Halog vs. Halog, G.R. No. 231695. October 06, 2021 LAZARO-JAVIER, J. [Case Digest]

 

Halog vs. Halog,

G.R. No. 231695. October 06, 2021

LAZARO-JAVIER, J.

[Case Digest]

Facts:

            Ma. Virginia testified that she and Wilbur met through a mutual friend. They started as phone pals until they eventually became sweethearts. The first few years of their relationship went smoothly. She was happy that she found someone who provided her with special attention. But later on, the intimacy died down. Frequent misunderstandings ensued between them and Wilbur became temperamental whenever she could not meet his demands.

            They got married on June 12, 1993. While preparing for their wedding, she discovered that Wilbur was having an affair with another woman. But she decided to push through with the wedding to spare her family from the shame and scandal. She stuck to their relationship as she was blinded by her eagerness to maintain what they had, holding onto the hope that Wilbur would change and mend his ways.

            The early stage of their marriage was full of arguments and quarrels. Wilbur would always tell her that he regretted marrying her and that he was not ready for marriage. Being the eldest son, he still had to provide for his family.

            With so much resentment from Wilbur, the love and intimacy between them diminished further. Wilbur became cold and inactive in their sex life, albeit he would engage in extra-marital affairs. Whenever she confronted him about his infidelity, he would ask for forgiveness. And she would forgive him each time. But Wilbur did not change his ways. He continued having an illicit affair with his secretary.

            When they encountered financial difficulties, Wilbur became habitually irritable and more abusive, to the point that once he aimed his gun at her in the midst of their heated argument. He would abuse her even in the presence of their three (3) children.

            In 2005, Wilbur went to Qatar for work so he entrusted to her his network business. Their relationship improved at first and they were again in constant communication. But this period of tranquility did not last. Since she was not knowledgeable of Wilbur's business, he would call her an idiot or stupid whenever she would make a mistake.

            Eventually, Wilbur stopped showing concern for his family. When she told Wilbur that their daughter got diagnosed with dyslexia, he did not care. He even blamed her for their daughter's condition and avoided any responsibility towards their children. He also stopped providing financial support for their subsistence. Considering the many abuses she already suffered in his hands, she, too, had stopped expecting any form of love and concern from him.

            In 2006, she learned that he had been cohabiting with another woman, one Wiley Adolfo Sibulo whom he married in Doha, Qatar on December 14, 2006. The Philippine Embassy in Doha, Qatar issued a report of their marriage and the birth of their child. She and Wilbur had since gotten separated.

            Petitioner's eldest brother Joseph C. Del Rosario testified that his sister had inferiority complex and low self-esteem. She preferred to be alone and isolated because she felt she was the least smart and least favored child of her parents. As a brother, he reached out to her so she eventually became comfortable with him. Their parents tolerated Virginia's attitude and followed her wishes most of the time.

            Jessica Curry Josef testified that she is Ma. Virginia's close friend and confidant. She knew Virginia and Wilbur even before they got married. Virginia would confide her relationship problems to her, including Wilbur's philandering and physical abuses. She corroborated Ma. Virginia's testimony on material points.

            Dr. Melchor C. Gomintong issued his Psychiatric Evaluation Report on Ma. Virginia and Wilbur. He personally examined Virginia and found her to be suffering from Avoidant Personality Disorder. He tried to contact Wilbur for an examination but his efforts proved futile. He nonetheless did a collateral interview with Joseph and Jessica on separate occasions. Finding the information he gathered from them adequate, he diagnosed Wilbur with Anti-Social Personality Disorder. Both Ma. Virginia and Wilbur, therefore, were psychologically incapacitated to perform their marital obligations.

            RTC granted the petition on ground of Wilbur's alleged psychological incapacity. It found that contrary to the assessment of Dr. Gomintong, Ma. Virginia was not suffering from any psychological incapacity. There is nothing wrong with her behavior as her actions only manifested her genuine commitment to Wilbur and her love for their family.  Court of Appeals reversed. It held that Dr. Gomintong's report was insufficient to establish Wilbur's psychological incapacity. For his conclusions were solely based on information fed to him by only one of the parties. He did not use independent evidence to show Wilbur's incapacity; only the allegations of Ma. Virginia, her brother, and her friend were used, albeit the same were merely collateral and hardly objective.

           

 

Issue:

            Did the evidence on record sufficiently support the petition of Ma. Virginia D.R. Halog for declaration of nullity of her marriage with Wilbur Francis G. Halog on ground of psychological incapacity?

 

Held:

            Yes; psychological incapacity consists of clear acts of dysfunctionality that show a lack of understanding and concomitant compliance with one's essential marital obligations due to psychic causes. It is not a medical illness that has to be medically or clinically identified; hence, an expert opinion is not required.

As an explicit requirement of the law, the psychological incapacity must be shown to have been in existence at the time of the celebration of the marriage, and is caused by a durable aspect of one's personality structure, one that was formed before the parties married.

To prove psychological incapacity, a party must present clear and convincing evidence of its existence.

            As for the three (3) main criteria for psychological incapacity – gravity, incurability and juridical antecedence, Tan-Andal set new parameters in appreciating these elements. As stated, "gravity" still has to be established, if only to preclude spouses from invoking mild characterological peculiarities, mood changes, occasional emotional outbursts as ground for nullity. Meanwhile, "incurability," too, should be understood in the legal sense. So long as couple's respective personality structures are so incompatible and antagonistic that the only result of the union would be the inevitable breakdown of the marriage, the psychological incapacity of a spouse or both spouses is deemed "incurable." Finally, "juridical antecedence" or the existence of the condition prior to the celebration of marriage, is a statutory requirement which must be proven by the spouse alleging psychological incapacity.

           

            Ma. Virginia sufficiently established that her marriage with Wilbur should be nullified on ground of the latter's psychological incapacity.

            Here, there is clear and convincing evidence that Wilbur is psychologically incapacitated from discharging his duties as husband to Ma. Virginia and father to their three (3) children. His condition was present even before he celebrated his marriage to Virginia, rendering their marital union void ab initio.

            a. Manifestations of Wilbur's psychological incapacity - Ma. Virginia's brother Joseph corroborated her testimony. He testified that he meets up with Ma. Virginia about twice a month and they also see each other in their parents' house during special occasions. Whenever they meet, Ma. Virginia would tell him about her marital problems with Wilbur. She would confide in him regarding the physical abuse she had been suffering in the hands of her husband. She also narrated how she got traumatized when Wilbur poked a gun at her during a heated altercation. Joseph also saw bruises and dark marks on different parts of Ma. Virginia's face and body. When asked where she got those from, Ma. Virginia answered that they were caused by her husband Wilbur.

            b. Wilbur is psychologically incapacitated in the legal sense

            First - Juridical Antecedence (i.e. the condition existed prior to the celebration of marriage):            Wilbur's condition has juridical antecedence since his philandering ways were manifest even before the celebration of his marriage with Ma. Virginia. While he and Ma. Virginia were already in a boyfriend – girlfriend relationship, he too had a similar affairs with other women. In fact, just before they, got married, he engaged in a last minute amorous affair. But what he did while working in Qatar beginning 2005 was the worst form of infidelity. He married another woman in December 2006.

            Second – Gravity (i.e. the condition cannot be categorized as mild characterological peculiarities, mood changes, and occasional emotional outbursts): Wilbur resented Ma. Virginia and it showed. He never accorded her the love and respect that was due to her as his wife and partner. He was even vocal about it. Thus, at the early stage of their marriage, Wilbur would always tell Ma. Virginia how he regretted marrying her. He too would repeatedly get caught cheating on his wife with another woman. By poking a gun at Ma. Virginia, Wilbur, too, showed utter disregard to the life of his wife and mother of their children. Finally, the fact that he was willing to marry another woman and have a child with her only about a year after he left for Qatar speaks volumes of his eagerness to sever his relationship with Ma. Virginia and their children, leaving them in the past. Surely, we cannot, by any means, consider Wilbur's condition a mild characterological peculiarity.

            Finally – Incurability (i.e., the couple's respective personality structures are so incompatible and antagonistic that the only result of the union would be the inevitable breakdown of the marriage): Wilbur's condition is also "incurable" in the legal sense since he consistently failed to commit to his relationship with Ma. Virginia. Though Ma. Virginia was aware of Wilbur's affairs and confronted him each time, he always succeeded in making her believe that he would change his ways, but never did. He continued having extramarital relations with women, including his secretary. In the end, he abandoned his wife and children for another woman.