G.R. No.
173138
Baccay vs Baccay and Republic
FACTS:
Noel and
Maribel were sweethearts. He found Maribel's
snobbish and hard-to get traits attractive.
Around
1997, he decided to break up with Maribel because he was already involved with
another woman. They agreed to see each other on a friendly basis but the two
had several romantic episodes.
In
November 1998, Maribel informed Noel that she was pregnant with his child. Upon
advice of his mother, Noel grudgingly married Maribel. The two lived on
Noel's family. Maribel remained aloof
and didn't contribute to his family's coffer. She refused to have sex with him.
Sometime
in 1999, Noel and Maribel had an intense quarrel about Maribel's alleged
miscarriage causing the latter to leave the house and never came back.
Noel
filed a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage with the RTC of Manila.
RTC declared the marriage null and void on the ground of Maribel's alleged
psychological incapacity. Nedy L. Tayag, a clinical psychologist who presented
as Noel's witness, found Maribel unable to perform the essential marital
obligations of marriage due to a Narcissistic Personality Disorder.
ISSUE:
Whether
or not the marriage between Noel and Maribel null and void under Article 36 of
the Family Code.
RULING:
No. Noel
failed to provide sufficient evidence to sustain a finding that Maribel was
psychologically incapacitated. Noel's evidence merely established that Maribel
refused to have sexual intercourse with him after their marriage, and that she
left him after their quarrel when he confronted her about her alleged
miscarriage. The psychologist failed
to establish that Maribel's alleged
Narcissistic Personality Disorder incapacitated her from validly assuming the
essential obligations of the marriage. The same psychologist even testified
that Maribel was capable of entering into marriage except that it would be
difficult for her to sustain one. Mere difficulty, it must be stressed, is not
the incapacity contemplated under the Article 36 of the Family Code.
Psychological
incapacity must be more than just a "difficulty," a
"refusal," or a "neglect" in the performance of some
marital obligations. An unsatisfactory marriage is not a null and void
marriage.
