Atty. Adrian Paul Rapanut Law Office

Atty. Adrian Paul Rapanut Law Office NOTARY PUBLIC | COUNSELOR-AT-LAW

Merry Christmas from Rapanut Offices πŸŽ„πŸ§‘β€πŸŽ„From your Atty. Adrian Paul Rapanut and Dra. Sanrio Ramolete-Rapanut πŸ’œ
24/12/2025

Merry Christmas from Rapanut Offices πŸŽ„πŸ§‘β€πŸŽ„

From your Atty. Adrian Paul Rapanut and Dra. Sanrio Ramolete-Rapanut πŸ’œ

04/11/2025

Christmas breeze is here πŸ₯Ά …so thus in our office! πŸŽ„πŸŽ…πŸ»

FOR YOUR LEGAL AND DENTAL CONCERNS βš–οΈπŸ¦·, visit us at 2nd Floor, Galleria de Vigan Bldg., Florentino Corner Gov. A. Reyes St., Vigan City (just above Greenwich Vigan)

For appointments, text or call (0927) 392 1221 / (0917) 174 3398 πŸ“₯πŸ“ž

Stay safe everyone! πŸ™πŸ»
22/09/2025

Stay safe everyone! πŸ™πŸ»

FOR YOUR LEGAL AND DENTAL CONCERNS βš–οΈπŸ¦·, visit us at 2nd Floor, Galleria de Vigan Bldg., Florentino Corner Gov. A. Reyes ...
02/08/2025

FOR YOUR LEGAL AND DENTAL CONCERNS βš–οΈπŸ¦·, visit us at 2nd Floor, Galleria de Vigan Bldg., Florentino Corner Gov. A. Reyes St., Vigan City (just above Greenwich Vigan)

For appointments, text or call (0927) 392 1221 / (0917) 174 3398 πŸ“₯πŸ“ž

Visit as at 2nd Floor, Galeria de Vigan Bldg., Florentino Corner Gov. A. Reyes St., Vigan City (just above Greenwich Vig...
25/07/2025

Visit as at 2nd Floor, Galeria de Vigan Bldg., Florentino Corner Gov. A. Reyes St., Vigan City (just above Greenwich Vigan)

Visit us at 2nd Floor, Galeria de Vigan Bldg., Vigan City (just above Greenwich Vigan) βš–οΈπŸ¦·See you there! 😊Contact us at ...
16/07/2025

Visit us at 2nd Floor, Galeria de Vigan Bldg., Vigan City (just above Greenwich Vigan) βš–οΈπŸ¦·

See you there! 😊

Contact us at (0927) 392 1221 / (0917) 174 3398 πŸ“žπŸ“₯

11/07/2025

The (SC) has ruled that the 15-year time limit for filing a bigamy case begins only when the bigamous marriage is actually discovered, not when it is registered with the government.

In a Decision written by Associate Justice Samuel H. Gaerlan, the SC’s Third Division found Erwin Bonbon guilty of bigamy after marrying Elizabeth Bonbon in 1999 while still legally married to another woman.

Records show that Erwin first married Gemma Cunada in 1988. Without ending that marriage, he married another woman in 1994 and then Elizabeth in 1999.

Erwin’s sisters learned about the third marriage in 2020 when they obtained documents from the Philippine Statistics Authority to claim their late mother’s benefits. They filed a bigamy case against Erwin and Elizabeth in 2021, 22 years after Erwin’s marriage to Elizabeth.

Erwin argued that the case was filed too late and had prescribed, claiming his sisters already knew about the marriage in 1999.

The SC disagreed and upheld the rulings of both the Regional Trial Court and Court of Appeals which had convicted Erwin of bigamy.

Sentencing Erwin to up to eight years and one day in prison, the SC explained that under the π˜™π˜¦π˜·π˜ͺ𝘴𝘦π˜₯ π˜—π˜¦π˜―π˜’π˜­ 𝘊𝘰π˜₯𝘦, bigamy is committed when a person who is still legally married enters into another marriage that appears to be valid.

A case for bigamy must be filed within 15 years from the time the second marriage is actually discovered, not just registered. Since bigamous marriages are often kept secret, using the date of registration as the starting point for the time limit would make prosecution β€œalmost impossible.”

In this instance, Erwin’s sisters learned about the marriage only in 2020; Erwin could not prove that they had been aware of it since 1999.

He also admitted that no family members attended the civil wedding, which took place in a different province. The case filed in 2021 thus remained within the 15-year legal limit.

Read the full text of the Press Release at https://tinyurl.com/ynu8t7jr.

Read the full text of the Decision at https://tinyurl.com/4u5bnvjy.

Read the Separate Concurrent Opinion of Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa at https://tinyurl.com/5n7ksdk7.

Copying of this content is subject to the SC PIO’s Credit Attribution Policy: https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/credit-attribution-policy/.

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2/F Galeria De Vigan Bldg. , Florentino Street , Vigan City
City Of Vigan
2700

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