Letter.docx

TO FROM DATE RE

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TERESA THE WIFE juan dela cruz March 11, 2019 Query on the validity of your marriage with Mateo

Dear Mrs. Teresa:

Your marriage took place on January 12, 1965. Twenty years have passed since you got married, you still did not have a child because of unhealthy married life. A year after your marriage, you noticed a sudden change in Mateo’s personality which made you doubt his sincerity and love. It was also stated that he was always partying and was even seeing his exgirlfriends. This led you to think that Mateo was psychologically incapacitated. In addition, you also said that your marriage license is not valid because you discovered that the Civil Registrar has never issued the marriage license number that you have. This refers to your query on the validity of your marriage with Mateo as regards your marriage license and his psychological incapacity as the issue. As I have understood you from the facts you stated and your documents, the circumstances which led to this are as follows: With the foregoing facts, you want know: whether you can contract a subsequent marriage given the fact that your marriage was void because of your invalid marriage license and his psychological incapacity. According to Article 321 of the Family Code of the Philippines, one of three formal requisites of marriage is a valid marriage license. Article 4 of the same code provides that an irregularity in the formal requisites shall not affect the validity of the marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable. It is the duty of the State to promote the sanctity of marriage as an inviolable social institution pursuant to Article 1 of the Family Code which states, “Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code.”

As to the issue of Mateo’s psychological incapacity: Article 212 of the Family Code of the Philippines provides that: “A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.”

Applying these in your case, your discovery that the civil registrar has not issued the marriage license that you have could be a mere irregularity in your marriage license and it is the responsibility of that said officer to bear the consequence of not issuing it – be it administratively, civilly, or criminally. That mere defect, however, is not a valid ground of declaring your marriage void ab initio or void from the beginning, but it merely concerns the person liable for the said defect. Therefore, there can be no chance to nullify your marriage with respect to your invalid marriage license as a ground. As I have discussed above, the State protects the inviolability of marriage and it could not be nullified that simple. I would also like to address the arguments or issues that can also be raised against you. With all due respect, your relationship with Fred could be a cause of a complaint against you by Mateo. You can be criminally prosecuted for charges like adultery from the Revised Penal Code which provides: “Adultery is committed by any married woman who shall have sexual intercourse with a man not her husband and by the man who has carnal knowledge of her knowing her to be married, even if the marriage be subsequently declared void.” To safeguard your rights, it is best that you settle matters amicably with Mateo in order that you can