BAR - Civil Law Flashcards
I. Ariz and Paz were officemates at Perlas ng Silangan Bank (PSB). They fell in love with each other and had a civil and church wedding. Meanwhile, Paz rapidly climbed the corporate ladder of PSB and eventually became its Vice- President, while Ariz remained one of its bank supervisors, although he was short of 12 units to finish his Masters of Business Administration (MBA) degree.
Ariz became envious of the success of his wife. He started to drink alcohol until he became a drunkard. He preferred to join his “barkadas”; became a wife- beater; would hurt his children without any reason; and failed to contribute to the needs of the family. Despite rehabilitation and consultation with a psychiatrist, his ways did not change.
After 19 years of marriage, Paz, a devout Catholic, decided to have their marriage annulled by the church. Through the testimony of Paz and a psychiatrist, it was found that Ariz was a spoiled brat in his youth and was sometimes involved in brawls. In his teens, he was once referred to a psychiatrist for treatment due to his violent tendencies. In due time, the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal (NAMT) annulled the union of Ariz and Paz due to the failure of Ariz to perform and fulfill his duties as a husband and as a father to their children. The NAMT concluded that it is for the best interest of Paz, Ariz and their children to have the marriage annulled.
In view of the NAMT decision, Paz decided to file a Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage of their civil wedding before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Makati City using the NAMT decision and the same evidence adduced in the church annulment proceedings as basis.
If you are the judge, will you grant the petition? Explain. (2014)
Check:
Deny.
It is well-settled that a Petition for a Declaration of Nullity of Marriage is predicated on Art. 26 of the Family Code on the ground of psychological incapacity. And psychological incapacity exists when a spouse fails to perform the essential marital obligations under Art. 68 of the family Code. It must therefore be established that psychological incapacity exists at the time of the celebration of marriage rendering the marriage void ab initio.
