SYED AZHAR ABBAS v.

GLORIA GOO ABBAS

G.R. No. 183896 : January 30, 2013
THIRD DIVISION, VELASCO, JR., J.

Facts:

Syed Abbas, a Pakistani citizen, and Gloria Abbas, a Filipino citizen, entered into
a contract of marriage in Taipei on 9 August 1992. When Syed met his mother-
in-law on 9 January 1993, he was told that they had to undergo a ceremony
which, later on, he would find out to be a marriage ceremony.

Sometime in 2001 and in 2002, Gloria Abbas filed a bigamy case against Syed.
This prompted Syed to go to Carmona, Cavite, where the ceremony was
celebrated, to check their marriage license. Syed found out that he and Gloria
were not issued marriage license hence, he now filed a case for the declaration
of nullity of his marriage with Glorria Abbas before the RTC of Pasay City.

The RTC rendered a decision granting the annulment of marriage and

terminating the community property relations of Syed and Gloria Abbas. Gloria
filed a Motion for Reconsideration which the RTC denied. Upon appeal, the CA
reversed the decision of the RTC by declaring that the marriage of Syed and
Gloria valid and subsisting.

Issue:

Whether or not there was a valid marriage despite that there was no valid
marriage license issued to the parties.

Held: REVERSED, RTC is correct

Gloria failed to present the actual or the copy of the marriage license. To prove
that no license was issued, Syed turned to the office of the Municipal Civil
Registrar of Carmona, Cavite. He also presented a certification indicating that no
license was issued under their name. To make things worse, the marriage license
number indicated in the marriage certificate of Syed and Gloria is registered
under the name of Arlindo and Myra Getalado.

However, the Supreme Court noted that Syed’s intentions in filing the annulment
case 10 years after his marriage is skeptical. The SC thought that Syed is only
filing the annulment so that the bigamy case against him will be dismissed. But
the SC decided that for whatever purposes, the rule of law must be upheld. The
lack of a marriage license renders the marriage void ab initio.