Double trouble

A LAW EACH DAY (Keeps Trouble Away) By Jose C. Sison (The Philippine Star) | June 4, 2014

A marriage contracted by a person who is already married is bigamous and therefore

could be declared a nullity. But can the petition still be filed and granted if the first
spouse is already dead? This is the issue raised in this case of Kenso.

Kenso was a Japanese national who always visits the Philippines on a tour. In one of
his visits, he met Lani, a jobless Pinay who had been living in poverty. Lani introduced
herself to Kenso as single and has never been married before. Since then the two
became close to each other. So when Kenso came back to the Philippines, he married
Lani. After the marriage, the couple went back to Japan and resided there.
About two years later, Kenso noticed that Lani was always sad and looked so
depressed. Sensing that something tragic must have happened in the Philippines, he
confronted his wife about it. To his shock Lani confessed to him that she was already
married and received the news that her first husband had passed away.

So the couple went back to the Philippines and Kenso tried to confirm the truth of his
wife’s confession. He discovered that Lani was indeed married to a certain Mario and
that their marriage took place eight years before he married Lani. So he filed a petition
in the Regional Trial Court for the declaration of his marriage to Lani as null and void on
the ground that it is bigamous.
Aside from his testimony, Kenso presented the certificates issued by the National
Statistics Office particularly the following: their certificate of marriage; the marriage
certificate of Lani and her first husband Mario; the death certificate of Mario; and the
NSO certification to the effect that there are two entries of marriage recorded in its office
pertaining to Lani. Can Kenso’s petition be granted even if Lani’s first marriage has
already been dissolved with the death of Mario?

Yes, The documents submitted by Kenso which are public documents and therefore
admissible in evidence undoubtedly prove that Lani was married to Mario when she
contracted a second marriage to Kenso; that there was no judicial declaration of nullity
of Lani’s marriage to Mario when she got married to Kenso; that it was only on the death
of Mario when Lani’s marriage to him was dissolved.

So Lani’s marriage to Kenso is null and void since his first marriage to Mario was valid
and subsisting when they got married. Before a valid and subsequent marriage can be
contracted, a judicial declaration of nullity of the first marriage is required. Otherwise
what transpires is a marriage void from the beginning as provided in Article 35 (4) of the
Family Code of the Philippines (Iwasawa vs. Gangan, G.R. 204169, September 11,
2013, 705 SCRA, 669)