Loria V Felix

LORIA V FELIX
-Matea and Felix lived together as wife and husband at Cabrera Street, Pasay City. They
acquired properties but had no children.
Matea became seriously ill. Knowing her critical condition, two young ladies of legal age
dedicated to the service of God, visited and persuaded her to go to confession. They fetched
Father Gerardo Bautista, Catholic parish priest of Pasay.
The latter, upon learning that Matea is living with Felix without benefit of marriage, the priest
asked both parties to ratify their union according to the rites of his Church. Both agreed. then
solemnized their marriage in articulo mortis. Carmen and Judith acting as sponsors or witnesses.
-Matea recovered from her sickness; but subsequently she still died.
-Arsenio de Loria and Ricarda de Loria filed this complaint to compel defendant to an
accounting and to deliver the properties left by the deceased They are grandchildren of sister of
Matea. Claim to be the only surviving forced heirs of the latter.
- Felix resisted the action, setting up his rights as widower
- Plaintiffs-Appellees contend that the same was not in articulo mortis, because Matea de la Cruz
was not then on the point of death
- Fr. Bautista clearly testified, however, that her condition at the time was bad; she was bed-
ridden; and according to his observation, she might die at any moment.
The appellants' contention of invalidity rests on these propositions:

-There was no "marriage contract" signed by the wedded couple the witnesses and the priest,
- The priest filed no affidavit, nor recorded the marriage with the local civil registry.
Issue:
Whether or not the marriage is valid
Held:
The Marriage Law itself enumerates the causes for annulment of marriage. Failure to sign the
marriage contract is not one of them. Bearing in mind that the "essential requisites for marriage
are the legal capacity of the contracting parties and their consent", the latter being manifested by
the declaration of "the parties" "in the presence of the person solemnizing the marriage and of
two witnesses of legal age that they take each other as husband and wife" - which in this case
actually occurred. We think the signing of the marriage contract or certificate was required by
the statute simply for the purpose of evidencing the act.
"The mere fact that the parish priest who married the plaintiff's natural father and mother, while
the latter was in articulo mortis, failed to send a copy of the marriage certificate to the municipal
secretary, does not invalidate said marriage, since it does not appear that in the celebration
thereof all requisites for its validity were not present, the forwarding of a copy of the marriage
certificate not being one of the requisites." (Jones vs. Hortiguela, 64 Phil. 179.) See also
Madridejo vs. De Leon, 55 Phil. 1.
Hilario v. Miranda
G.R. No. 196499, Nov. 28, 2018
Evidence on record disclosed, that days before his death on August 20, 1974, Antonio
Belloc was already confined in the Cebu Community Hospital in Cebu City. When he was
visited by his friend and neighbor, plaintiff's rebuttal witness, Alfredo Bacacao, on August
20, 1974 at about 10:40 A.M.,in his death bed, he was not only seriously ill, but was in a
comatose condition, could no longer talk and was hovering between life and death or at
the point of death so to speak, and in his death bed, was his live-in partner, Silveria
Retiza. In the afternoon of the same day, about 4:15 P.M. he expired.
It was alleged that sometime before 10:00 A.M. or thereafter, that day, but before his
death in the afternoon, he was taken out from the hospital and brought to San Nicolas
Parish which is very far from the hospital, where he was married with his live-in partner
before one Rev. Fr. Nicolas Batucan.
Issue: Whether or not the marriage in articulo mortis was valid
Held: Even assuming for the sake of argument, without, however, admitting, that the
marriage between deceased Antonio Belloc and his live-in partner Silveria Retiza was
done in Articulo Mortis, whether the same took place inside Cebu Community Hospital or
in the church of San Nicolas Parish, such marriage could not be considered legally valid
for the simple reason that one of the essential elements in valid marriage which is consent,
to be freely given, was totally wanting or not present as said Antonio Belloc was then
unconscious and under comatose condition and was hovering between life and death.
Hence, he cannot give his consent freely.
Antonio Belloc was already confined in the Cebu Community Hospital in Cebu City that
days before his death on August 20, 1974

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LORIA V FELIX

The appellants' contention of invalidity rests on these propositions:

Issue: Whether or not the marriage in articulo mortis was valid

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