Frederico C. Suntay vs. Isabel Cojuangco-Suntay.

G.R. No. 132524

December 29, 1998

Summary:

On July 9, 1958, Emilio Aguinaldo Suntay (son of petitioner Federico Suntay)

and Isabel Cojuangco-Suntay were married in the Portuguese Colony of
Macao. Out of this marriage, three children were born namely: Margarita
Guadalupe, Isabel Aguinaldo and Emilio Aguinaldo all surnamed Cojuangco
Suntay. After 4 years, the marriage soured so that in 1962, Isabel Cojuangco-
Suntay filed a criminal case against her husband Emilio Aguinaldo Suntay.
In retaliation, Emilio Aguinaldo filed before the then Court of First Instance
(CFI) a complaint for legal separation against his wife, charging her, among
others, with infidelity and praying for the custody and care of their children
who were living with their mother. Their marriage was declared null and void
in October 3, 1967.

On June 1, 1979, Emilio Aguinaldo Suntay predeceased his mother, the

decedent Cristina Aguinaldo-Suntay. The latter is respondent Isabel's
paternal grandmother. The decedent died on June 4, 1990 without leaving a
will.

Five years later or on October 26, 1995, respondent Isabel Aguinaldo

Cojuangco Suntay filed before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) a petition for
issuance in her favor of Letters of Administration of the Intestate Estate of her
late grandmother Cristina Aguinaldo-Suntay which case was docketed as
Special Proceeding Case No. 117-M-95. In her petition, she alleged among
others, that she is one of the legitimate grandchildren of the decedent and
prayed that she be appointed as administratrix of the estate.

On December 15, 1995, petitioner filed an Opposition claiming that he is the

surviving spouse of the decedent, that he has been managing the conjugal
properties even while the decedent has been alive and is better situated to
protect the integrity of the estate than the petitioner, that petitioner and her
family have been alienated from the decedent and the Oppositor for more than
thirty (30) years and thus, prayed that Letters of Administration be issued
instead to him.

Issue:
Whether or not Isabel Cojuangco-Suntay has successional rights to represent
the estate of their grandmother Cristina Aguinaldo Suntay despite the fact
that the marriage of her parents was annulled.

Held:

Yes.
Article 144 of the Civil Code provides that children born of such marriages
who are called natural children by legal fiction have the same status, rights
and obligations as acknowledged natural children under Article 89
irrespective of whether or not the parties to the void marriage are in good faith
or in bad faith.

On the other hand, a voidable marriage, is considered valid and produces all
its civil effects, until it is set aside by final judgment of a competent court in
an action for annulment. Juridically, the annulment of a marriage dissolves
the special contract as if it had never been entered into but the law makes
express provisions to prevent the effects of the marriage from being totally
wiped out.
The status of children born in voidable marriages is governed by the second
paragraph of Article 89 which provides that: Children conceived of voidable
marriages before the decree of annulment shall be considered legitimate; and
children conceived thereafter shall have the same status, rights and
obligations as acknowledged natural children, and are also called natural
children by legal fiction. In view thereof, the status of Isabel would be covered
by the second paragraph of Article 89 of the Civil Code which provides that “
children conceived of voidable marriages before the decree of annulment shall
be considered legitimate.

Emilio A.M. Suntay III vs. Isabel Cojuangco Suntay

G.R. No. 183053
October 10, 2012

Summary:

The decedent Cristina Aguinaldo-Suntay (Cristina) died intestate on 4 June

1990. Cristina was survived by her spouse, Dr. Federico Suntay (Federico)
and five grandchildren: three legitimate grandchildren, including herein
respondent, Isabel; and two illegitimate grandchildren, including petitioner
Emilio III, all by Federico’s and Cristina’s only child, Emilio A. Suntay (Emilio
I), who predeceased his parents.

The illegitimate grandchildren, Emilio III and Nenita, were both reared from
infancy by the spouses Federico and Cristina. Their legitimate grandchildren,
Isabel and her siblings, Margarita and Emilio II, lived with their mother Isabel
Cojuangco, following the separation of Isabel’s parents, Emilio I and Isabel
Cojuangco. Isabel’s parents, along with her paternal grandparents, were
involved in domestic relations cases, including a case for parricide filed by
Isabel Cojuangco against Emilio I. Emilio I was eventually acquitted.

Issue:

Whether or not Isabel is to be regarded as the sole administrator of the estate

of Cristina Suntay over Emilio Suntay.

Held:
Yes.

The collected teaching is that mere demonstration of interest in the estate to

be settled does not ipso facto entitle an interested person to co-administration
thereof. Neither does squabbling among the heirs nor adverse interests
necessitate the discounting of the order of preference set forth in Section 6,
Rule 78. Indeed, in the appointment of administrator of the estate of a
deceased person, the principal consideration reckoned with is the interest in
said estate of the one to be appointed as administrator. Given Isabel’s
unassailable interest in the estate as one of the decedent’s legitimate
grandchildren and undoubted nearest "next of kin," the appointment of Emilio
III as co-administrator of the same estate, cannot be a demandable right. It is
a matter left entirely to the sound discretion of the Court and depends on the
facts and the attendant circumstances of the case.

Thus, we proceed to scrutinize the attendant facts and circumstances of this

case even as we reiterate Isabel’s and her sibling’s apparent greater interest
in the estate of Cristina.

Xxx

In this case, palpable from the evidence on record, the pleadings, and the
protracted litigation, is the inescapable fact that Emilio III and respondent
Isabel have a deep aversion for each other.1awp++i1 To our mind, it becomes
highly impractical, nay, improbable, for the two to work as co-administrators
of their grandmother’s estate. The allegations of Emilio III, the testimony of
Federico and the other witnesses for Federico and Emilio III that Isabel and
her siblings were estranged from their grandparents further drive home the
point that Emilio III bears hostility towards Isabel. More importantly, it
appears detrimental to the decedent’s estate to appoint a co-administrator
(Emilio III) who has shown an adverse interest of some kind or hostility to
those, such as herein respondent Isabel, immediately interested in the said
estate.

WHEREFORE, the Motion for Reconsideration is PARTIALLY GRANTED.

Our Decision in G.R. No. 183053 dated 16 June 2010 is MODIFIED. Letters
of Administration over the estate of decedent Cristina Aguinaldo-Suntay shall
solely issue to respondent Isabel Cojuangco-Suntay upon payment of a bond
to be set by the Regional Trial Court, Branch 78, Malolos, Bulacan, in Special
Proceeding Case No. 117-M-95. The Regional Trial Court, Branch 78, Malolos,
Bulacan is likewise directed to settle the estate of decedent Cristina
Aguinaldo-Suntay with dispatch. No costs.