Q: What is the effect if a marriage is voidable?
A: A voidable marriage is considered valid and produces all its civil effects until it is set aside by final judgment of a competent court in an action for annulment. (Rabuya, 2006, p. 295)
Q: What are voidable marriages and how may they be ratified?
A:
GROUND RATIFICATION WHO MAY FILE WHEN TO FILE
Marriage of a party 18 years of age or over but below 21 solemnized without the consent
of the parents, guardian or person having substitute parental authority over the
party, in that order
Contracting party who failed to obtain parental consent: Through free cohabitation after attaining the age of 21.
Note: The parents cannot ratify the marriage. The effect of prescription on their part is that they are barred from contesting it but the marriage is not yet cleansed of its defect.
By the contracting party Parent, guardian, or person having legal charge of the contracting party
Within 5 years after attaining the age of 21 At any time before such party has reached the age of 21
Either party was of unsound mind
Insane spouse: Through free cohabitation after coming to reason.
Sane spouse who had no knowledge of the other’s insanity
Any relative, guardian or person having legal charge of the insane
Insane spouse
At any time before the death of either party At any time before the death of either party During a lucid interval or after regaining sanity
Consent of either party was obtained by fraud
Injured party: Through free cohabitation with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud.
Injured party Within 5 years after the discovery of fraud
Vices of consent such as force, intimidation or undue influence
Injured party: Through free cohabitation after the vices have ceased or disappeared.
Injured party
Within 5 years from the time the force, intimidation or undue influence disappeared or ceased
Impotence and STD May not be ratified but action may be barred by prescription only, which is 5 years after the marriage
Injured party
Within 5 years after the celebration of marriage
Q: What is the test in determining unsoundness of mind as a ground for annulment?
A: It is essential that the mental incapacity must relate specifically to the contract of marriage and the test is whether the party at the time of the marriage was capable of understanding the nature and consequences of the marriage. (Rabuya, 2006, p. 300)
Q: Who may file annulment based on unsound mind?
A: GR: The sane spouse has the legal standing to file the action for annulment only in cases where he or she contracted the marriage without knowledge of the other’s insanity.
XPNs: When the sane spouse had knowledge of the other’s insanity, action for annulment may be filed only by the following;
1. Any relative or guardian or person having legal charge of the insane
2. The insane spouse during a lucid interval or after regaining sanity (Rabuya, p. 301)
Q: What are the circumstances constituting fraud under Art. 45(3)?
A: NPSD
1. Non-disclosure of conviction by final judgment of crime involving moral turpitude;
2. Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of marriage, she was Pregnant by a man other than her husband;
3. Concealment of Sexually transmitted disease, regardless of nature, existing at the time of marriage;
4. Concealment of Drug addiction, habitual alcoholism, homosexuality and lesbianism. (Art. 46)
Note: Where there has been no misrepresentation or fraud, that is, when the husband at the time of the marriage knew that the wife was pregnant, the marriage cannot be annulled (Buccat v. Buccat, G.R. No. 47101, April 25, 1941).
Q: Aurora prayed for the annulment of her marriage with Fernando on the ground of fraud in obtaining her consent after having learned that several months prior to their marriage, Fernando had pre-marital relationship with a close relative of his. According to her, the "non-divulgement to her of such pre-marital secret" constituted fraud in obtaining her consent w/in the contemplation of Art. 46 of the FC. Is the concealment by the husband of a pre-marital relationship with another woman a ground for annulment of marriage?
A: No. The non-disclosure to a wife by her husband of his pre-marital relationship with another woman is not a ground for annulment of marriage. For fraud as a vice of consent in marriage, which may be a cause for its annulment, comes under Art. 46 of the FC. This fraud, as vice of consent, is limited exclusively by law to those kinds or species of fraud enumerated in Art. 86.
Note: The intention of Congress to confine the circumstances that can constitute fraud as ground for annulment of marriage to the 3 cases therein may be deduced from the fact that, of all the causes of nullity enumerated in Art. 85 (now, Art. 46 of the FC), fraud is the only one given special treatment in a subsequent article within the chapter on void and voidable marriages. If its intention were otherwise, Congress would have stopped at Art. 85, for anyway, fraud in general is already mentioned therein as a cause for annulment. (Anaya v. Palaroan, GR L-27930, November 26, 1970) Q: Under what conditions, respectively, may drug addiction be a ground, if at all, for the declaration of nullity of marriage, annulment of marriage, and legal separation?
(1997 Bar Question) A:
Declaration of Nullity of Marriage
a. The drug addiction must amount to psychological incapacity to comply with the essential obligations of marriage;
b. It must be antecedent (existing at the time of marriage), grave and incurable:
Annulment of Marriage a. The drug addiction must be concealed;
b. It must exist at the time of marriage;
c. There should be no cohabitation with full knowledge of the drug addiction;
d. The case is filed within five (5) years from discovery.
Legal Separation a. There should be no condonation or consent to the drug addiction;
b. The action must be filed within five (5) years from the occurrence of the cause.
c. Drug addiction arises during the marriage and not at the time of marriage.
Q: If drug addiction, habitual alcoholism, lesbianism or homosexuality should occur only during the marriage, would these constitute grounds for a declaration of nullity or for legal separation, or would they render the marriage voidable (2002 Bar Question)?
A: In accordance with law, if drug addiction, habitual alcoholism, lesbianism or homosexuality should occur only during the marriage, they will:
1. Not constitute as grounds for declaration of nullity. (Art.
36, FC)
2. Constitute as grounds for legal separation. (Art. 55, FC);
and
3. Not constitute as grounds to render the marriage voidable. (Arts. 45 and 46 of the FC)
Q: When is vitiated consent a ground for annulment of marriage?
A: GR: Consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue influence
XPN: If the same having disappeared or ceased, such party thereafter freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife
Q: When may impotence be a ground for annulment of marriage?
A: CPUII
1. Exists at the time of the Celebration of marriage 2. Permanent (does not have to be absolute) 3. Incurable
4. Unknown to the other spouse
5. Other spouse must not also be Impotent
Q: In case there is no proof as to the potency of one spouse, shall he be considered as impotent?
A: GR: No. Presumption is in favor of potency.
XPN: Doctrine of triennial cohabitation.
Q: What is the doctrine of triennial cohabitation?
A: If after 3 years of living together with her husband, the wife remained a virgin, the husband is presumed to be impotent (Rabuya, Persons, p. 310). The husband will have to overcome this presumption.
Q: The day after John and Marsha got married, John told her that he was impotent. Marsha continued to live with John for two years. Is Marsha now estopped from filing an annulment case against John? (2007 Bar Question)
A: No. Unlike the other grounds for annulment of voidable marriage which are subject to ratification by continued cohabitation, the law does not allow ratification in case of impotency.
Q: When may affliction of a sexually transmitted disease (STD) be a ground for annulment?
A: Requisites: AESIAF
a. One of the parties is Afflicted with STD b. STD must be:
a. Existing at the time the marriage is celebrated b. Serious
c. apparently Incurable
c. The other spouse must not be Aware of the other’s affliction
d. Injured party must be Free from STD.
Q: Yvette was found to be positive for HIV virus, considered sexually transmissible, serious and incurable. Her boyfriend Joseph was aware of her condition and yet married her.
After two (2) years of cohabiting with Yvette, and in his belief that she would probably never be able to bear him a healthy child, Joseph now wants to have his marriage with
Yvette annulled on the ground that Yvette has STD. Yvette opposes the suit contending that Joseph is estopped from seeking annulment of their marriage since he knew even before their marriage that she was afflicted with HIV virus.
Can the action of Joseph for annulment of his marriage with Yvette prosper?
A: No. Concealment of a sexually transmitted disease may annul the marriage if there was fraud existing in the party concerned. In this case, there was no fraud because Joseph knew that Yvette was suffering from HIV when he married her. (Art. 46, par 3, FC)
Q: Differentiate Arts. 45 and 46 of the FC on STD as ground for annulment.
A:
ARTICLE 45 ARTICLE 46
Affliction Concealment
The fact of being afflicted is the ground for annulment
The act of concealing is the ground for annulment as it constitutes fraud
Whether concealed or not There must be concealment Must be serious and
incurable
Does not have to be serious and incurable PRESENCE OF PROSECUTOR
Q: What is the role of the prosecutor or Solicitor General in all cases of annulment or declaration of absolute nullity of marriage?
A: They shall take steps to prevent collusion between the parties and to take care that evidence is not fabricated or suppressed. Concomitantly, even if there is no suppression of evidence, the public prosecutor has to make sure that the evidence to be presented or laid down before the court is not fabricated. Truly, only the active participation of the public prosecutor or the Solicitor General will ensure that the interest of the State is represented and protected in proceedings for declaration of nullity of marriages by preventing the fabrication or suppression of evidence. (Art.
48, FC)
Note: The non-intervention of the prosecutor is not fatal to the validity of the proceedings in cases where the respondent in a petition for annulment vehemently opposed the same and where he does not allege that evidence was suppressed or fabricated by any of the parties (Tuason v. CA, G.R. No. 116607, April 10, 1996).
Q: What are the actions prohibited in annulment and declaration of absolute nullity of marriage cases?
A: CCSSJ 1. Compromise
2. Confession of judgment 3. Stipulation of facts 4. Summary judgment 5. Judgment on the pleadings
Note: What the law prohibits is a judgment based exclusively or mainly on defendant's confession (Ocampo v. Florenciano, 107 Phil.
35). Thus, stipulation of facts or confession of judgment if sufficiently supported by other independent substantial evidence to support the main ground relied upon, may warrant an annulment or declaration of absolute nullity.