MAEM 508: ISSUES AND LEGISLATIONS

CASE DIGEST
Antonio v. Reyes G.R. No.
155800 March 10, 2006
Petitioner and respondent met in August 1989
when petitioner was 26 years old and respondent
was 36 years of age.
Barely a
year after
their first
meeting,
they got
married.
In 1993, Leo filed to annul the marriage due to Marie’s
Psychological Incapacity.
Leo claimed that Marie persistently lied about herself, the people around her,
her occupation, income, educational attainment and other events or things. She
would claim that she is a psychologist but she is not. She would claim she is a
singer with the company Blackgold and that she is the latter’s number 1 money
maker but she’s not. She’d also spend lavishly as opposed to her monthly
income. She fabricates things and people only to serve her make believe world.
Leo presented an expert that proved Marie’s psychological incapacity.
Marie denied all Leo’s allegations and also
presented an expert to prove her case.
The RTC ruled against Marie and annulled the marriage.
The Matrimonial Tribunal of the church also annulled the
marriage and was affirmed by the Vatican’s Roman Rata.
The Court of Appeals reversed
the decision, hence the appeal.
Issue
Whether Antonio can impose
Article 36 of the Family Code as
basis for declaring their marriage
null and void.
 Ruling
Psychological incapacity pertains to the inability to
understand the obligations of marriage as opposed
to a mere inability to comply with them. The
petitioner, aside from his own testimony presented
a psychiatrist and clinical psychologist who attested
that constant lying and extreme jealousy of Reyes
is abnormal and pathological and corroborated his
allegations on his wife’s behavior, which amounts
to psychological incapacity.
• The factual findings of the trial court are deemed
binding on the SC, owing to the great weight accorded
to the opinion of the primary trier of facts. As such, it
must be considered that respondent had consistently
lied about many material aspects as to her character
and personality. Her fantastic ability to invent and
fabricate stories and personalities enabled her to live
in a world of make-believe. This made her
psychologically incapacitated as it rendered her
incapable of giving meaning and significance to her
marriage.
 The root causes of Reyes’ psychological incapacity
have been medically or clinically identified that was
sufficiently proven by experts. The gravity of
respondent’s psychological incapacity was considered
so grave that a restrictive clause was appended to the
sentence of nullity prohibited by the National Appellate
Matrimonial Tribunal from contracting marriage
without their consent. It would be difficult for an
inveterate pathological liar to commit the basic tenets
of relationship between spouses based on love, trust
and respect. Furthermore, Reyes’ case is incurable
considering that petitioner tried to reconcile with her
but her behavior remain unchanged.
Hence, the court conclude that
petitioner has established his cause
of action for declaration of nullity
under Article 36 of the Family
Code. Petition is GRANTED
Questions:

•Does being separated from your

spouse with or without
communication is considered a
ground for annulment?
•being separated from your spouse with
or without communication is not
grounds for annulment. It does not
matter how many years you are
separated. There is no law that annuls or
voids a marriage automatically. Only a
judge in a court of law can annul, void or
nullify a marriage.
•Is adultery grounds for
annulment in the
Philippines?
•Adultery not a ground for
marriage annulment. ... Adultery is not
a ground for annulment or declaration
of nullity of marriage under the law.
However, the infidelity of your wife and the
fact that she abandoned you are indications
that she may be suffering from
psychological incapacity.
•Is abandonment grounds for
annulment in the
Philippines?
• abandonment is not one of the grounds for
annulment as set forth under the Philippine law,
particularly the Family Code of thePhilippines. It
is, however, a ground for legal separation. ...
Only the court has the authority and power to
annul or declare marriages a nullity
What are the grounds for annulment?
According to Article 45 of The
Family Code of the Philippines,
there are 6 legal grounds for the
annulment of a marriage:
• lack of parental consent (if either party is at least 18
but below 21 years old)
• psychological incapacity
• fraud
• consent for marriage obtained by force,
intimidation, or undue influence
• impotence / physical incapability of consummating
the marriage
• serious sexually transmitted disease
How much do annulments
cost in the Philippines?
•At the very least, prepare “a budget
of P165,000 to P200,000, all inclusive of the
cost for the psychological report,” says
Alexander Llanes Acain Jr., managing
partner at Guzman Tanedo & Acain Law.
This amount can skyrocket even more if the
process drags on or you do not satisfy the
requirements, leading to more pleadings
and appearances and fees.
• Mental Illness or psychological incapacity.
One or the either party was of unsound
mind at the moment of the marriage. But if
the parties freely cohabited with each other
after he or she came to reason the law
prohibits the filing of a Petition.
•Fraud. That the consent of either party was
obtained by fraud, unless such party once
having knowledge of the fraud freely
cohabited with the other as husband and
wife. The petition must be filed within five
(5) of finding out the facts of the fraud.
• One or the other party was physically
incapable of consummating the marriage,
and such incapacity continues and appears
to be incurable. The filing of the Petition of
Annulment must be filed within five (5)
years after the marriage.
• Either party was at the time of marriage
afflicted with a sexually-transmitted-
disease (STD) found to be serious and
seems to be incurable. This may also
constitute fraud. The filing of the Petition of
Annulment must be filed within five (5)
years after the marriage.
•SEPARATION: being separated from your
spouse with or without communication is
not grounds for annulment. It does not
matter how many years you are
separated. There is no law that annuls or
voids a marriage automatically. Only a
judge in a court of law can annul, void or
nullify a marriage.
•INFIDELITY: is not grounds
for annulment in the
Philippines.