ANNULMENT CASE

FACTS:

Maria, the client, is of legal age, and has been married to Jose
Rizal since December of 2010. They live in Bonoan, Gueset, Dagupan
City where they were blessed with one child. They have no written
agreement executed before their marriage to govern their property
relations and neither do they have any community property acquired
during their marriage. They also have no debts.

Maria met the Jose sometime in 2010 in Dagupan City. Their

romance could be considered as a whirlwind affair as Maria was then
already 29 years old and was pressured by both families and peers to
find a husband. Hence, three months of courtship culminated in
marriage. During the short span of time they had been together, Jose
manifested signs of instability, psychological or otherwise. Other
instances, wherein such instability could be reasonably inferred are as
follows:
a. After their marriage, Jose gave up his job at ABC Mall
without justifiable reason;
b. That Maria tried to explain to him that it was his
responsibility to support her but Jose would ignore and
shout at her, making the Maria the breadwinner of the
family;
c. That the is a compulsive gambler;
d. He is a womanizer;
e. He resorts to drug and alcohol abuse during their
cohabitation;
f. That the Jose does not really want to have a child with the
Maria because according to him it will just cause burden for
him;
g. That parties would fight even for the smallest things through
not due to the fault of theMaria, and frequently, Jose would
always apologize to the petitioner, but later on, he will repeat
his quarrelsome and troublesome ways;
h. He prefers to hang out with friends and with her flings
instead of being with Maria;

During their honeymoon period, things were running smoothly

between them, but not on the succeeding week, when the Jose’s
instability started to manifest clearly to Maria

Some other manifestations of the psychological and emotional

disturbances on the part of Jose can be cited as follows:
a. There were many times when Jose never even kissed Maria.
Jose would not even look at her whenever they spoke with
each other. She was always the one who holds or hugs him
so that they may become closer to each other, but every time
she tries to be closer to him, he always turns his back to her.
This is causing so much unbearable emotional and
psychological pain on the part of the Maria.
b. Maria told Jose that they should discuss what went wrong
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 between them and hopefully they could work it out again.
She verbalized all of the things she had noticed and felt,
knowing that everything works out when there is an open
communication. She told him about the lack of passion,
respect and romance in their relationship. Jose just ignored
her pleas;
c. Jose lbegan hurting the petitioner physically by throwing
things on her and shoving her around;
d. Jose did not stop gambling and using alcohol and drugs;
e. He also abandoned Maria and left to be with another woman.
Since May 2017, Jose did not return nor tried to
communicate with her. Maria on several instances, tried to
reach Jose lthrough his relatives and friends but to no avail.

Maria already gave up on Jose after trying to give all her efforts
just to save her marriage to a man who, as shown in the foregoing, is not
cognitive to and psychologically incapable of performing, his basic
marital covenants to her.

COURSE OF ACTION:

A Petition for Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Marriage may be

filed in this case. Maria, the aggrieved spouse has the capacity and
personality to file the case. It should be filed in the Family Court where
either Jose or Maria has been residing for at least six months prior to the
date of filing which, in this case, is Dagupan City. This is jurisdictional
and must be complied with.

The Petition should allege the complete facts constituting the

cause of action. It should also state the name and age of their common
children and specify the regime governing their family relations, as well
as the properties involved.

Maria may also apply for provisional order pending resolution of

the petition, such as spousal and child support, visitation rights and
other matters similarly requiring urgent action.

Petition must be verified with Certification against Forum

Shopping, and filed in six copies. Copies should be served to the Office of
the Solicitor General as well as the Office of the City Prosecutor.

In counseling Maria, she should be informed of the possible course

that the case could take. She should be ready for an investigation to be
conducted by the Prosecutor to rule out the existence of possible
collusion. She should meet with a Psychologist to help assess both her
and Jose in order to corroborate her assertions. Also, she should be
prepared mentally, physically and emotionally to face the witness stand.

Witnesses should be called and interviewed to look into the

substance of their possible testimonies, and to determine whether such
would be material or not in the granting of the petition.

All pertinent documents and attachments should be prepared

before filing.

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 Full assurance of being granted the Petition should not be given to
Maria. Possible denial by the court or challenge by the Solicitor General,
in case of a granted petition, are things that also need to be considered.

Finally, the costs of filing the Petition and Attorney’s Fees should
be agreed upon. Total possible expenses should be discussed and not left
hanging.

ATTACHMENTS:

Possible attachments include:

 Marriage Certificate
 Birth Certificate of the common child
 Barangay Certificate stating that Maria and Jose have been
residents of the place for more than 6 months prior to filing
 Community Tax Certificate
 Sketch and picture of their residence
 Prenuptial agreement, if any
 Proof of employment and payslip to show need of financial
support
 Certificate of Title to any property, if any