Buccat v.

Buccat (1941)

Petitioner: Godofredo Buccat Respondent: Luida Mangonon de Buccat

FACTS: -Godofredo Buccat and Luida Mangonon met on March 1938 and were engaged on September
19 of the same year. On November 26 of the same year, they got married in the Catholic Cathedral of
Baguio City. Eighty-nine (89) days after the marriage, Luida gave birth to a child of nine months on
February 23, 1939. Petitioner left the respondent and filed a Complaint for annulment in the lower court
on the grounds of fraud against respondent for concealing to her husband-to-be that she was not a
virgin and that she was pregnant by a man other than her husband at the time of the marriage.

ISSUE(S): - W/N Luida is guilty of fraud for concealing her pregnancy, and thus should be a ground for
annulment HELD/RATIO: - No. Annulment requires clear and convincing evidence. Petitioner, however,
failed to present reasonable evidence on account of fraud that he was indeed unaware of the pregnancy
of respondent. At the time of their marriage, respondent was already more or less six months pregnant
and it would be uncommon, lest ridiculous, that petitioner was unaware of the said pregnancy.