Mgeorge Legal Consultancy

16/09/2021

Psychological Incapacity as a ground for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage

In the February 13, 1997 case of Republic of the Philippines v. Court of Appeals and Roridel O. Molina, the Philippine Supreme Court ruled that the psychological incapacity under Article 36 of the Family Code that voids a marriage must be characterized by (a) gravity; (b) juridical antecedence; and (c ) incurability.

The ruling in this case stated that mere inability of the spouses to get along with each other does not show gravity of the problem, nor juridical antecendence and incurability.

Going beyond merely ruling on the facts of the case vis-a-vis existing law and jurisprudence, it set the following guidelines in the interpretation and application of Art. 36 of the Family Code:

1) The burden of proof belongs to the plaintiff;
2) The root cause of psychological incapacity must be medically or clinically identified, alleged in the complaint and proven by experts;
3) The incapacity must be proven to be existing at the “time of the celebration”;
4) The incapacity must be incurable or permanent;
5) Such illness must be grave enough;
6) The essential marital obligations are those embraced by Articles 68-71 and Articles 220, 221, and 225 of the Family Code;
7) The interpretations given by the National Appellate of Tribunal of the Catholic Church in the Philippines should be given great respect by our courts; and
😎 The court must order the fiscal and the Solicitor General to appear as counsel for the State and the Solicitor General must issue a certification stating his reasons for his agreement or opposition.

Jurisprudence has been consistent in adhering to these guidelines in appreciating psychological incapacity cases.

What is Psychological Incapacity? According to Santos v. Court of Appeals (310 Phil 21 [1995]), the same "should refer to no less than a mental (not physical) incapacity that causes a party to be truly incognitive of the basic marital covenants that concomitantly must be assumed and discharged by the parties to the marriage which, as so expressed by Article 68 of the Family Code, include their mutual obligations to live together, observe love, respect and fidelity and render help and support. There is hardly any doubt that the intendment of the law has been to confine the meaning of ‘psychological incapacity’ to the most serious cases of personality disorders clearly demonstrative of an utter insensitivity or inability to give meaning and significance to the marriage. x x x. Further, x x x psychological incapacity pertains to the inability to understand the obligations of marriage, as opposed to a mere inability to comply with them.”

Hence, evidence of irreconcilable differences, conflicting personalities, emotional immaturity and irresponsibility, physical abuse, habitual alcoholism, s*xual infidelity or perversion, and abandonment, standing alone, do not prove psychological incapacity. That is, until the guidelines above mentioned are all met.

Let’s have our focus on the (second) requirement that the root cause of psychological incapacity must be medically or clinically identified. Sexual infidelity and abandonment are grounds for legal separation, not of annulment of marriage. But, in the case of Republic of the Philippines v. Liberato P. Mola Cruz (G.R. No. 236629 [July 23, 2018]), the Supreme Court said that, “[i]t is true that s*xual infidelity and abandonment are grounds for legal separation. It may be noted, however, that the courts a quo duly connected such aberrant acts ### as actual manifestations of [a] histrionic personality disorder. A person with such a disorder was characterized as selfish and egotistical, and demands immediate gratification.”

This disorder has been found by the Court to have its rootedness since the respondent’s teens and continued well into adulthood.

The second requirement, thus, made the psychological evaluation of the spouses, indispensable. This is no longer the case. In May of 2021, the Supreme Court, in the case of Tan-Andal v. Andal, made a new ruling that psychological incapacity is not a medical but a legal concept. It refers to a personal condition that prevents a spouse to comply with fundamental marital obligations only in relation to a specific partner that may exist at the time of the marriage but may have revealed through behavior subsequent to the ceremonies. It need not be a mental or personality disorder. It need not be a permanent and incurable condition. Therefore, the testimony of psychologist or psychiatrist is not mandatory in all cases. The totality of the evidence must show clear and convincing evidence to cause the declaration of nullity of marriage. PRESS BRIEFER | Supreme Court of the Philippines (judiciary.gov.ph) Whether a spouse is Psychologically Incapacitated may now be left to be determined by the judge based on the totality of evidence.

08/09/2021

07/09/2021

ON ANNULMENT

The word "Annulment" is a broad term used to refer to the process of dissolving a marriage under Philippine laws. As there are several various grounds for dissolution of marriage, the use of the term "Annulment" to the process of dissolution founded on all these grounds, would be quite inaccurate. The reason for this is that these grounds may have the effect of a void or voidable marriage. A void marriage calls for the filing of an action in court called Declaration of Nullity of Marriage, while a voidable marriage, an action for Annulment of Marriage. Annulment of Marriage presupposes that the marriage is valid from the beginning, until it is annulled by the court. On the other hand, Declaration of Nullity of Marriage renders the marriage inexistent as if it never took place.

Annulment of Marriage
(Voidable Marriages)

1. Absence of parental consent. When the party seeking to file annulment was eighteen years of age or over but below twenty-one.

2. That either party was of unsound mind.

3. That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud.

4. That the consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue influence.

5. Impotence.

6. Sexually-Transmitted Disease which is serious and incurable.

Declaration of Nullity of Marriage
(Void Marriages)

1. Absence of any of the essential or formal requisites of marriage.

2. Contracted by any party below 18 years of age even with the consent of parents or guardians.

3. Solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so.

4. Solemnized without License, those marriages that are exempt from the license requirement.

5. Bigamous or polygamous marriages not falling under Article 41 of the FC.

6. Contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the other.

7. Subsequent marriages which are void under Art. 53.

8. Marriages contracted by any party, who at the time of the celebration, was Psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage, even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.

9. Incestuous marriages, whether legitimate or illegitimate: a) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; b) Between brothers and sisters, full or half-blood.

10. Marriages void from the beginning for reasons of public policy:
a) Between collateral blood relatives, whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to 4th civil degree;
b) Step-parents and step-children;
c) Parents-in-law and children-in-law;
d) Adopter and adoptee;
e) Surviving spouse of adopter and adoptee;
f) Adoptee and legitimate child of adopter;
g) Between adoptees of the same adopter;
h) Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other person's spouse, or own spouse.

11. If both spouses of the subsequent marriage acted in bad faith.

05/09/2021

So, you are separated-in-fact from your spouse and wants to exclude him from the property you want to purchase from your exclusive income-

You have to file an action in court for judicial separation of property under Article 135 of the Family Code which specifies separation in fact as a cause-

(6)
That at the time of the petition, the spouses have been separated in fact for at least one year and reconciliation is highly improbable.

Only after a separation of property has been decreed can the Waiver of rights, interests, shares and effects of ACP/CPG be made, which should appear in a public instrument and recorded in the civil registry where the marriage is recorded.

If you only want to be able to do a transaction without the need of spousal consent, judicial authorization secured in a summary proceeding can take the place of consent of the spouse, where such consent is required by law to any transaction of the other.

04/09/2021

Both legitimate and illegitimate children may use mother’s surname

Under RA 9255, a recognised illegitimate child has the option to use his/her mother or father’s surname.

Legitimate children, after a long time of being confined to the use of the father’s surname, are now allowed to use their mother’s surname with the pronouncement of the Supreme Court in the case of Anacleto Ballaho Alanis III v. CA, et. al (G.R. No. 216425 [Nov. 11, 2020]).

Said the Supreme Court, “[i]f a surname is significant for identifying a person’s ancestry, interpreting the laws to mean that a marital child’s surname must identify only the paternal line renders the mother and her family invisible.”

“This, in turn, entrenches the patriarchy and with it, antiquated gender roles: the father, as dominant, in public; and the mother, as a supporter, in private.”

02/09/2021

What changes to the entries in the Birth Certificate can be made?

Name/Surname

-by filing a Petition in court on a valid ground,

RA 9048

Change of Name in the Birth Certificate may also be done with the local civil registrar's office when:

1. The petitioner finds the first name or nickname to be ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or extremely difficult to write or pronounce.

2. The new first name or nickname has been habitually and continuously used by the petitioner and he has been publicly known by that first name or nickname in the community; or,

3. The change will avoid confusion.

Typographical Error

A Petition may also be filed with the local civil registrar's office for the correction of clerical or typographical errors in any entry in the civil registry documents, except corrections involving the change in s*x, age, nationality and status of a person.

Finally, if the birth certificate of an illegitimate child, born when RA 9255 was already in effect, shows the mother's surname, the mother, father, guardian or child (if 18 or over) can file an Affidavit to Use the Surname of the Father with the local civil registrar's office. Together with the AUSF, a private handwritten instrument or an affidavit of acknowledgement from the father is required. If the birth certificate bears the father's surname, the mother may not have it changed without a court order.