PERSONS AND FAMILY RELATION The mere fact that the parish priest failed to send a copy of the
marriage certificate to the municipal secretary does not invalidate
Madridejo vs. De Leon
G.R. NO. 32473 | Issuance of marriage certificate
DOCTRINE/LESSON OF THE CASE
● The mere fact that the parish priest who married the plaintiff's
natural father and mother, while the latter was in artículo mortis,
failed to send a copy of the marriage certificate to the municipal
secretary, does not invalidate said marriage, since it does not appear
that in tlTe celebration thereof all requisites for its validity were not
present, and the forwarding of a copy of the marriage certificate not
being one of said requisites.
FACTS
● APPEAL from a judgment of the Court of First Instance of Laguna.
● Eulogio de Leon and Flaviana Perez were married and had one child:
Domingo de Leon. After Eulogio died in 1915, Flaviana lived with
Pedro Madridejo. In 1917, the registry of births indicated that they
begot Melecio Madridejo. When Flaviana was about to die, the parish
priest solemnized her marriage to Pedro in articulo mortis. However
the priest was not able to submit a copy of the marriage certificate
to the municipal secretary. Domingo de Leon, her son by her first
marriage died eight years later.
● In settling the properties left by Eulogio de Leon, CFI Laguna ruled
that Melecio is Domingo’s next of kin; that the marriage of Pedro and
Flaviana was valid, and that such marriage legitimated Melecio
Madridejo as their son.
ISSUES
1. W/N Pedro’s and Flaviana’s in articulo mortis marriage is valid?
[MAIN ISSUE FOR THE CLASS]
2. W/N such marriage legitimated Melecio as their natural child?
RULING
1. W/N Pedro’s and Flaviana’s in articulo mortis marriage is valid?
YES.
the marriage in articulo mortis because it does not appear that the
essential requisites required by law for its validty were lacking in the
ceremony. Forwarding of the marriage certificate is not one of the
essential requisites.
2. W/N such marriage legitimated Melecio as their natural child? NO.
As there have been no contentions that Melecio is not the natural
child of Pedro and Flaviana, the issue here is whether the
subsequent marriage of his parents legitimated him? Art. 121 of the
CC provides that children shall be considered as legitimated by a
subsequent marriage only when they have been acknowledged by
the parents before or after the celebration thereof. The natural
child born out of wedlock must have been acknowledged by the
parents either before or after its celebration. There are 2 kinds of
acknowledgement: voluntary and compulsory.
Art. 131 provides for voluntary acknowledgement: the
acknowledgement of a natural child must be made in the record of
birth, in a will, or some other public document.
Art. 135 provides for compulsory: the father may be compelled to
acknowledge his natural child in the following cases: (1) when an
indisputable paper written by him expressly acknowledging his
paternity exists, (2) whenthe child has been in the uninterrupted
possession of the status of a natural child of the father justified by
the conduct of the father himself or that of his family.
Art. 136 provides for compulsory ack. by the mother: the mother
may be compelled to acknowledge her natural child (1) when the
child is, with respect to the mother, included in any of the cases
mentioned in the next preceding article; (2) when the fact of the
birth and the identity of the child are fully proven.
In this case, Pedro did not voluntarily acknowledge Madridejo in a
public document. The registry certificate of birth is not the record of
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 birth provided by law because it lacks requisite of article 48 of the
civil registry law. It may be a public document but it has neither
been executed nor signed by Pedro and it contains no statement
that he acknowledges Melecio. As for Flaviana, it does not appear
that she spullied data in the civil registry of births or in the
baptismal register which only constitutes proof of baptism and not
filiation. There was no voluntary acknowledgement.

In compulsory acknowledgement, Melecio must institute an action

for acknowledgement as a natural child against his putative parents.
In this case, Melecio did not only not demand to be acknowledged
as a natural child, which is the condition precedent to establishing
his legitimation by the subsequent marriage and his right to the
estate of his half-brother, Domingo. Melecio avers that the second
paragraph of de Leon’s answer amounts to an admission that he is
indeed Flaviana’s son and relieves him of the burden of proving that
his mother acknowledged him before her marriage. Such admission
would have been effective if his action was directed at compelling
Flaviana or her heirs to acknowledge Melecio as her son.

DISPOSITIVE POSITION
Wherefore, the judgment is reversed, the complaint dismissed, and the
defendants absolved with costs against the appellee without prejudice to
any right he may have to establish or compel his acknowledgment as the
natural son of Pedro Madridejo and Flaviana Perez.

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