Sunday, March 1, 2020

Pilapil vs. Ibay-Somera 174 SCRA 653 Case Digest


50
Pilapil vs. Ibay-Somera
174 SCRA 653

Facts:
Imelda Manalaysay Pilapil, a Filipino citizen, and private respondent Erich Ekkehard Geiling, a German national, were married. After about three and a half years of marriage, such connubial disharmony eventuated in private respondent initiating a divorce proceeding against petitioner in Germany.
On June 27, 1986, or more than five months after the issuance of the divorce decree, private respondent filed two complaints for adultery before the City Fiscal of Manila alleging that, while still married to said respondent, petitioner "had an affair with a certain William Chia as early as 1982 and with yet another man named Jesus Chua sometime in 1983".

Issue:
            Whether or not the Husband of Petitioner has legal standing in the case

Held:
            No.

Ratio:
Under Article 344 of the Revised Penal Code, the crime of adultery cannot be prosecuted except upon a sworn written complaint filed by the offended spouse. Private respondent, being no longer the husband of petitioner for having obtained a valid divorce decree in Germany, had no legal standing to commence the adultery case under the imposture that he was the offended spouse at the time he filed suit.


Submitted by: G-one T. Paisones
Submitted to: Atty. Cisco Franz S. Maclang


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