Civil Code: Persons, Family, and Relations Facts:

Topic: Family Code of the Philippines: Requisites of

 Jaime O. Sevilla, herein petitioner, filed a
Marriage
petition for the declaration of nullity of his
marriage to Carmelita N. Cardenas, herein
Relevant Article/s: Art 1 of the Family Code respondent, for their marriage was vitiated
Marriage is a special contract of permanent union by machination, duress, and intimidation
between a man and a woman entered in accordance employed by the respondents Carmelita and
with law for the establishment of conjugal and family her father. He was forced to sign a marriage
life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable contract with Carmelita Cardenas before a
social institution whose nature, consequences, and minister of the Gospel, Rev. Cirilo D
incidents are governed by law and not subject by Gonzales. Moreover, he alleged that there
stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix was no marriage license presented before
the property relations during the marriage within the the solemnizing officer as certified by the
limits provided by this Code. Office of the Local Civil Registrar of San
Juan, Manila. Actually, it was certified 3
Art 2 of the Family Code times on the following dates: March 11,
No marriage shall be valid unless these essential September 20, 1994, and July 25, 2000, that
marriage license no. 2770792 was nowhere
requisites are present:
to be found.
1. Legal capacity of the contracting parties who
 On the other hand, the respondent,
must be a male and a female; and
Carmelita N. Cardenas refuted these
2. Consent freely given in the presence of a
allegations of Jaime and claims that they
solemnizing officer were first civilly married on May 19, 1969,
and thereafter married at a church on May
Art 3 of the Family Code 31, 1969, at Most Holy Redeemer Parish in
The formal requisites of marriage are: Quezon City. Both were alleged to be
1. Authority of the solemnizing officer recorded in the Local Civil Registrar and
2. A valid marriage license except in cases NSO. He is estopped from invoking the lack
provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title of marriage license after having been
3. A marriage ceremony which takes place with married to her for 25 years.
the appearance of the contracting parties  The Regional Trial Court of Makati City
before the solemnizing officer and their declared the nullity of marriage of the parties
personal declaration that they take each based on the petitioner’s allegations that no
other as husband and wife in the presence marriage license was presented before a
of not less than two witnesses of legal age. solemnizing officer. And that without the said
marriage license, being one of the formal
requisites of marriage, the marriage is void
Art 4 of the Family Code
from the beginning. This was based on the 3
The absence of any of the essential or formal
certifications issued by the Local Civil
requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio,
Registrar Manila that marriage license
except as stated in Article 35(2). number 220792 was fictitious.
 Respondent appealed to the Court of
A defect in any of the essential requisites shall render Appeals which reversed and set aside the
the marriage voidable as provided in Article 45. decision of the trial court in favor of the
marriage because the Local Civil Registrar
An irregularity in the formal requisites shall not affect failed to locate the said license with due
the validity of the marriage but the party or parties effort as testified by certain Perlita Mercader
responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly, because the former Local Civil registrar had
criminally, and administratively liable. already retired. The petitioner then filed a
motion for reconsideration, but it was denied
Jaime O. Sevilla v Carmelita N. Cardenas by the Court of Appeals. thus, this case was
G.R. No. 167684, July 31, 2006 elevated to the Supreme Court.
Ponente: Justice Chico-Nazario Hence, this Petition.
Issue:
 Whether or not the certifications from the Local "The basis of human society throughout the civilized
Civil Registrar of San Juan stating that no world is x x x marriage. Marriage in this jurisdiction is
Marriage License as appearing in the marriage not only a civil contract, but it is a new relation, an
contract of the parties was issued, are sufficient institution in the maintenance of which the public is
to declare their marriage void ab initio. deeply interested. Consequently, every intendment of
the law leans toward legalizing matrimony. Persons
Ruling/s:
dwelling together in apparent matrimony are
 YES, such issuance is not sufficient. presumed, in the absence of any counter presumption
 To be given a probative value, the or evidence special to the case, to be in fact married.
certification issued by the Local Civil The reason is that such is the common order of
Registrar must be read in line with the ruling society, and if the parties were not what they thus
of Republic v CA and Casto (G.R. 103047, hold themselves out as being, they would be living in
1994). the constant violation of decency and of law. A
 In this case, the certification, to be presumption established by our Code of Civil
considered sufficient, must categorically Procedure is `that a man and a woman deporting
state that the document does not exist in his themselves as husband and wife have entered into a
office or the particular entry could not be lawful contract of marriage.' Semper praesumitur pro
found in the register despite a diligent matrimonio – Always presume marriage."30
search. This is sufficient proof of lack or
absence of record as stated in Section 28,
Rule 132 of the Rules of Court. This
implication is confirmed in the testimony of
the representative from the Office of the
Local Civil Registrar of San Juan, Ms.
Perlita Mercader, who stated that they
cannot locate the logbook due to the fact
that the person in charge of the said
logbook had already retired. Further, the
testimony of the said person was not
presented in evidence. It does not appear
on the record that the former custodian of
the logbook was deceased or missing, or
that his testimony could not be secured.
This belies the claim that all efforts to locate
the logbook or prove the material contents
therein, had been exerted. Moreover, the
absence of the logbook is not conclusive
proof of the non-issuance of Marriage
License No. 2770792. It can also mean, as
we believed true in the case at bar, that the
logbook just cannot be found. In the
absence of a showing of diligent efforts to
search for the said logbook, we cannot
easily accept that the absence of the same
also means non-existence or falsity of
entries therein. Finally, the rule is settled
that every intendment of the law or fact
leans toward the validity of the marriage, the
indissolubility of the marriage bonds. The
courts look upon this presumption with great
favor. It is not to be lightly repelled; on the
contrary, the presumption is of great weight.
Therefore, the Court, speaking thru Justice Chico-
Nazario, denied the petition with costs against the
petitioner.
Principle: