Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT, BRANCH 7

8th Judicial Region

Tacloban City

JHEMERLYN D. CRUZ SPEC.PROC. CASE NO: 572

Petitioner,

vs.

LODI R. CRUZ,

Respondent.

X---------------------------------- X

PETITION

Comes now petitioner, through herein counsel unto this

Honorable Court respectfully avers that:

I, MA. GINA L. FRANCO, of legal age, married, and residing at Barangay

Tigbao, Tacloban City, and the Petitioner in this case, state under oath as
follows:

That the person examining me is ATTY. LIZA A. RAMIREZ of RAMIREZ

AND CABALLES LAW OFFICE with address at Door 21 Tessa Jane Sachse
Building, Barangay 77, Fatima Village, Tacloban City. The examination is
being held at the same address. I am answering her questions fully conscious
that I do so under oath and may face criminal liability for false testimony and
perjury.

II. OFFER OF TESTIMONY

This Judicial Affidavit/testimony of the petitioner MA. GINA
L.

FRANCO is being offered in evidence to prove the following:

1. That she is the Petitioner in this case;

2. To substantiate the material allegations in her Petition for Declaration
of Nullity of Marriage filed before this Honorable Court against her
husband, Samuel L. Franco;
 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 2

Franco v. Franco

3. To identify her sworn declarations and pertinent documents;

4. And some other purpose relevant to prove this case.

III. QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Q: Please state your name and other personal circumstances for the record.

A: I am Ma. Gina Logronio Franco, 49 years old, married, a government

employee, and a resident of Barangay Tigbao, Tacloban City.

2. Q: Are you the same Ma. Gina L. Franco who is the petitioner in this
case?

A: Yes I am.

3. Q: Do you know a certain Samuel L. Franco?

A: Yes Ma’am. I was married to him.

4. Q: Do have proof of your marriage with him?

A: Yes Ma’am. I have a Marriage Contract attached to my petition and

referred to therein as Annex “A”. We were civilly married on October 9,
1990 in Borongan, Eastern Samar.

5. Q: How did you meet him?

A: We were introduced by a friend.

6. Q: When was the first time you knew him?

 A: It was sometime of March 1986.

7. Q: Were you students when you first knew each other?

A: Yes Ma’am.

8. Q: After you first met him in March 1986, how long before you got
engaged with him?
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Franco v. Franco

A: Not so long Ma’am. He became my boyfriend in that same year. Then

by June 1987, I became pregnant.

9. Q: Did you go on a date before you got married?

A: Yes Ma’am. We dined, watched movies without chaperon and

sometimes would stay in their house.

10. Q: You mentioned you got pregnant by June 1987, what happened after
you learned of that pregnancy?

A: We went to his parents’ house in Borongan, Eastern Samar and

stayed there as live-in partners.

11. Q: Who were with you at his parents’ house?

A: His parents and siblings.

12. Q: How long were you live-in partners before you got married?

A: Since I got pregnant in June 1987 until we got married in October 9,

1990. As live-in partners, we stayed at our parents’ house for more than
three (3) years.

13. Q: After you got married where did you live as husband and wife?

A: Still at my parents-in laws’ house in Borongan. We stayed there until

year 2000.

14. Q: Do you have children with him?

A: Yes Ma’am. We have four (4) children. They are Jerome, Gemuel,
Gian Mari and Giosam who were born on February 15, 1988; February
16, 1991; March 26, 1996; and September 10, 1998 respectively. I have
copies of their Certificates of Live Birth, which were also attached to my
petition and were designated therein as Annexes “B” to “E”.
15. Q: For emphasis madam witness, would you please examine this
Marriage Contract and four Certificates of Live Birth appended to your
Petition and tell us if these are the certificates you are referring to? (The
witness was shown copies of the certificates alluded to).

A: Yes Ma’am, these are the certificates I am referring to.

 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 4

Franco v. Franco

16. Q: Madam witness, please tell us where is your husband residing now?

A: He is residing in Barangay Tamoso, Borongan City. He lives with his

third concubine where he has a new family and two (2) children.

17. Q: What about you, where do you live?

A: I am presently residing in Barangay Tigbao, here in Tacloban City.

18. Q: Do you mean Madam Witness that you are living separately with
your husband?

A: Absolutely Ma’am.

19. Q: Since when have you been living separately?

A: We have been living separately since 2000. It has been seventeen

(17) years now since we parted ways.

20. Q: Why is it that you and your husband are not living together?

A: I decided to separate with him because of his failure to perform his

marital obligations as a husband and his paternal duties to our four
children. I left him at my parents-in-laws’ house. I brought my kids with
me that time to Tacloban with the approval of his parents.

21. Q: Do you still communicate with the Respondent?

A: No Ma’am. Samuel and I did not talk since we left him in 2000. We
never had communication since then. But I allow all my children to freely
communicate with him and see him if they wish to. However we met in
2015 at my son’s wedding and just said hi.
22. Q: You earlier mentioned that the reason for your separation with your
husband was his failure to his marital obligations to you as a husband?
What made you say that?

A: Yes Ma’am. He failed to do the responsibilities and obligations of a

husband during our marriage.

23. Q: Alright Madam Witness, would you please narrate to us those things.
 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 5

Franco v. Franco

A: I would like to state the following:

a. Samuel was a lazy person; I mean he was a very lazy person. He did
not bother to find a job and earn a living for our family. We already
had a 2-year old baby and I was five months pregnant when we got
married, but he never had a job. He does not like to look for a job
because he does not like to work. He was totally dependent with his
parents. When we were still live-in partners, he relied on his parents
to support our family needs. After we got married he also relied on his
parents.

b. He was barkadista. He loves to go out with his barkadas to drink. I

cannot recall of a week that he was not out with his barkadas. When
he come home late at night and drunk, he would usually initiate a
quarrel. His parents would reprimand him, but he does not listen but
instead gets mad at them.

c. Samuel did not behave as a married man. He was often out and would
go home anytime he likes, usually very late at night if not early in the
morning. He does not care whenever I tell him to stop being very
outgoing. There were also several times that he would not come home.
One time, he left us for a month with no valid reason. He did not even
inform us his whereabouts. He cannot be contacted that time. He did
not mind that he has a family waiting for him.

d. He was a gambler. He played cards, mahjong and would go on

cockfighting, sometimes derby. Unfortunately, he always loses.
Whenever he goes home a loser, he was irritable and quarrelsome. If
ever I counsel him, he gets mad and would not listen to me. During
those times when I was still not working, he would ask money from his
mother to support his vices. However, when I was already working,
whenever his mother does not give him money because she would knew
that Samuel will just spend it for his vices, he would come to me and
ask money from me.

e. Whenever I do not give him money for his vices, he would hurt me. He
would kick me; slap me hurt me even in front of my children and
parents-in-law. I became helpless, because even his parents could not
stop him. There were times that he would steal my money and my
jewelries so he can support his vices. He indulges in all kinds of vices.
He would do every thing just to support his vices but he does not and
cannot support his family even a single centavo.
 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 6

Franco v. Franco

f. He was a heavy drug user. There was a time that I caught him using
shabu in our house. I tried to talk to him in a very calm way but he
blew in rage. So I sought the help of my parents-in-law but their efforts
did not succeed. After few days, we talked with him again because we
thought that he needs rehabilitation, but he did not cooperate, instead
blew in rage after which he left us and returned home only after a
week.

g. There were times that when I could sense he was high on drugs, he
would utter anything to me like he only married me because of my
graduation. Then he would beat me and sexually abuse me. He was
very abusive.

h. During the entire thirteen years of being together, he never showed me

love, care and did not extend any little help to me and his children. He
does help me take care of our four children. He was never concerned
about our children’s future. In fact, he did not send them to school.

i. With or with trivial reason, he was always angry especially when

under the influence of drugs. I could not understand him anymore that
I did not know what to do whenever he was home. I was already afraid
of my life because he might do anything on me whenever high on drugs.

j. Whenever he was with us at home, he was very demanding. He wants

that I should prioritize him, takes care of him, feed him, and gives him
massage and everything. He did not consider that we have four little
kids who equally need my care and attention. He was very
unreasonable.

k. He never felt remorse for his irresponsibility and insensitivity. He did

not say sorry for his misdeeds especially when he kicks and slaps me.
Then he would say that it was okay for me to be kicked and slapped
because I’m a nagger.

l. He was a womanizer. His women were also drug users. I heard a lot
of rumors of his different women. He seldom comes home because of
his concubines. But one time, my mother-in-law insisted that we have
to find out the truth behind the rumors. My mother-in-law and me went
to the house where they were living together and he was physically
there. I begged to them to stop their relationship for the sake of my
children but they continued their affair. Later I discovered that he did
not just have another
 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 7

Franco v. Franco

woman, he had concubines, which he kept hopping from one woman to

another.

24. Q: What do you usually do when he did all these negative things to you?

A: I talk to him and would point out to him that it’s not proper, especially
hurting a wife. But he was deaf and would be madder. I also would seek
the help of my parents-in-law especially his mother, but still he would not
listen. He was never concerned about my feelings, our children and his
family. Then his mother would just tell me that Samuel was always like
that, very inconsiderate even when he was younger.

25. Q: You earlier mentioned you were live-in partners for three years before
you got married. During that three years of cohabitation, were there
already manifestations of his irresponsibility and insensitivity?

A: Yes Ma’am. He did not help me take care of our baby. He did not also
extend help in household chores. He was already a vicious man and also
jealous even when I was still pregnant. He also did not support us
because it was his parents who provided for our needs. There were also
times he would not go home. He was already irresponsible when we
cohabited.

26. Q: And why did you decide to marry him if you already knew he was
irresponsible?

A: I continued my studies in Borongan at St. Joseph’s College, which

was ran by nuns. So during my last semester there, the nuns learned that
I was living with a man and had a child out of wedlock. They did not allow
me to graduate unless I will be able to provide a marriage certificate.

It was also because of my conservative belief that whoever was the first man
whom you surrendered your womanhood must be your husband. I also
thought that time that our problems were just part of the so-called adjustment
period. So I gave him more time to prove his worth by being married to him.
But the primary reason for our marriage was for the sake of my graduation.
That is why whenever Samuel and I would quarrel, he would always tell it
straight to my face that he would not have been married had it not because
of that graduation which was also true.
 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 8

Franco v. Franco

Because of that needed marriage, there were many times that I cried out for
marrying such kind of guy. If I can only turn back the time, I would rather
not graduate from college than marry a wicked and irresponsible person.

27. Q: Knowing the kind of man that you married, how come that you had
four children? Why have more children when you already knew he does
not support them?

A: Because I was hoping that someday he'll change and would come to
realize and face his responsibilities towards us, his family. In my mind I
always thought that keeping my family intact was the best thing for me to
do for the sake of my children so it never came into my mind that I would
gave up. But things changed and I realized that I need to stand up for my
children's future and for my self.

28. Q: Aside from being an irresponsible husband, you also mentioned that
he failed to perform his paternal obligations to your four children. Why
do you say so?

A: He was addicted to drugs and became a dependent. He was sexually

abusive. Sex was just like rice to him that you cannot survive without it.
He was very sexually demanding and does it in a cruel, hard, and
dreadful manner that I felt very uncomfortable and would end in pain
often. He would beat me if I refuse. He would insist that it was part of my
obligations to him, so against my will I surrender to his strength and
desires. Honestly speaking, I was helpless.

He also kept shifting from one college course to another. He took up AB

Philosophy at San Jose Recolitos Cebu City; Then he transferred to Divine
Word University and took up Civil Engineering; then AB Political Science at
Leyte Colleges. He was not able to graduate any of those three courses. After
I got pregnant, his mother told him to finish his studies but he refused.

Even if he was an undergraduate he was able to work as secretary at the

Sanggunian Panlalawigan of Borongan but he quit because of personal
reasons like he does not like the job, that his salary is meager, that he does
not have his own time.
When his mother would offer us a capital for business, he would spend it for
his vices and women. So his mother would then give it
 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 9

Franco v. Franco

to me instead. But he does not help me in our little business. There were times
that we have deliveries of fresh chickens from Tacloban City and even in the
middle of the night I have to receive the goods because they are perishable
and needs to be refrigerated. So I would call him to go home from his
mahjong session and take care of our four children who were already
sleeping but he would refuse because he was with big time people according
to him.

There were times that I would ask my son to look for him in the neighborhood.
He would tell his son to lie to me and to just tell me “sidnga hiya waray ka
makakita ha ak” (just tell her you did not see me) and would tell him to go
home.

After giving birth to my youngest son, I was able to seek employment at

DPWH Eastern Samar District Engineering Office. In order for me to work
and earn a living, I had to place my baby in a child-minding center while my
two-year old daughter was left to the care of my neighbor. I would drop them
to their designated caretakers just for me to be able to work because their
father refused to take care of them despite being jobless.

He did not provide the needs of his children. He does not mind if they can
attend school or not. He would always think that his parents and I are there
to take care of them. He was never a hands-on father. He did not take them
to school. He did not spend anything for them when he can always find money
to spend with his women and vices. He was never a father to them.

Came November 8, 2000 when I decided to make a move. With the consent
of my parents-in-law, though uncertain of the life that waits ahead of me, I
left Borongan and tried to seek approval for transfer to DPWH Palo, which
was granted. I then got my daughter Gian who was only three years old that
time. Practical wise, I left my three sons to the care of my parents-in-law
because I knew then that my meager salary of P7,000.00 would be insufficient
for all of us. While his three sons were there, he did not look after them.

Then I was transfered to Borongan again for a promotion and so I did get
back the custody of my sons and since then, they were all with me and took
care of them and all their needs.
Since we left, he never inquired our whereabouts. He did not call me nor my
kids to check how were they doing. I spent all for their education. I disciplined
them; I molded them to be responsible
 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 10

Franco v. Franco

people. Their father was never concerned about giving them a bright future.

29. Q: Did you exert efforts to save the marriage?

A: Yes Ma’am, all efforts were exerted to save the marriage but he did not
cooperate. He became worst. He had several women and spent more time
on his vices and prohibited drugs. He became more involved on any kind
of vice. Until I reached a point of realization that I need to wake up from
the dreadful thirteen long years of being with him.

30. Q: You have testified litany and procession of the behavior of your
husband towards you and your marriage Madam Witness. Do you still
love your husband?

A: No. He does not deserve my love anymore.

31. Q: If he comes back to you and asks forgiveness, will you forgive him?

A: Yes. In fact, I have forgiven him already. He need not come to me

anymore. It has been seventeen years, wounds that he created were
already healed and I can say that my life is at peace without him.

32. Q: Did you acquire personal and real properties?

A: No.

33. Q: Did you submit for psychiatric and psychological evaluations and
examinations?

A: Yes Ma’am.

ATTY. RAMIREZ: NO FURTHER QUESTIONS Ma’am save for re-direct

examination. Thank you.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this _____ of

______________at Tacloban City.

MA. GINA L. FRANCO

Affiant
 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 11

Franco v. Franco

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME on the date and place

above written.

ATTY. LIZA A. RAMIREZ

Notary Public

Tacloban City

NC Appointment No. ADM-16-073

Until December 31, 2017

Doc. No._____

Page No._____

Book No._____

Series of______

ATTESTATION

I, ATTY. LIZA A. RAMIREZ, of legal age, Filipino, single, of RAMIREZ

AND CABALLES LAW OFFICE and with office address at Door 21 Tessa
Jane Sachse Building, Barangay 77, Fatima Village, Tacloban City after being
duly sworn depose and say that:

1. I was the one who conducted the examination of witness MA. GINA
L. FRANCO at my aforementioned office in Tacloban City;
 2. I have faithfully recorded or caused to be recorded the questions I
asked and the corresponding answers that the witness gave;

3. I, nor any other person then present or assisting her coached the
witness regarding her answers.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

_______________ at Tacloban City.

ATTY. LIZA A. RAMIREZ

Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME on the date and place

above written.

Copy Furnished:
 Judicial Affidavit of the Petitioner 12

Franco v. Franco

PROSECUTOR SEAN SUYOM

Tacloban City Prosecutors Office