G.R. No. 104818, September 17, 1993
Domingo vs Court of Appeals
FACTS:
Roberto
Domingo married Delia Soledad in 1976 while being married with Emerlina dela
Paz.
He has
been unemployed and completely dependent upon Delia, who has been working in
Saudi Arabia, for support and subsistence.
Delia
only found out about the prior marriage when Emerlina sued them for bigamy in
1983.
In 1989,
she found out that Roberto was cohabiting with another woman and he was
disposing of some of her properties without her knowledge and consent.
In May
1991, Delia filed a petition for judicial declaration of nullity of her
marriage to Roberto and separation of property.
ISSUE:
Whether
or not a petition for judicial declaration of a void marriage is necessary. If
in affirmative, whether the same should be filed only for purpose of
remarriage.
RULING:
Yes. A
declaration of the absolute nullity of marriage is now explicitly required
either as a cause of action or a ground for defense. Where the absolute nullity
of a previous marriage is sought to be invoked for purpose of contracting a
second marriage, the sole basis acceptable in law for the said projected
marriage be free from legal infirmity is a final judgment declaring the
previous marriage void.
The
requirement for a declaration of absolute nullity of a marriage is also for the
protection of the spouse who, believing that his or her marriage is illegal and
void, marries again. With the judicial declaration of the nullity of his or her
first marriage, the person who marries again cannot be charged with bigamy.
Article
40 as finally formulated included the
significant clause denotes that final judgment declaring the previous marriage
void need not be obtained only for purposes of remarriage. A person can
conceive of other instances other than remarriage, such as in case of an action
for liquidation, partition, distribution and separation of property between the
spouses, as well as an action for the custody and support of their common
children and the delivery of the latters' presumptive legitimes. In such cases,
however, one is required by law to show proof
that the previous one was an absolute nullity.
Marriage
is an “inviolable social
institution, is the foundation of the family;” as such, it “shall
be protected by the State. As a matter of policy, there should be a
final judgment declaring the marriage void and a party should not declare for
himself or herself whether or not the marriage is void.
