ESTRELLITATADEO-MATIAS, 

Petitioner vs REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent

G.R. No. 230751 April 25, 2018
VELASCO, JR., J

Facts:
Estrellita Tadeo-Matias (Petitioner) was married to Wilfredo Matias who was a member of
the Philippine Constabulary and assigned in Araya, Pampanga. They were married on January 7,
1968. On September 15, 1979, Wilfredo left their conjugal home at San Miguel, Tarlac City in
order to serve his duties. He was never seen or heard from again and has never made contact
with any of his or Petitioner’s relatives. Petitioner constantly sought updates from the
Philippine Constabulary regarding the whereabouts of her husband to no avail. After 3 decades
of waiting, Petitioner sought for a claim of death benefits under P.D. 1638 from the Philippine
Veteran’s Affair Office (PVAO) of the AFP. One of its requirements is a judicial declaration of
presumptive death.

Issue:
Whether or not the Petitioner can validly be granted the judicial declaration of
presumptive death.

Ruling:
No, it cannot be validly granted moreover, the petitioner erred in filing for judicial
declaration of presumptive death since it is not a viable suit.

Art. 41 of the Family Code states that “A marriage contracted by any person during
subsistence of a previous marriage shall be null and void, unless before the celebration of the
subsequent marriage, the prior spouse had been absent for four consecutive years and the
spouse present has a well-founded belief that the absent spouse was already dead. In case of
disappearance where there is danger of death under the circumstances set forth in the
provisions of Article 391 of the Civil Code, an absence of only two years shall be sufficient.

In this case, petitioner was forthright that she was not seeking the declaration of the
presumptive death Wilfredo as a prerequisite for remarriage. In her petition for the declaration
of presumptive death, petitioner categorically stated that the same was filed "not for any other
purpose but solely to claim for the benefit under P.D. No. 1638 a amended.

Verily, the RTC's use of Article 41 of the FC as its basis in declaring the presumptive
death of Wilfredo was misleading and grossly improper. The petition for the declaration of
presumptive death filed by the petitioner was based on the Civil Code, and not on Article 41
of the FC.