Republic v. Galang (Case Digest. G.R. No. 168335)
CASE DIGEST: REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES, Petitioner, v. NESTOR GALANG, Respondent.
FACTS: On March 9, 1994, the respondent and Juvy contracted marriage in Pampanga. They resided in the house of the respondent's father in San Francisco, Mabalacat, Pampanga. The respondent worked as an artist-illustrator at the Clark Development Corporation, earning P8,500.00 monthly. Juvy, on the other hand, stayed at home as a housewife. They have one child, Christopher.
On August 4, 1999, the respondent filed with the RTC a petition for the declaration of nullity of his marriage with Juvy, under Article 36 of the Family Code, as amended. He alleged that Juvy was psychologically incapacitated to exercise the essential obligations of marriage, as she was a kleptomaniac and a swindler. He claimed that Juvy stole his ATM card and his parents' money, and often asked money from their friends and relatives on the pretext that Christopher was confined in a hospital. According to the respondent, Juvy suffers from "mental deficiency, innate immaturity, distorted discernment and total lack of care, love and affection [towards him and their] child." He posited that Juvy's incapacity was "extremely serious" and "appears to be incurable."
In his testimony, the respondent alleged that he was the one who prepared their breakfast because Juvy did not want to wake up early; Juvy often left their child to their neighbors' care; and Christopher almost got lost in the market when Juvy brought him there.
The respondentfurther stated that Juvy squandered the P15,000.00 heentrustedtoher. HeaddedthatJuvy stolehisATM card and falsified his signature to encash the check representing his (the respondent's) father's pension. He, likewise, stated that he caught Juvy playing "mahjong" and "kuwaho" three (3) times. Finally, he testified that Juvy borrowed money from their relatives on the pretense that their son was confined in a hospital.
Aside from his testimony, the respondent also presented Anna Liza S. Guiang, a psychologist, who testified that she conducted a psychological test on the respondent. In her Psychological Report, the psychologist made the following findings:
Psychological Test conducted on client Nestor Galang resembles an emotionally-matured individual. He is well-adjusted to the problem he meets, and enable to throw-off major irritations but manifest[s] a very low frustration tolerance which means he has a little ability to endure anxiety and the client manifests suppressed feelings and emotions which resulted to unbearable emotional pain, depression and lack of self-esteem and gained emotional tensions caused by his wife's behavior.
The incapacity of the defendant is manifested [in] such a manner that the defendant-wife: (1) being very irresponsible and very lazy and doesn't manifest any sense of responsibility; (2) her involvement in gambling activities such as mahjong and kuwaho; (3) being an estafador which exhibits her behavioral and personality disorders; (4) her neglect and show no care attitude towards her husband and child; (5) her immature and rigid behavior; (6) her lack of initiative to change and above all, the fact that she is unable to perform her marital obligations as a loving, responsible and caring wife to her family. There are just few reasons to believe that the defendant is suffering from incapacitated mind and such incapacity appears to be incorrigible.
The RTC nullified the parties' marriage in its decision of January 22, 2001.
The CA, in its decision dated November 25, 2004, affirmed the RTC decision in toto.
The CA held that Juvy was psychologically incapacitated to perform the essential marital obligations. It explained that Juvy's indolence and lack of sense of responsibility, coupled with her acts of gambling and swindling, undermined her capacity to comply with her marital obligations. In addition, the psychologist characterized Juvy's condition to be permanent, incurable and existing at the time of the celebration of her marriage with the respondent.ISSUE: Should the marriage be annulled on the ground of psychological incapacity?
HELD: In the present case and using the above guidelines, we find the totality of the respondent's evidence - the testimonies of the respondent and the psychologist, and the latter's psychological report and evaluation -insufficient to prove Juvy's psychological incapacity pursuant to Article 36 of the Family Code.
The respondent's testimony merely showed that Juvy: (a) refused to wake up early to prepare breakfast; (b) left their child to the care of their neighbors when she went out of the house; (c) squandered a huge amount of the P15,000.00 that the respondent entrusted to her; (d) stole the respondent's ATM card and attempted to withdraw the money deposited in his account; (e) falsified the respondent's signature in order to encash a check; (f) made up false stories in order to borrow money from their relatives; and (g) indulged in gambling.
These acts, to our mind, do not per se rise to the level of psychological incapacity that the law requires. We stress that psychological incapacity must be more than just a "difficulty," "refusal" or "neglect" in the performance of some marital obligations. In Republic of the Philippines v. Norma Cuison-Melgar, et al., we ruled that it is not enough to prove that a spouse failed to meet his responsibility and duty as a married person;itis essential thathe or she must be shown to beincapable of doing so because of some psychological, not physical, illness. In other words, proof of a natal or supervening disabling factor in the person - an adverse integral element in the personality structure that effectively incapacitatestheperson fromreallyaccepting and thereby complying with the obligations essential to marriage- had to be shown. A cause has to be shown and linked with the manifestations of the psychological incapacity.
Separately from the lack of the requisite factual basis, the psychologist's report simply stressed Juvy's negative traits which she considered manifestations of Juvy's psychological incapacity (e.g., laziness, immaturity and irresponsibility; her involvement in swindling and gambling activities; and her lack of initiative to change), and declared that "psychological findings tend to confirm that the defendant suffers from personality and behavioral disorders x x x she doesn't manifest any sense of responsibility and loyalty, and these disorders appear to be incorrigible." In the end, the psychologist opined - without stating the psychological basisfor her conclusion - that"thereis sufficient reason to believe that the defendant wife is psychologically incapacitated to perform her marital duties as a wife and mother to their only son."
We find this kind of conclusion and report grossly inadequate. First, we note that the psychologist did not even identify the types of psychological testswhichshe administered on the respondent andthe root cause ofJuvy's psychological condition. We also stress that the acts alleged to have been committed by Juvy all occurred during the marriage; there was no showing that any mental disorder existed at the inception of the marriage. Second,the reportfailed to prove the gravity or severity of Juvy's alleged condition, specifically, why and to what extent the disorder is serious, and how it incapacitated her to comply with her marital duties. Significantly, the report did not even categorically state the particular type of personality disorder found.Finally, the report failed to establish the incurability of Juvy's condition. The report's pronouncements that Juvy "lacks the initiative to change" and that her mental incapacity "appears incorrigible" are insufficient to prove that her mental condition could not be treated, or if it were otherwise, the cure would be beyond her means to undertake.
The Constitution sets out a policy of protecting and strengthening the family as the basic social institution, and marriage is the foundation of the family. Marriage, as an inviolable institution protected by the State, cannot be dissolved at the whim of the parties. In petitions for the declaration of nullity of marriage, the burden of proof to show the nullity of marriage lies with the plaintiff. Unless the evidence presented clearly reveals a situation where the parties, or one of them, could not have validly entered into a marriage by reason of a grave and serious psychological illness existing at the time it was celebrated, we are compelled to uphold the indissolubility of the marital tie.
FACTS: On March 9, 1994, the respondent and Juvy contracted marriage in Pampanga. They resided in the house of the respondent's father in San Francisco, Mabalacat, Pampanga. The respondent worked as an artist-illustrator at the Clark Development Corporation, earning P8,500.00 monthly. Juvy, on the other hand, stayed at home as a housewife. They have one child, Christopher.
On August 4, 1999, the respondent filed with the RTC a petition for the declaration of nullity of his marriage with Juvy, under Article 36 of the Family Code, as amended. He alleged that Juvy was psychologically incapacitated to exercise the essential obligations of marriage, as she was a kleptomaniac and a swindler. He claimed that Juvy stole his ATM card and his parents' money, and often asked money from their friends and relatives on the pretext that Christopher was confined in a hospital. According to the respondent, Juvy suffers from "mental deficiency, innate immaturity, distorted discernment and total lack of care, love and affection [towards him and their] child." He posited that Juvy's incapacity was "extremely serious" and "appears to be incurable."
In his testimony, the respondent alleged that he was the one who prepared their breakfast because Juvy did not want to wake up early; Juvy often left their child to their neighbors' care; and Christopher almost got lost in the market when Juvy brought him there.
The respondentfurther stated that Juvy squandered the P15,000.00 heentrustedtoher. HeaddedthatJuvy stolehisATM card and falsified his signature to encash the check representing his (the respondent's) father's pension. He, likewise, stated that he caught Juvy playing "mahjong" and "kuwaho" three (3) times. Finally, he testified that Juvy borrowed money from their relatives on the pretense that their son was confined in a hospital.
Aside from his testimony, the respondent also presented Anna Liza S. Guiang, a psychologist, who testified that she conducted a psychological test on the respondent. In her Psychological Report, the psychologist made the following findings:
Psychological Test conducted on client Nestor Galang resembles an emotionally-matured individual. He is well-adjusted to the problem he meets, and enable to throw-off major irritations but manifest[s] a very low frustration tolerance which means he has a little ability to endure anxiety and the client manifests suppressed feelings and emotions which resulted to unbearable emotional pain, depression and lack of self-esteem and gained emotional tensions caused by his wife's behavior.
The incapacity of the defendant is manifested [in] such a manner that the defendant-wife: (1) being very irresponsible and very lazy and doesn't manifest any sense of responsibility; (2) her involvement in gambling activities such as mahjong and kuwaho; (3) being an estafador which exhibits her behavioral and personality disorders; (4) her neglect and show no care attitude towards her husband and child; (5) her immature and rigid behavior; (6) her lack of initiative to change and above all, the fact that she is unable to perform her marital obligations as a loving, responsible and caring wife to her family. There are just few reasons to believe that the defendant is suffering from incapacitated mind and such incapacity appears to be incorrigible.
The RTC nullified the parties' marriage in its decision of January 22, 2001.
The CA, in its decision dated November 25, 2004, affirmed the RTC decision in toto.
The CA held that Juvy was psychologically incapacitated to perform the essential marital obligations. It explained that Juvy's indolence and lack of sense of responsibility, coupled with her acts of gambling and swindling, undermined her capacity to comply with her marital obligations. In addition, the psychologist characterized Juvy's condition to be permanent, incurable and existing at the time of the celebration of her marriage with the respondent.ISSUE: Should the marriage be annulled on the ground of psychological incapacity?
HELD: In the present case and using the above guidelines, we find the totality of the respondent's evidence - the testimonies of the respondent and the psychologist, and the latter's psychological report and evaluation -insufficient to prove Juvy's psychological incapacity pursuant to Article 36 of the Family Code.
The respondent's testimony merely showed that Juvy: (a) refused to wake up early to prepare breakfast; (b) left their child to the care of their neighbors when she went out of the house; (c) squandered a huge amount of the P15,000.00 that the respondent entrusted to her; (d) stole the respondent's ATM card and attempted to withdraw the money deposited in his account; (e) falsified the respondent's signature in order to encash a check; (f) made up false stories in order to borrow money from their relatives; and (g) indulged in gambling.
These acts, to our mind, do not per se rise to the level of psychological incapacity that the law requires. We stress that psychological incapacity must be more than just a "difficulty," "refusal" or "neglect" in the performance of some marital obligations. In Republic of the Philippines v. Norma Cuison-Melgar, et al., we ruled that it is not enough to prove that a spouse failed to meet his responsibility and duty as a married person;itis essential thathe or she must be shown to beincapable of doing so because of some psychological, not physical, illness. In other words, proof of a natal or supervening disabling factor in the person - an adverse integral element in the personality structure that effectively incapacitatestheperson fromreallyaccepting and thereby complying with the obligations essential to marriage- had to be shown. A cause has to be shown and linked with the manifestations of the psychological incapacity.
Separately from the lack of the requisite factual basis, the psychologist's report simply stressed Juvy's negative traits which she considered manifestations of Juvy's psychological incapacity (e.g., laziness, immaturity and irresponsibility; her involvement in swindling and gambling activities; and her lack of initiative to change), and declared that "psychological findings tend to confirm that the defendant suffers from personality and behavioral disorders x x x she doesn't manifest any sense of responsibility and loyalty, and these disorders appear to be incorrigible." In the end, the psychologist opined - without stating the psychological basisfor her conclusion - that"thereis sufficient reason to believe that the defendant wife is psychologically incapacitated to perform her marital duties as a wife and mother to their only son."
We find this kind of conclusion and report grossly inadequate. First, we note that the psychologist did not even identify the types of psychological testswhichshe administered on the respondent andthe root cause ofJuvy's psychological condition. We also stress that the acts alleged to have been committed by Juvy all occurred during the marriage; there was no showing that any mental disorder existed at the inception of the marriage. Second,the reportfailed to prove the gravity or severity of Juvy's alleged condition, specifically, why and to what extent the disorder is serious, and how it incapacitated her to comply with her marital duties. Significantly, the report did not even categorically state the particular type of personality disorder found.Finally, the report failed to establish the incurability of Juvy's condition. The report's pronouncements that Juvy "lacks the initiative to change" and that her mental incapacity "appears incorrigible" are insufficient to prove that her mental condition could not be treated, or if it were otherwise, the cure would be beyond her means to undertake.
The Constitution sets out a policy of protecting and strengthening the family as the basic social institution, and marriage is the foundation of the family. Marriage, as an inviolable institution protected by the State, cannot be dissolved at the whim of the parties. In petitions for the declaration of nullity of marriage, the burden of proof to show the nullity of marriage lies with the plaintiff. Unless the evidence presented clearly reveals a situation where the parties, or one of them, could not have validly entered into a marriage by reason of a grave and serious psychological illness existing at the time it was celebrated, we are compelled to uphold the indissolubility of the marital tie.
