G.R. No.

132529 February 2 2001

[Article 147 Family Code-Property Regime of Union Without Marriage; Article 148 - Rules on Co-
ownership regarding polygamous/bigamous marriages, adulterous or concubinage
relationships; Article 40 - Judicial Declaration of Nullity of Marriage]

FACTS:
SPO4 Santiago Cariño married Susan Nicdao in 1969 without marriage license. They had two children. He
then married Susan Yee on November 10 1992, with whom he had no children in their almost 10 year
cohabitation starting way back in 1982.

He passed away on November 23 1992. The two Susans filed with the RTC of Quezon City the claims for
monetary benefits and financial assistance pertaining to the deceased from various government agencies.
Nicdao collected a total of P146,000 while Yee received a total of P21,000.

Yee filed an instant case for collection of half the money acquired by Nicdao, collectively denominated as
"death benefits." Yee admitted that her marriage with the SPO4 took place during the subsistence of, and
without first obtaining a judicial declaration of nullity, the marriage between Nicdao and the SPO4. She
however claimed that she became aware of the previous marriage at the funeral of the deceased.

In 1995, the trial court ruled in favor of Yee. Nicdao appealed to the CA, which the CA affirmed the decision of
the trial court.

ISSUE:
Whether or not Yee can claim half the amount acquired by Nicdao.

RULING:
No. SC held that the marriage between Yee and Cariño falls under the Article 148 of the Family Code, which
refers to the property regime of bigamous or polygamous marriages, adulterous or concubinage
relationships.

Yee cannot claim the benefits earned by the SPO4 as a police officer as her marriage to the deceased is void
due to bigamy. She is only entitled to the properties acquired with the deceased through their actual joint
contribution. Wages and salaries earned by each party belong to him or her exclusively. Hence, they are not
owned in common by Yee and the deceased, but belong to the deceased alone and Yee has no right
whatsoever to claim the same. By intestate succession, the said “death benefits” of the deceased shall pass to
his legal heirs. And, Yee, not being the legal wife, is not one of them.

As regards to the first marriage, the marriage between Nicdao and SPO4 is null and void due to absence of a
valid marriage license. Nicdao can claim the death benefits by the deceased even if she did not contribute
thereto. Article 147 creates a co-ownership in respect thereto, entitling Nicdao to share one-half of the
benefits. As there is no allegation of bad faith in the first marriage, she can claim one-half of the disputed
death benefits and the other half to the deceased' to his legal heirs, by intestate succession.

The marriage between Yee and SPO4 is likewise null and void for the same has been solemnized without the
judicial declaration of the nullity of the marriage between Nicdao and SPO4. Under Article 40, if a party who is
previously married wishes to contract a second marriage, he or she has to obtain first a judicial decree
declaring the first marriage void, before he or she could contract said second marriage, otherwise the second
marriage would be void. However, for purposes other than to remarry, no prior and separate judicial
declaration of nullity is necessary.