A.C. No.

4431 June 19, 1997

PRISCILLA CASTILLO VDA. DE MIJARES, complainant,

vs.
JUSTICE ONOFRE A. VILLALUZ (Retired), respondent.

J. Purisima
FACTS:
This is an administrative case involving a Judge of an RTC and a retired Justice of the
Court of Appeals regarding Bigamy. The respondent, Justice Onofre Villaluz, entered into a
marriage contract with the complainant, Priscilla Mijares, on January 7,1994 while the
respondent was still lawfully married and still awaiting the annulment decision of the court with
his presumed ex-wife, Librada Peña, and in addition the respondent entered into another
marriage contract with Lydia Geraldez on May 10, 1994. The respondent stated under oath that
his first marriage was already annulled and that the second marriage with the complainant was
a “sham” marriage wherein the respondent only agreed to doing the contract in order to save
the complainant from an immorality case filed against her by her legal researcher.
ISSUE:
Do the arguments provided by the retired justice have merit against the case for grave
immorality and grave misconduct?
RULING:
The Supreme Court found the respondent guilty of immoral conduct in violation of the
Code of Professional Responsibility and was suspended from the practice of law for 2 years.
The SC concurred with the findings of Justice Purisima that the respondent was well aware of
the requisites and the consequences of disobeying the law, and despite the respondent’s
knowledge about it he still pursued the second and third marriages. The SC decided that the
penalty of disbarment would be too excessive for the retired Justice given his contribution to the
judiciary.

E.C.