft Avenue, Malate, Manila
Respondent: Macario De Mesa,, 45 years old, male, Filipino, married but separated,
currently residing at 789 Martinez Street, Mandaluyong City.

Background information:
Petitioner met respondent back in 1989 when they were introduced by friends in Siena
College were they were both second year high school students. He was quite popular in
their school as he was crowned Mr. Siena because of his good looks and athletic
prowess but he was kicked out of school the following year because of academic
deficiencies.

They met again after two years and that’s when respondent started courting her. She
gave in after a few months of courtship and their relationship became intimate leading to
premarital sexual activities. At that time, petitioner’s mother already left for the USA to
work to help augment their finances and she was left to the care of her grandmother who
was very strict. Petitioner would always be reprimanded for not going home early or her
grades and she resented this a lot.

During one of the times she was ventilating to respondent her feelings against her
grandmother and her plans on writing her mother to get her to escape her grandmother’s
scolding, respondent immediately asked her to elope with him and promised to take care
of her and not treat her the way she was treated by her grandmother.

In her desire to get away from her family, petitioner rescinded and went with respondent
to their friends resort were they stayed for a few days until they were found by
respondent’s family. They were brought to petitioner’s house but her grandmother
insisted that they get married so they stayed with respondent’s family.

They both went back to school but petitioner had to stop after a year as she got pregnant
in 1992 and bore their first child, Miggy Paul. They had their civil wedding at Antipolo city
the following year (July23, 1993) upon the insistence of petitioner’s mother and
grandmother.

She wanted to resume her studies but she got pregnant again in 1994 with their second
child, Macario Junior. All that time their expenses were shouldered by respondent’s
mother with some help from petitioner’s family.

Respondent also kept on enrolling but not finishing his studies and just dropped all his
subjects claiming he doesn’t feel studying anymore as it is not enjoyable as before. They
started a carwash business with the help of respondent’s family but it did not prosper as
respondent would be out most of the time drinking with his friends. Petitioner then
decided to try her luck in selling, she would buy goods from Divisoria and sell to her
friends and would occasionally cook for their friends and do catering services just to earn
some money as she already feels they were burdening their parents but she noted
respondent doesn’t seem to care whether they have money for food and milk as long as
he has money for his drinking.

When petitioner confront her about this, he would become violent and started to shout
invectives and hurt her by slapping her or punching her in the arms and legs. This made
petitioner fear confronting him. Respondent would even embarrass her in front of his
family by claiming she is just a “sampid” in their house and a good for nothing wife even
if she was the one working for them. These would often lead to arguments and when
petitioner asked if she could leave, respondent would become violent and start hitting
her then promised to change as long as she won’t leave him.

The drinking and drug use however continued. After one drinking spree and respondent
came home obviously high on drugs, she again confronted him and asked if she could
just go home to her grandmother, respondent became furious and threatened her with a
Bolo and said she would die first before she could leave her. This made petitioner very
scared and would just cry in their room whenever respondent is drunk and in combative
mood. Respondent would also be very sexually preoccupied even when he is sober and
would insist on having sex even if the situation is inappropriate or in places where they
could get caught by family.
In 1999, petitioner again got pregnant with their third child and when she told
respondent, he left and lived-in with another girl who was also pregnant with his child.
Petitioner felt so humiliated but felt she has nowhere to go so she stayed with her
brother and sisters in law for a few years as they were all supportive of her until she was
able to earn enough money to live separately.

PERTINENT PERSONAL AND FAMILY HISTORY:

PETITIONER:
Petitioner was born to Josefa Ramos and Joaquin Ramos. Her father died when she
was two years old and she was solely raised by her mother. Her mother would do odd
jobs to be able to send her to good schools and she reciprocated this by studying hard
and helping in household chores.

Because her father died early, she didn’t have any siblings but she was never spoiled by
her mother whom she considers as her best friend also. Petitioner grew very close to her
hence she was devastated when she has to leave for America to prepare for her college
education and the belief that they would have a better future if she works there. She
worked as a clerk in Target Corp. and stayed there until retirement.

Her departure however left a big void in petitioner’s world and she had a hard time
coping with the absence of her mother. This pushed her to enter into relationships which
she thought would help her cope with the emptiness she felt but it didn’t. It was
compounded by being left to a very conservative and strict grandmother but she was still
able to study hard and continue with her obligations at home.

When she got married and her husband wouldn’t help in their finances, she alone with
little help from her in-laws and mother sustain her family’s finances by doing buy-and-sell
and some catering services. She didn’t have any close friends as she would rather
spend her time with her children and that alone takes a lot of her time.

Her mother eventually remarried and she is looking forward to meeting her stepfather.

RESPONDENT:
Respondent was born to Eddie De Mesa a businessman who owns a rice mill in
Cagayan and Myrna De Mesa, an optometrist. He was the born second in a brood of six.

Being first male child and a good looking kid, he was raised with too much love and
affection by his father but this was short lived as he continued with his womanizing ways.
He thus turned his attention to his mother but she was busy practicing her profession so
she was left to be taken care of by care givers.

He was doing well in school but was caught smoking marijuana when he was only in the
seventh grade hence was kicked out and transferred to Siena. He continued smoking
marijuana even with the risk of being caught again. He then met petitioner but wasn’t
really interested at her at first as a lot of girls occupy his attention as that time he was
name Mr.Siena of their school. He was kicked out the following year due to academic
deficiencies and transferred to AMA. After two years he met respondent again and
started courting her where they ended up having intimate relations and he liked that
setup of having a girlfriend but still being able spend most of his time with his friends
drinking and partying as petitioner wasn’t really demanding. When petitioner wanted to
be petitioned by mother, he cannot risk losing her hence he asked her to elope.

He then tried several businesses like carwash and selling candy bars but all didn’t
prosper as continued spending most of his time with his friends than with his family or
business. However, he would often confide to his siblings that he felt lonely of what is
happening to his life and wanted to change for good but nothing would really work out as
he would be a different person the following day. He also didn’t have a permanent set of
friends as he would often fight with his friends so he kept jumping from one set to
another.

He would often be verbally abusive of the people around him claiming they don’t care for
him or understand him and kept blaming his father who said was a bad person because
of womanizing. His abusiveness often lead to physical harm to petitioner especially
when she ask if she could just leave and they separate.

When petitioner got pregnant with their third child he also got another girl pregnant so
when petitioner told him about the pregnancy, he decided he wanted to leave his family
and try his luck with his new girlfriend.

He eventually separated with his girlfriend and now lives alone occasionally working in a
call center company.

PSYCHOLOGICAL TEST RESULT:

Seen in the test is a pessimistic and immature person who can easily display impulsive
actions once he experience confusion and difficulties. This is because of his weak
determination and perseverance to overcome obstacles and problems As such, he will
immediately look for help particularly from his family members just like he always does
as he developed dependency from them. He is not capable of handling responsibilities
and accountabilities and will even try to blame others for his shortcomings. More so, his
weak stress tolerance enables him to easily react to environmental pressures and
burdens so much so that aggressive action may be immediately displayed.

Socially, he can be highly attached to people who can provide him his needs. However,
such attachments are usually superficial as he is only concentrated on receiving his
needs. He can also show stubbornness and oppositional actions to authority figures and
other people whom he feels are not giving him support.

Gender identification is adequate.

MENTAL STATUS EXAMINATION:

Petitioner:

Petitioner is seen as well kempt, clad in white blouse and denims, She was initially shy
claiming she is ashamed of undergoing annulment but claims she wanted to move on
with her life. Speech s spontaneous and coherent. Narrated how they met and how they
separated.”iniwan nya lang ako bigla kasama pamilya niya sobra hiya ko sa sarili nuon”
Denies any perceptual or conceptual disturbances nor of intake of prohibited drugs.
Oriented to three spheres with good recall of remote, recent and immediate memory.
Claims good sleep and appetite.

Respondent:

Respondent is seen well kempt, behave and initially responsive to queries but would
often ask if the questions are really necessary. He acknowledges that he left his family
but shows no remorse doing so. Claims he felt that petitioner would leave him anyway
“kaya inunahan ko na para sa mas sariwa “ with a grin. Denies any perceptual or
conceptual disturbances, Admits taking drugs but claims that was a long time ago.

Had a problem with the date and explaining proverbs and was obviously irritated with the
questions. “dami mo tanong tapusin na natin may importante pa ko lakad”. When asked
what this important meeting is he cannot elaborate and would just say it’s important lets
finish this. He then refuse to answer queries and would only respond by yes or no hence
interview was stopped.

CLINICAL IMPRESSION:

Petitioner:
Overall assessment of petitioner showed no incapacitating traits. She grew up with her
mother as her father passed away when she was two. This made her very close to her
mother so when she left for the US to work, she felt sad and rebellious to the very strict
grandmother who was tasked to take care of her. This resulted to believing the promises
of an aggressive boyfriend who asked her to run away with him resulting to early
marriage. The marriage didn’t turn out to be good though as she was forced to work for
their living and take care of their children at the same time as her husband was out most
of the time with friends and his vices. Despite the hardships and difficulties she faced,
she was able to survive and raised her children and even help with her sister and
brother’s in law whom he considered her family. The rebellious child was replaced by a
nurturing mother and sister who just wants to get back her life.

Respondent:

Based on the clinical interview of the petitioner, respondent, informants and the
psychological test of the respondent, it is the opinion of the examiner that he is suffering
from a Borderline Personality disorder.

Respondent met the criteria of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
for Borderline Personality Disorder. They always appear to be in a state of crisis, mood
swings are common where they feel sad or depressed then change to being
argumentative and aggressive to feeling empty. Their behavior is unpredictable with their
achievements rarely at the level of their abilities. Their lives are marked by recklessness
and self-destructive acts. Because they feel dependent and hostile, they often have
tumultuous relationships where they shift from being dependent to angry with their
friends or partners. But because they cannot tolerate being alone, they desperately seek
companionship and love.

Borderline Personality Disorder is a pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal

relationships, self-image, and affects, and marked impulsivity beginning by early
adulthood and present in a variety of context, as indicated by five or more of the
following:

Frantic effort to avoid real or imagined abandonment

A pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating
between extremes of idealization and devaluation
Identity disturbance:markedly and persistently unstable self-image or sense of self
Impulsivity in at least two areas that are potentially self-damaging
Recurrent suicidal behavior
Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood
Chronic feeling of emptiness
Inappropriate anger or difficulty controlling anger
Transient, stress related paranoid ideations or severe dissociative symptoms

PSYCHODYNAMIC FORMULATION:

The respondent grew up second but was the first male child. He was a very cute kid and
easily became the apple of the family’s eyes. The father however was based in Cagayan
and was seldom seen plus the fact that he was busy with his womanizing making him an
absentee father. The respondent then fixated his love towards his mother who was then
busy with her career as an optometrist. He didn’t get reciprocated for the love he yearns
for and was left with caregivers.

The separation individuation he was supposed to develop as a child never happened.

Still he continued with his Elektra complex as he was often showered with gifts by the
mother to compensate for her lack of time for him. At the time his attention was
supposed to revert back to the parent of the same sex, his father was gone spending
most of his time with his mistresses. This made him revert back to the mother as a love
object but made him fear more being abandoned and alone. This also made him develop
the splitting of people into his friends or enemies but this was also part of his fear of
rejection.

The anger and aggressiveness developed later as a result of his insecurities and feeling
of emptiness as he was never satisfied with his love objects as he would always fear
being left or rejected. This eventually led to poor impulse and anger control as it also
pave a way to release his frustrations .

He wanted to be dependent but once he felt he would be rejected then he becomes

violent as that can no longer be tolerated by his psyche.
 All of this made him develop a cocoon that gives him a sense of control by being the
aggressor but it strains his relationships as he tends to be controlling and dependent
worsen by his incapability to empathize with people in his milieu.

RECOMMENDATION:

Borderline Personality disorder is chronic and incurable. It is alloplastic meaning it can

adapt and alter their environment so they feel no stress at all. It is also ego-syntonic
(acceptable to the ego) so any form of intervention would cause alteration to the ego
hence they would resist any form of treatment. These are the reasons they are
impervious to recovery.

Since it has started early in life, it has been deeply ingrained within their system and has
been an integral part of their personality making them maladaptive and functionally
impaired hence unfit for mature roles like that of marriage.

As a result of this condition, respondent is unable to perform his duty as a married

person which include living with his partner, observing mutual love, respect, fidelity and
as a partner to render mutual care and support to each other and their children as well
as managing the household and raising their chidren with sound values.

It is therefore recommended to the Honorable Court that the marriage between petitioner
and respondent be declared annulled.

(signed)
Dr. Ernesto Manalo

Supply all other hypothetical information as may be necessary to complete the petition. Make
sure you comply with all the requirements for a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage.

This exercise must be done in class during class hours, and submit it to me by uploading it to
your G-docs folder. Email a PDF copy to me at prof.chato.olivas@gmail.com.