ANNULMENT 101: Philippine Annulment Law Made Easy

LESSON V: COURT PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE TO PROVE PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY

March 15, 2003 is the date of effectivity of the New Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment
of Voidable Marriages promulgated by the Supreme Court. Thereafter, we wrote an article simplifying this Rule for easy
understanding to laymen (Please step-by-step procedure here). We received numerous feedback from our web audience that
the article was very useful and informative to them. But education is a continuing process, so is our passion and
commitment to translate the law in layman’s term.

Q. Do I need a psychological report before I could file a petition for annulment?

GTALAW: No. Generally, a psychological report is not required before you could file the petition to declare your marriage
void. It is also specified under the New Rule that an expert opinion is not required to be alleged in the Petition.

Q. But does your Firm require your clients to submit to a psychological evaluation before filing the Petition?

GTALAW: Yes. The psychological report is the very foundation of your petition. It is like going to battle fully prepared. In
this case, it would be easier for us to allege the manifestations of psychological incapacities because these facts are already
stated in the psychological Report.

Q. If I am the one filing the Petition, do I still need to take a psychological test?

GTALAW: Yes, you have to take the test because the psychological report is the very foundation of your Petition. In the
psychological test, our resident psychologist will determine the psychological incapacities of your husband or even your own
incapacities. We usually recommend
that you take the test prior to the filing of the Petition.

Q. I am planning to file an annulment case on the ground of the psychological incapacity of my husband. The
lawyer that I have contacted over there told me that I can already receive the decision after five (5) to eight
(8) months. But I don’t remember him mentioning about psychological report. Do I have reason to be
suspicious?

GTALAW: Every lawyer has its own style in handling the case. We are not at liberty to comment about it. But for your
information, the Supreme Court has already set guidelines in proving a case for a petition for nullity of marriage on the
ground of psychological incapacity.
We would like our web audience to be informed about these guidelines
which are as follows:

1. The burden of proof to show nullity of the marriage belongs to the plaintiff and any doubt must be resolved in favor of the
existence of marriage and against its nullity.

2. The root cause of the psychological incapacity must be:

a. medically or clinically identified;

b. alleged in the complaint;
c. sufficiently proven by experts; and
d. clearly explained in the decision

3. Incapacity must be proven to be existing at “the time of the celebration” of the marriage, although the manifestation
need not be perceivable at such time.

4. Such incapacity must also be shown to be medically or clinically permanent or incurable, although the incurability may be
relative only in regard to the other spouse, not necessarily absolute against everyone of the same sex. Furthermore, the
incapacity must be relevant to the assumption of marriage obligations, not to those not related to marriage like the exercise
of profession or employment
in a job.

5. Such illness must be grave enough to bring about the disability of the party to assume the essential obligations of
marriage.

6. The essential marital obligations must be those embraced by Articles 68 to 71 of the Family Code as regards the husband
and wife as well as Articles 220, 221, and 225 of the same code in regards to parents and their children. Such non-
compliance must also be stated in the petition, proven by evidence, and included in the text of the decision.

7. Interpretations given by the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, while not
controlling or decisive, should be given great respect by our courts.
8. The trial court must order the fiscal and the Solicitor General to appear as counsel for the state. No decision shall be
handed down unless the Solicitor General issues a certification, which will be quoted in the decision, briefly stating therein
his reasons for his agreement or opposition, as the case may be, to the petition. The Solicitor General, along with the
prosecuting attorney, shall submit to the court such certification within fifteen (15) days from the date the case is deemed
submitted for resolution of the court.

Obviously, an annulment case cannot be concluded in the five (5) to eight (8) months and without the psychological report if
Courts will follow the guidelines.

Q. I was informed that my annulment case would take longer if the Solicitor General’s Office will appeal the
RTC Court decision to the Court of Appeals. How true is this?

GTALAW: Yes, your annulment case would take longer than what is expected. The good news is, appeal by the Solicitor
General to the Court of Appeals is not anymore mandatory under the New Rule. But sometimes, the Solicitor General would
make an Appeal to the Court of Appeals if it feels that the proceedings in the RTC Court was patently erroneous. We would
like to take this opportunity to express our opinion that an annulment case is not a walk in the park. We already heard so
many nightmare stories about Petitions being denied by the Court of Appeals. We would like to tell litigants
to concentrate on strengthening their cases rather than entertaining any idea of approaching the prosecutors or judges to
expedite the process of their annulment.

Q. How long does it take to get my marriage annulled?

GTALAW: For uncontested petitions, the estimated processing time of the annulment petition is one year and six months to
two years depending on the availability of witnesses and the court’s trial dates. The case would take longer if the Petition is
contested – meaning the other spouse is interposing an opposition. Custody of children and property issues are also known
factors that cause delay. There are also factors outside of our control that cause delay like unexpected postponements of
trial due to sickness of thejudge or the prosecutor; retirement of the judge or postponements due to inclement weather.

Q. Am I required to appear in every Court hearing?

GTALAW: No, you are not. As petitioner, you are only required to appear during the pre-trial conference and during your
scheduled testimony in Court.

Q. How many witnesses do we need to present in Court in order to prove my case?

GTALAW: We need to present you as our principal witness, the psychologist/psychiatrist as expert witness to prove the
psychological incapacity; one or two more witnesses who have personal knowledge of your marital relations and who can
affirm your story.

Q. My husband and I are planning to file the petition jointly. Will this help expedite my case?

GTALAW: Your case will be dismissed by the Court. The New Rule says that the petition can only be filed solely by the
husband or the wife. Besides, this is a clear evidence of “collusion” oragreement of the spouses to annul their marriage,
which is a ground to dismiss the petition.

Q. The public prosecutor summoned me to appear for investigation regarding the annulment case which I filed
earlier? What is this investigation all about? Can I just send my lawyer instead?

GTALAW: This investigation is usually conducted by the prosecutor to find out if there was an agreement or “collusion”
between the spouses to annul their marriage. This happens especially in
uncontested petitions when the respondent spouse did not submit his/her Answer to the petition despite receipt of the Court
Summons.
If you are in the country, I suggest that you attend the investigation together with your lawyer. During our early years of
practicing Family Law, we have had an experience that the prosecutor submitted a Certification of the Presence of Collusion
between the parties because our client, the petitioner, failed to attend in the investigation.
The Certification was only withdrawn by the public prosecutor when our client appeared. However, prosecutors are very
considerate if you can give a valid excuse for not attending the investigation.

:: Related Topics

Lesson I: Annulment of Marriage

Lesson II: Declaration of Nullity of Marriage

Lesson III: Issues About Marriage License

Lesson IV: Issues About Psychological Incapacity

Lesson V: Court procedure and evidence to prove psychological Incapacity

Lesson VI: Solutions for Petitioners Working Overseas

Lesson VII: Issues after the issuance of Annulment Decision

Lesson VIII: Divorce obtained by former Filipino citizens

Lesson IX: Our Fee Structure