Ail. 1 THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES Art.

Court] should require respondent to abandon her faithful

(8) Guidelines for the Proper Appreciation of Mi„„rity
or as a Quahfying spouse and loving son, or penalize her for treasuring the
Either as an Element of a Crime
unity of her family as she would keep her work, for the
Circumstance punctilious satisfaction of a blind world;
People v. Gavino 3. the relations, duties, obligations, and
4 399 SCRA 285 (2003) consequences of marriage are important to the morals
and civilizations of a people and to the peace and welfare
1. The best evidence to prove the age of the offended of society; and

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party is an original or
live birth of such party;
certified true copy of the certificate of

2. In its absence, similar authentic documents such as

baptismal certificate and school records which show the date of
X
4. any attempt to inject freedom of religion in
an effort to exempt oneself from the Civil Service rules
relating to the sanctity of the marriagg tie must fail.

birth of the victim would suffice to prove age; (10) Carnal Knowledge of a Woman, Who Is a Mental
I 3 . Ifthe certificate of live birth or authentic document is A Retardate, Is Rape, etc.
shown to have been lost or destroyed or otherwise unavailable, Here, the mental condition of retardation deprives the
m the testimony, if clear and credible, of the victim's mother or a complainant of that natural instinct to resist a bestial assault
v.. mei iber o consanguinity
on her chastity and womanhood. (People v. Paler, 623 SCRA
•

qualified to testimony on matters respecting pedigree such as

the exact age or date of birth of the offended party pursuant to
469 [2010]) foToy I
Sec. 40, Rule 130 of the Rules of Evidence shall be sufficient; Mental retardation can be proyen.by evidence other than
and ÿmedical/clinical evidence, such as theÿestimonv of witnesses
and even thb observation by the trial court. (People v. Castillo,
4. In the absence of all the above, the complainant's
627 SCRA 452 [2010]) The state of mental retardation per se
testimony will suffice, provided it is expressly and clearly
admitted by the appellant.

(9) The Human Side of a Case Should Not Be Totally Ignored

Estrada v. Escritor
400 SCRA 1(2003)
In this case, the Supreme Court posited the following
views, thus:
1. the human side of the instant case should not
be totally ignored because respondent's present position
is not one which has caused scandal to anyone truly
concerned with public morality;
2. without fear of contradiction, it would be
violating Godly laws of charity and love and, to say the
least, embracmg cruelty and hypocrisy/ if [the Supreme
* does Qot affect credibility. (People v. Tamano, 637 SCRA 672
[2010JT
It must be noted that the sexual intercourse with a woman.
who is a mental retardate with the mental age of a child below
12 years old constitutes statutory rape with or,without the
attendance of force, threat, or intimidation. (People v. Abella,
610 SCRA 19 [2010], and People v. Castro, 638 SCRA 784
[2010]) In short, carnal knowledge of a woman, who is a mental
A
retardate, is rape. (People v. Paler, 623 SCRA 469 [2010])
(11) Case
Go-Bangayan v. Bangayan, Jr.
700 SCRA 702
ISSUE: Do the words "married to" preceding the name of
a spouse prove co-ownership?

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