PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY CASE BRIEFING AND SYNTHESIS

By: (Francis Gregory L. Ku)

CASE BRIEFING

Santos v. Court of Appeals, GR No. 112019, 04 January 1995

Petitioner Leouel Santos' wife Julia went to the United States to work as a nurse, promising return after
her contract's expiration. However, she never did, and despite Leouel's desperate efforts, she was unable
to be located or contacted for five years. Leonel argues that Julia's failure to communicate and return
home constituted psychological incapacity and filed a petition to have their marriage declared null and
void. The court denies the petition stating that psychological incapacity must be characterized by juridical
antecedence, gravity, and incurability, which were factual settings Julia clearly did not show.

Chi Ming Tsoi v. Court of Appeals, GR No. 119190, 16 January 1997

During their cohabitation period as newlyweds, Gina Tsoi and Chi Ming Tsoi, from May 22, 1988, until
March 15, 1989, did not have sexual intercourse. The plaintiff argued that this was due to her husband
being an impotent closet homosexual and filed for the nullity of their marriage on the grounds of
psychological incapacity under Article 36 of the Family Code. Despite the defendant being able to prove
that he was not impotent, the court ruled that Chi Ming Tsoi’s refusal to have sexual intercourse with his
wife constituted psychological incapacity. One of the essential marital obligations under the Family Code
is” to procreate children based on the universal principle that procreation of children through marriage is
the basic end of marriage. The court ruled that in the case at bar, the senseless and protracted refusal of
one of the parties to fulfill the above marital obligation is equivalent to psychological incapacity and denied
the petition for lack of merit.

Republic v. Court of Appeals, GR No. 108763, 13 February 1997

After a year of marriage, Defendant Reynaldo Molina showed signs of immaturity as a husband and father
as he depended on his parents for assistance, spent more time with his friends, and was never honest
with his wife, even causing their relationship to become estranged. Roridel Molina filed a petition for
declaration of nullity of her marriage on the grounds of psychological incapacity and provided evidence
consisting of testimonies from her friends, a social worker, and a psychiatrist of the Baguio General
Hospital. Although initially declared, void the court ruled the assailed decision as Reversed on the
grounds that the evidence merely showed that Roridel and her husband could not get along with each
other and had not shown gravity, juridical antecedence, nor incurability that violated the Article 36 of the
Family Code.

Hernandez v. Court of Appeals, GR No. 126010, 08 December 1999

Petitioner Lucita Hernandez filed for nullification of her marriage with Respondent Mario Hernandez on
the ground of psychological incapacity. She averred that the private respondent was irresponsible,
immature, and unprepared for marriage life due to his constant drinking sprees, affairs, and because he
gave the petitioner a sexually transmissible disease. The court stated that psychological incapacity"
should refer to a mental (not physical) incapacity that causes a party to be truly in cognitive of the basic
marital covenants that concomitantly must be assumed and discharged by the parties to the marriage. In
this case, no evidence was presented to show that private respondent was not cognizant of the basic
marital obligation, or that the private respondent was really incapable of fulfilling his duties due to some
incapacity of psychological nature, and not merely physical. Thus, the decision of the Supreme Court
affirmed the court of appeals motion to dismiss the petition for annulment of marriage filed by the
petitioner.
Marcos v. Marcos, GR No. 136490, 19 October 2000
Due to failure in acquiring gainful employment, defendant Mario and petitioner Brenda Marcos would
often quarrel, and Mario would illicit physical harm on her and her children. Brenda filed a case for the
nullity of marriage for psychological incapacity, arguing that the husband failed to provide material support
to the family and resorted to abuse and abandonment. Although the Court was convinced that the
respondent failed to provide material support to the family, they stated that there was no showing that his
defects were already present at the inception of the marriage or incurable. Thus, the alleged
psychological incapacity was traced only to said period and not to the marriage's inception, making the
Court deny the petition.

Republic v. Dagdag, GR No. 109975, 09 February 2001

Due to Avelino Dagdag's constant disappearance, drinking sprees, and acts of physical abuse, Petitioner
Erlinda Matias filed a petition for a judicial declaration of nullity of marriage on the grounds of
psychological incapacity. In the Republic v. Court of Appeals and Molina, one of the guidelines the Court
used in the interpretation of Article 36 was that the root cause of the psychological incapacity must be
medically or clinically identified, alleged in the complaint, sufficiently proven by experts, and clearly
explained in the decision. Erlinda failed to comply with the above-mentioned requirements. Since she
could not have the root cause of psychological incapacity medically or clinically identified, the Court
reversed and set aside the Court of Appeals' decision voiding her marriage.

CASE SYNTHESIS

The main theme between all of these cases is psychological incapacity as a ground for the
nullification of marriage. Each case's decisions were in harmony with one another, establishing
precedents for the succeeding cases and revealing a shifting, evolving field of law. In the Ching Ming Tsoi
Case, however, the Court ruled that a spouse's unwillingness or lack of intention in consummating the
marriage would destroy the integrity of marriage by failure to fulfill the marital obligation of procreation.
Although I understood the legal reasoning behind that decision, it made me question ethically why the
abuse and abandonment made by the other petitioners' husbands, despite being of great damage and
severity, did not constitute for the annulment of their respective marriage? The Supreme Court was strict
in upholding and questioning the terms of psychological Incapacity to create and determine whether a
case was entitled to void their marriage on the grounds of psychological Incapacity. That is why, despite
my feelings, I agree with the legal reasoning behind why the Supreme Court held the marriages of
Santos, Hernandez, Molina, Marcos, and Dagdag as cases which were not voidable on the grounds of
psychological Incapacity. However, I believe that there is a need for the acknowledgment of abuse and
abandonment to be a legal basis for the dissolution of marriage. One of the purposes of Law is to provide
justice to those who were wronged. I believe that acknowledging these will provide that opportunity to the
innocent victims of domestic abuse and abandonment.
1) Discuss and relate the case doctrines to one another in 5-10 sentences.
2) What's the main theme or subject common to all?
3) Are the cases in harmony or conflicting with one another? 
4) How are they similar or different from one another?
5) Harmonize and/or reconcile the doctrinal pronouncements and form your conclusion  -- What's the
latest jurisprudence or doctrine?  Did the Court deviate or depart from established jurisprudence?
6) You may also include your own observations, opinion, commentaries, or conclusion expressing your
agreement or disagreement with the string of decisions.  

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ANNULMENT OF MARRIAGE IS THE ONLY OPTION TO FILIPINOS WHO FEEL THAT THEY ARE
TRAPPED IN A MARRIAGE WHERE ONE PARTY OR BOTH THE HUSBAND AND WIFE ARE
INCAPACITATED OR BOTH UNABLE TO PERFORM OBLIGATIONS. THE REASON MUST HAVE
EXISTED PRIOR TO THE MARRIAGE AND MUST BE SERIOUS , PERMANENT, AND INCURABLE.

IDENTIFY IF THERE IS A GROUND OFR ANULMMNET

SUBMIT TO PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION.