I.

Benjamin and Yumi lived together as husband and wife for almost 7 years, the former was
already 23 while the latter is 25. However, it appeared in the office of Manila Civil Registry that
there was no record of such marriage. Upon learning the said fact of no record, the parties
executed an affidavit that they got married 5 years ago before the RTC judge of Manila, they also
submitted pictures of the said event. In view of the said affidavit and pictures, the Civil Registrar
asked the parties to let the judge sign their marriage contract and submit the same to the Office
of the Civil Registrar for recording. Months after the submission, the parties were able to get
their PSA-issued marriage contract showing their marriage, which happened on September 13,
2018.

After learning the same, the parents of Benjamin filed a petition before the RTC to declare
their marriage null and void in view of the fact that they did not issue parental consent and that
the parties’ marriage was just a sham. The parties, however, assailed that their marriage is
presumed since they are leaving as husband and wife for almost 7 years already. If you are the
judge, how will you rule on the issues of validity or invalidity of the marriage of Benjamin and
Yumi. Discuss your answer with basis.

II.

The marriage of Jose and Maria was nullified by the competent court based on Art. 36 of
the Family Code, they were blessed with two kids. The judgment has become final on 12
September 2018. Upon finality of the said judgment of nullity, Jose immediately marry Sarah on
13 September 2018, with whom Jose has a child born before their marriage. The kids of Jose to
Maria, through their grandmother, filed a petition to force Jose to deliver their presumptive
legitime as required by the law. The trial court granted the petition and order Jose to deliver the
presumptive legitime of the children. In the same decision, the trial court ruled that the marriage
of Jose and Sarah is void and that their property relations should be forfeited in favor of Jose’s
children to Maria. Under the following circumstances, answer the following:
i. Is the trial court judge correct in ruling that there should be a delivery of
presumptive legitime?
ii. Can the trial court pass upon the validity of the marriage of Jose and Sarah
even if it is not the cause of action of the case?
iii. What are the status of the children of Jose to Maria and the child of Jose
to Sarah?

III.

Mary was found to be positive for HIV, considered sexually transmissible, serious and
incurable. Her boyfriend Joseph was aware of her condition and yet married her. After two (2)
years of cohabiting with Mary, and in his belief that she would probably never be able to bear
him a healthy child, Joseph now wants to have his marriage with Mary annulled. Rule on the
issue. Mary opposes the suit contending that Joseph is estopped from seeking annulment of their
marriage since he knew even before their marriage that she was afflicted with HIV virus. Can the
action of Joseph for annulment of his marriage with Mary prosper? Discuss fully.

IV.

In 2009, Maris, a Filipino citizen, married her boss Johnson, an American citizen, in Tokyo
in a wedding ceremony celebrated according to Japanese laws. One year later, Johnson returned
to his native Nevada, and he validly obtained in that state an absolute divorce from his wife Maris.
After Maris received the final judgment of divorce, Maris had the same recognized and recorded
in the Philippines. Thereafter, she married her childhood sweetheart Pedro, also a Filipino citizen,
in a religious ceremony in Cebu City, celebrated according to the formalities of Philippine law.
Pedro later left for the United States and became naturalized as an American citizen. Maris
followed Pedro to the United States, and after a serious quarrel, Maris filed a suit and obtained
a divorce decree issued by the court in the state of Maryland. Maris then returned to the
Philippines and in a civil ceremony celebrated in Cebu City according to the formalities of
Philippine law, she married her former classmate Vincent likewise a Filipino citizen.
i. Rule on the validity of the divorce decree obtained by Maris in the state of
Maryland.
ii. Rule on the validity of the marriage of Maris and Vincent.

V.
Gemma filed a petition for the declaration of nullity of her marriage with Arnell on the ground of
psychological incapacity. She alleged that after 2 months of their marriage, Arnell showed signs
of disinterest in her, neglected her and went abroad. He returned to the Philippines after 3 years
but did not even get in touch with her. Worse, they met several times in social functions but he
snubbed her. When she got sick, he did not visit her even if he knew of her confinement in the
hospital. Meanwhile, Arnell met an accident which disabled him from reporting for work and
earning a living to support himself. Will Gemma's suit prosper? Explain.

VI.

Brad and Angelina had a secret marriage before a pastor whose office is located in Arroceros
Street, City of Manila. They paid money to the pastor who took care of all the documentation.
When Angelina wanted to go to the U.S., she found out that there was no marriage license issued
to them before their marriage. Since their marriage was solemnized in 1995 after the effectivity
of the Family Code, Angelina filed a petition for judicial declaration of nullity on the strength of a
certification by the Civil Registrar of Manila that, after a diligent and exhaustive search, the
alleged marriage license indicated in the marriage certificate does not appear in the records and
cannot be found.
i. Rule on the petition of Angelina.
ii. What if their marriage was celebrated in 1987, will your answer be the same?
VII.
Kardo met Glenda as a young lieutenant and after a whirlwind courtship, they were married. In
the early part of his military career, Kardo was assigned to different places all over the country
but Glenda refused to accompany him as she preferred to live in her hometown. They did not
live together until the 12th year of their marriage when Kardo had risen up the ranks and was
given his own command. They moved to living quarters in Fort Gregorio. One day, while Kardo
was away on official business, one of his military aides caught Glenda having sex with the corporal
assigned as Kardo’s driver. The aide immediately reported the matter to Kardo who rushed home
to confront his wife. Glenda readily admitted the affair and Kardo sent her away in anger. Kardo
would later come to know the true extent of Glenda’s unfaithfulness from his aides, his
household staff, and former neighbors who informed him that Glenda has had intimate relations
with various men throughout their marriage whenever Kardo was away on assignment.
Kardo filed a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage under Article 36. Based on interviews
from Kardo, his aide, and the housekeeper, a psychologist testified that Glenda’s habitual
infidelity was due to her affliction with Histrionic Personality Disorder, an illness characterized by
excessive emotionalism and uncontrollable attention-seeking behavior rooted in Glenda's
abandonment as a child by her father. Kardo himself, his aide, and his housekeeper also testified
in court. The RTC granted the petition, relying on the liberality espoused by Te v. Te and Azcueta
v. Republic. However, the OSG filed an appeal, arguing that sexual infidelity was only a ground
for legal separation and that the RTC failed to abide by the guidelines laid down in the Molina
case. How would you decide the appeal?
VIII.
Ted, married to Annie, went to Canada to work. Five (5) years later, Ted became a naturalized
Canadian citizen. He returned to the Philippines to convince Annie to settle in Canada.
Unfortunately, Ted discovered that Annie and his friend Louie were having an affair. Deeply hurt,
Ted returned to Canada and filed a petition for divorce which was granted. In December 2013,
Ted decided to marry his childhood friend Corazon in the Philippines. In preparation for the
wedding, Ted went to the Local Civil Registry of Quezon City where his marriage contract with
Annie was registered. He asked the Civil Register to annotate the decree of divorce on his
marriage contract with Annie. However, he was advised by the National Statistics Office (NSO) to
file a petition for judicial recognition of the decree of divorce in the Philippines. Is it necessary
for Ted to file a petition for judicial recognition of the decree of divorce he obtained in Canada
before he can contract a second marriage in the Philippines?
IX.
You are a Family Court judge and before you is a Petition for the Declaration of Nullity of Marriage
(under Article 36 of the Family Code)filed by Maria against Neil. Maria claims that Neil is
psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential obligations of marriage because Neil
is a drunkard, a womanizer, a gambler, and a mama's boy- traits that she never knew or saw
when Neil was courting her. Although summoned, Neil did not answer Maria's petition and never
appeared in court. To support her petition, Maria presented three witnesses- herself, Dr. Elsie
Chan, and Ambrosia. Dr. Chan testified on the psychological report on Neil that she prepared.
Since Neil never acknowledged nor responded to her invitation for interviews, her report is solely
based on her interviews with Maria and the spouses’ minor children. Dr. Chan concluded that
Neil is suffering from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, an ailment that she found to be already
present since Neil’s early adulthood and one that is grave and incurable. Maria testified on the
specific instances when she found Neil drunk, with another woman, or squandering the family’s
resources in a casino. Ambrosia, the spouses’ current household help, corroborated Maria’s
testimony. On the basis of the evidence presented, will you grant the petition? Discuss your
answer.
X.
Two (2) years after their marriage, which took place on 10 October 1988, Bethel discovered that
her husband James has a sexually-transmissible disease which he contracted even prior to their
marriage although James did not know it himself until he was examined two (2) years later when
a child was already born to them. Bethel sues James for annulment of their marriage. James
opposes the annulment on the ground that he did not even know that he had such a disease so
that there was no fraud or bad faith on his part. Decide with reason.
i. Suppose that both parties at the time of their marriage were similarly afflicted with
sexually-transmissible diseases, serious and incurable, and both knew of their
respective infirmities, can Bethel or James sue for annulment of their marriage?
XI.
On the occasion of Digna’s marriage to George, her father gave her a donation propter
nuptias of a car. Subsequently, the marriage was annulled because of the psychological
immaturity of George. May Digna’s father revoke the donation and get back the car? Explain.
 XII.
Marvin and Shelley got married and was able to register their marriage even without a
marriage license, Marvin and Shelly were blessed with 2 children. After 10 years of being
together and considering that Marvin knew very well that his marriage with Shelley was void,
Marvin married his bestfriend, Charm. Marvin and Charm were blessed by a child after living
together for a year. After giving birth, Charm learned of the marriage of Marvin and Shelley,
in view thereof, Charm filed a bigamy case and a petition to declare her marriage with Marvin
null and void. Marvin, for his defense, argued that there is no bigamy because his marriage
with Shelley was void and his marriage with Charm is also void because of non-compliance
with article 52 in view of Article 53 of the Family Code.
i. Rule on the validity of marriage of Marvin and Shelley.
ii. Rule on the validity of marriage of Marvin and Charm.
iii. Rule on the defense of Marvin on the bigamy case and the validity of marriages.
iv. What is the status of the children of Marvin to both Shelley and Charm?
XIII.
Isidro and Irma, Filipinos, both 18 years of age, were passengers of Flight No. 317 of Oriental
Airlines. The plane they boarded was of Philippine registry. While en route from Manila to Greece
some passengers hijacked the plane, held the chief pilot hostage at the cockpit and ordered him
to fly instead to Libya. During the hijacking Isidro suffered a heart attack and was on the verge of
death. Since Irma was already eight months pregnant by Isidro, she pleaded to the hijackers to
allow the assistant pilot to solemnize her marriage with Isidro. Soon after the marriage, Isidro
expired. As the plane landed in Libya Irma gave birth. However, the baby died a few minutes after
complete delivery. Back in the Philippines Irma immediately filed a claim for inheritance. The
parents of Isidro opposed her claim contending that the marriage between her and Isidro was
void ab initio on the following grounds: (a) they had not given their consent to the marriage of
their son; (b) there was no marriage license; (c) the solemnizing officer had no authority to
perform the marriage; and, (d) the solemnizing officer did not file an affidavit of marriage with
the proper civil registrar. Rule on the grounds relied upon by the parents of Isidro.
XIV.

On May 1, 1978 Jose married Maria, by whom he had a son Jess. Maria died on July 1, 1996, while
Jose died on January 1, 2002. Before his demise, Jose had married, on July 1, 2002, Alice. Having
lived together as husband and wife since July 1, 1990, Jose and Alice did not secure a marriage
license but executed the requisite affidavit for the purpose. To ensure that his inheritance rights
are not adversely affected by his father’s second marriage, Jess now brings a suit to seek a
declaration of the nullity of the marriage of Jose and Alice, grounded on the absence of a valid
marriage license. Alice contends that there was no need for a marriage license in view for her
having lived continuously with Jose for five years before their marriage and that has Jess has no
legal personality to seek a declaration of nullity of the marriage since Jose is now deceased. Will
the case prosper? Rule with reasons.
XV.
Gigi and Ric, Catholics, got married when they were 18 years old. Their marriage was solemnized
on August 2, 1989 by Ric’s uncle, a Baptist Minister, in Calamba, Laguna. He overlooked the fact
that his license to solemnize marriage expired the month before and that the parties do not
belong to his congregation. After 5 years of married life and blessed with 2 children, the spouses
developed irreconcilable differences, so they parted ways. While separated, Ric fell in love with
Juliet, a 16 year-old sophomore in a local college and a Seventh-Day Adventist. They decided to
get married with the consent of Juliet’s parents. She presented to him a birth certificate showing
she is 18 years old. Ric never doubted her age much less the authenticity of her birth certificate.
They got married in a Catholic church in Manila. A year after, Juliet gave birth to twins, Aissa and
Aretha.
i. Rule on the validity of marriage of Gigi and Ric.
ii. Rule on the validity Ric and Juliet.
iii. What are the statuses of their children?