FACTS:
On April
20, 1979, Vicente, a Filipino, and Rebecca, an American, were married in
Muntinlupa. They had a child name Alix,
born in November 27, 1982 in California.
In
February 22, 1996, Rebecca initiated divorce proceedings in Dominican Republic,
which was docketed as Civil Decree No. 362/96 ordering the dissolution of the
marriage. The same court also issued Civil Decree No. 406/97 settling the
couple's conjugal property in Muntinlupa in March 4, 1997.
She then
filed a declaration of absolute nullity of marriage on the ground of Vicente's
alleged psychological incapacity,
docketed
as Civil Case No. 01-094. She sought
dissolution of the conjugal partnerships
of gains with application for support pendente lite for her and Alix. She also prayed that Vicente be ordered to
pay a permanent monthly support for their daughter Alix in the amount of P
220,000.00.
On June
8, 2001, Vicente filed a Motion to Dismiss on the grounds of lack of cause of
action and that the petition is barred by the prior judgment of divorce.
RTC
denied Vicente's motion to dismiss. CA dismissed Civil Case No. 01-094 and set
aside RTC's incidental orders. According the the CA, RTC ought to have granted
Vicente's motion to dismiss, since the marriage between the spouses is already
dissolved when the divorce decree was granted since Rebecca was an American
citizen when she applied for the decree.
Issue:
Whether or not the divorce decree obtained by
Rebecca in Dominican Republic is valid.
Ruling:
Yes.
Civil Decrees No. 362/96 and 406/97 are valid.
Rebecca
at that time she applied and obtained her divorce was an American citizen and
remains to be one, being born to American parents in Guam, an American
territory which follows the principle of jus soli granting American citizenship
to those who are born there. She was, and still may be, a holder of American
passport.
She had
consistently professed, asserted and represented herself as an American
citizen, as shown in her marriage certificate, in Alix's birth certificate,
when she secured divorce in Dominican Republic.
Being an
American citizen, Rebecca was bound by the national laws of the United States
of America, a country which allows divorce.
The Civil
Decree No. 406/97 issued by the Dominican Republic court properly adjudicated
the ex-couple's property relations.
The Court
said, in order that a foreign divorce can be recognized here, the divorce
decree must be proven as a fact and as valid under the national law of the alien spouse.
The fact
that Rebecca was clearly an American citizen when she secured the divorce and
that divorce is recognized and allowed in any of the States of the Union, the
presentation of a copy of foreign divorce decree duly authenticated by the foreign court issuing said decree is, as
here, sufficient.
Thus the
foreign decrees rendered and issued by the Dominican Republic court are valid,
and consequently, bind both Rebecca and Vicente.
The fact
that Rebecca may have been duly recognised as a Filipino citizen by force of
the June 8, 2000 affirmation by the DOJ Secretary of the October 6, 1995 Bureau
Order of Recognition will not, stand alone, work to nullify or invalidate the
foreign divorce secured by Rebecca as an American citizen in 1996. In
determining whether or not a divorce is secured abroad would come within the
pale of the country's policy against absolute divorce, the reckoning point is
the citizenship of the parties at the time a valid divorce is obtained.
