Republic vs. Calingo,
G.R. No. 212717, November 23, 2022
LAZARO-JAVIER, J.
[Case Digest]
Facts:
In
1978, Ariel and Cynthia met when the latter was still the girlfriend of the
former' s friend. After a while, Cynthia and his then boyfriend broke up. From
the conclusion of such relationship, there sprung a new one. After developing a
strong sense of sexual desire and physical attraction towards each other, Ariel
and Cynthia became a couple.
On
February 5, 1980, Ariel and Cynthia decided to get married civilly. The couple
initially lived in Paco, Manila; and later on transferred to several places
because of the alleged aggressive behavior of Cynthia.
As
they lived together, Ariel narrated that Cynthia kept herself occupied by
gossiping and reading comic books. Once, he asked Cynthia to limit her
visitation to their neighbors to gossip, but Cynthia got mad and told him there
was nothing much to do in their house.
Despite
their marital problems, Ariel and Cynthia had their church wedding on February
22, 1998. At the time of their church celebration, Cynthia was five months
pregnant. Ariel claimed that Cynthia's behavior was no different even after
their second rites. She continued to gossip and pick fights with their
neighbors.
According
to Ariel, not only did Cynthia showed aggressive behavior during their union,
but she likewise exhibited unfaithfulness. Ariel recalled that Cynthia's first
instance of marital infidelity was with Noli, their neighbor, who became close
to them. When Ariel found out about the affair, he forgave Cynthia, who
allegedly showed no remorse.
Noli
later on revealed to him that their twin children were not really Ariel's
children, but his own. Ariel then remembered one incident between him and
Cynthia wherein the latter told him "hindi mo anak ['yan,]" as she
got mad because Ariel spanked one of their children.
Cynthia's
second affair involved Louie, who was also their neighbor. Ariel testified that
he discovered Louie hiding under their marital bed and wearing his pants only.
Not
long after, Ariel reached his peak and left their conjugal abode after Cynthia
threw a knife at him, which fortunately hit the wall. Premised on Cynthia's
irritable and irascible attitude, Ariel narrated that the same took place after
he asked Cynthia to check the pressure cooker; and in the course thereof, the
pressure cooker exploded. Surprised, Cynthia got so angry and started throwing
curses at Ariel. Allegedly, Cynthia threw a knife against him which hit the
wall.
To
support his petition, Ariel secured the psychological evaluation of Dr. Arnulfo
Lopez (Dr. Lopez). The result thereof shows that Ariel possesses an emotionally
disturbed personality, but not severe enough to constitute psychological
incapacity. Dr. Lopez likewise conducted an assessment on Cynthia; and the same
revealed that Cynthia is suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder with
Histrionic Personality Disorder Features.
Psychological
Assessment of Cynthia's Personality based on the different sources of data
presented:
1.
Cynthia was severely immature.
2.
Cynthia manifested inappropriate and intense anger.
3.
Cynthia committed acts of infidelity.
4.
Cynthia was severely impulsive.
5.
Cynthia was severely stubborn and rigid and is resistant to change.
6.
Cynthia was a very irresponsible wife.
7.
Cynthia manifested Histrionic behaviors
RTC
denied the petition on the ground that the totality of evidence presented did
not prove psychological incapacity. It opined that there [was] absolutely no
showing that [Cynthia's] "defects" were already present at the
inception of the marriage or that they are incurable. Court of Appeals reversed
the foregoing dispositions and granted the petition for declaration of nullity
of marriage.
By
Decision dated March 11, 2020, the ponencia reversed the foregoing dispositions
of the appellate court. Supreme Court refuses to accept as credible the
assessment of Dr. Lopez as there was no other evidence which established the
juridical antecedence, gravity, and incurability of Cynthia's alleged
incapacity. While jurisprudence recognizes the dispensability of personal
examination of the party alleged to be suffering from psychological incapacity,
it is but necessary to provide corroborative evidence to exhibit the required
legal parameters.
Through
the present motion for reconsideration, Ariel insists that he was able to
present substantial facts and circumstances which would warrant the grant of
his Petition for Annulment; reiterates the assessments of Dr. Lopez regarding
Cynthia's personality disorders; and cites the Dissent to the main ponencia to
support his motion for reconsideration.
Issue:
Whether
SC should grant the motion for reconsideration filed by petitioner by accepting
as credible the assessment of Dr. Lopez.
Held:
Yes; as it was, the ponencia
refused to accept as credible the assessment of Dr. Lopez and
ruled that there was no other evidence which established antecedence,
gravity, and incurability of Cynthia's alleged incapacity.
But applying the recently modified guidelines
in Tan-Andal, we grant petitioner's motion for reconsideration. Consider:
I.
Ariel was able to provide clear and convincing evidence to establish
Cynthia's psychological incapacity.
Clear and convincing
evidence is less than proof beyond reasonable doubt but greater than
preponderance of evidence. Here, Ariel
presented not only his own testimony, but also offered the comprehensive
psychological evaluation expertly prepared by Dr. Lopez; judicial affidavit and
testimony of Ruben D. Kalaw; testimony of Elmer Sales, uncle-in-law of Cynthia
who has known her long before she met Ariel and with whom she lived for six (6)
years during her childhood.
Taken together, all the testimonies on record are
consistent on material points - they all establish Cynthia's personality
structure causing her psychologically incapable to fulfill her marital
obligations, as will be further discussed below.
II.
There are durable aspects of
Cynthia's personality structure that make it impossible for her to understand
and comply with her marital obligations.
Noticeably
absent from the trial court's discussion is the testimony of Elmer Sales on
Cynthia's background and personality, having known her since childhood - long
before she met Ariel. Sales is Cynthia's uncle-in-law, being the husband of her
mother Juanita Pronto-Marcellana's sister, Purita Pronto.
As shown, the testimony of Sales
accounts for Cynthia's personality even before she met Ariel. In fact, he gave
a clear picture on what we now call durable aspects of Cynthia's personality
structure which make it impossible
for
her to understand and comply with her marital obligations.
III.
Cynthia's psychological
incapacity is incurable in the legal sense.
Based
on Ariel's own testimony, he and Cynthia had persistent issues throughout their
marriage and the three (3) years they had lived together.
Cynthia
was abusive verbally and physically - she shouted at him and threw not only
curses, but also knives and other heavy objects. Since they got separated after
he caught her having extramarital affairs, they have not seen each other for
more than 20 years.
Clearly, their respective
personality structures with respect to each other as partners are so
incompatible and antagonistic that the only result of the union would be the
inevitable and irreparable breakdown of the marriage - which has already been
the case. This, despite their bona fide endeavors to reconcile and save their
marriage. Not even time could probably heal their antagonism and
incompatibility toward each other.
IV.
Cynthia's psychological
incapacity is caused by a genuinely seriously psychic cause
Cynthia's
violence and infidelity are not mild characterological peculiarities or
occasional outbursts; not mere refusal, neglect, or ill will, but are both
serious and dangerous. To repeat, she was not merely "mabunganga" but
also exhibited traits incompatible with the performance of her marital
obligations with Ariel. Consequently, such personality can be traced to a genuinely
serious psychic cause during her formative years all the way up to her
adulthood.
V.
Juridical antecedence was
established
Based
on Ariel's testimony on the persistent manifestations of Cynthia's
psychological incapacity before and during their marriage; the respective
accounts of Sales and Kalaw on Cynthia's life and experiences before she met
Ariel and before their courtship stage, respectively; and the expert assessment
of Dr. Lopez, it cannot be denied that her psychological incapacity was already
existing at the time of the celebration of marriage and had already manifested
itself even before their marriage. This evidence was corroborated by the
testimony of Elmer Sales as discussed above.
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