KATIPUNAN V TENORIO December 4, 1929 Legislature repealed the General Orders No.
68 and approved ACT
38 OG 172
FACTS:
 Oct 12, 1934 Marcos Katipunan brought and action in the CFI of Manila to
annul his marriage with Rita Teorio
 Oct 17 he amended his complaint and asked for the appointment of a
guardian ad litem to represent the defendant for the reason of her mental
incapacity.
-- the court then appointed Ursula Paz
 Marcos alleged that Tenorio was not of sound mind when he married her.
 The defendant through her guardian in her answer denied the allegations of
the plaintiff.
 As a special defense, she alleged that she was mentally was mentally sound
when she married the plaintiff, she did so freely and voluntarily.
 They had been living together as husband and wife since 1919, until as
husband and wife until the defendant suffered a mental ailment in 1926, for
which reason she was confined San Lazaro Hospital and latter in
Psychopathic Hospital, where she is at present.
-- they had four children who are under the custody of Leonora Katipunan
o If their marriage should be annulled, it is just to follow the husband wishes
and caprices the status of their children would be reduced to natural children
o Furthermore, the defendant who needs the care and support of the plaintiff
would be unjustly abandoned without protection of her husband.
o Defendant has no means to support herself and their children and cannot
afford suit
o It is necessary for the plaintiff to give defendant and their children monthly
pension.
RTC DISMISSED THE COMPLAINT
ISSUE:
WON Rita Tenorio was mentally sound at the time of her marriage
HELD:
The law in force in 1919 was Section 10 General Orders No. 68 which provides:
That marriage may be annulled, among other existing causes at the time of its
celebration, on the following ground:
3. That either of the party was of unsound mind, unless such party, after coming to
reason, freely cohabit with the other as husband and wife.
3613
SEC. 30. Annullable marriages. — A marriage may be annulled for any of the
following causes, existing at the time of the marriage:
xxx xxx xxx
(b) That either party was od unsound mind unless such party, after coming to
reason freely cohabited with the other was husband or wife.
There is no showing in the records that before the marriage, Rita Tenorio was
mentally unbalanced.
The plaintiff himself admitted that he courted her until they were married. He did not
notice any sign that she was mentally deranged although he married her only after 4
days of courtship. Thus, it was belied by the defendant’s mother.
Court is not convinced with the testimony of plaintiff’s witness Faustina Dela Cruz,
that she had observed the defendant has a stroke of insanity. For using incoherent
words, thus it is not sufficient to prove deranged mental ability.
The plaintiff declared that he noticed the insanity of his wife only after the marriage,
he decided to live with her with the hope that she’ll get well someday.
That he waited patiently until 1926, when his wife had a attack of madness that made
him necessary to bring her to the hospital. That even though his wife was released a
number of times he likewise needed to return her for repeated attacks of malady, until
it was convinced to be incurable.
Considering that they cohabited freely for about 7 years. Also, the admission on
the part of the plaintiff and his witness that defendant has often time have lucid
intervals.
More importantly, the plaintiff failed to establish that since 1919, when he
married her that she was mentally deranged not until 1926.
THEREFORE, insanity that only manifested after the celebration of marriage
cannot constitute a cause of nullity.
GOVERNING ARTICLE

Art. 45. A marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes, existing at the
time of the marriage:

(2) That either party was of unsound mind, unless such party after coming to reason,
freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;

Art. 47. The action for annulment of marriage must be filed by the following persons
and within the periods indicated herein:

(2) For causes mentioned in number 2 of Article 45, by the same spouse, who had no
knowledge of the other’s insanity; or by any relative or guardian or person having
legal charge of the insane, at any time before the death of either party, or by the
insane spouse during a lucid interval or after regaining sanity;

Art. 1149. All other actions whose periods are not fixed in this Code or in other laws
must be brought within five years from the time the right of action accrues.