Petition for Marriage Annulment in the Philippines

(There is no divorce in the Philippines. However, Philippine jurisprudence allows

marriage annulment based on psychologically incapacity. What I have blogged here
is an example of a petition for nullity of marriage. Annulment has almost the same
outcome as divorce because the parties the former husband and wife can
contract another marriage again once the court decision becomes final. Annulment
in the Philippines is an expensive legal undertaking costing around 200,000 pesos
or even more. Thats quite a sum for an average Filipino couples.)

REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

___ Judicial Region

Regional Trial Court

Branch ________

Pasig City, Metro Manila

JOHN C. FABON

Petitioner,

-versus-

CIVIL CASE NO. _____

JUDICIAL DECLARATION

OF NULLITY OF MARRIAGE

MARILEN MORAN-FABON

Respondent.

xx

AFFIDAVIT
THE PARTIES
Petitioner, John C. Fabon (John for brevity) is of legal age, Filipino and presently
residing at Blk-20, Lot-5, Acacia Homes Pasig City;

Respondent, Marilen Moran-Fabon (Len for brevity) is likewise of legal age, Filipino
and is last known by the Petitioner to be residing at Block11, Lot 87, ACM Woods
Homes, Pasig City, where she may be served by notices, orders and processes of
the Honorable Court.

NATURE OF THE PETITION

In this present Petition, the Petitioner prays of this Honorable Court to declare as
null and void her marriage to Respondent on the ground of the latters psychological
incapacity.

The following pertinent and relevant Family Code provisions are the bases in the
treatise of this Petition:

Art. 36. 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 and even if such incapacity becomes manifest only
after its solemnization.

Art. 68. The husband and wife are obliged to live together, observe mutual love,
respect and fidelity, and render mutual help and support.

Art. 72. When one of the spouses neglects his or her duties to the conjugal union or
commits acts, which tend to bring danger, dishonor or injury to the other or the
Family, the aggrieved party may apply to the court for relief.

FACTS OF THE CASE

The classic love affair between Mr. Jay Felizardo and Ms. Marilen Morales started
when the latter was introduced to the petitioner through her cousin Pia. She and Jay
were workmates in National Panasonic. What started as a simple acquaintance was
followed by an intense courtship; Jay was immediately attracted to her that soon
enough he was deeply engrossed with her. Jay would often bring Marilen to and fro
in her place of work; he visited her in their house almost on a daily basis. These
adorable actuations of Jay eventually led to a romantic affair between him and the
respondent. Not for long, their secret liaison resulted in sexual intimacies between
the two, not just once, but on several occasions. These intimate moments that Jay
and Marilen shared together in the private perfumed parlor, so to speak, resulted in

the unexpected pregnancy of the latter. This turn of events changed their lives
forever.

The fruit of their lovely labor was discussed by them with their respective families.
Both families agreed that since Jay and Marilen are gainfully employed, they should
now tie the knot for the sake of their soon-to-be offspring and transformed their
amorous relationship into a marital bliss. Needless to say, Marilens pregnancy
hastened their marriage that was held on the 28th of May 1998 in a church in
Taytay, Rizal. Most members of their respective families attended the marital
ceremony. The first stages of their married life were full of happiness and
excitement, as they awaited Marilens first delivery. She and Jay lived with her
family after the wedding and her family was cordial towards him. As time passed, a
second child came, and they eventually moved in to a new house. It was a smooth
sailing for the newly-weds at first. But a gradual changed in what seemed to be a
happy union loomed in the horizon.

Their marriage, however short-lived, blessed them with two children. At the time of
their marital union Jay continued working in National Panasonic whiles his now wife
Marilen worked in the Land Bank of the Philippines. As earlier pointed out, the
marriage seemed happy in the beginning until one day the respondent asked him to
go abroad supposedly because their incomes were not enough but much to the
opposition of the petitioner. Jay did not like the idea of either him or his wife going
abroad to earn more money at the expense of the family being separated; according
to him they could live on their meager incomes for as long as the family stays
together. But because of the insistence of his wife Marilen to go abroad and to
escape from her pestering, he eventually gave in to her wish and flew to Dubai as
an overseas worker in 2004. He worked as a CNC operator in that far away country
known for its unforgiving weather.

Jay endured working hard in the harsh climate of Dubai for more than a year while
sending money religiously to Marilen way back in Manila. Everything was normal in
the beginning of their new marital arrangement Jay working in Dubai and Marilen
working in Manila at the Land Bank of the Philippines.

They communicated constantly through texting and phone calls. But this was not for
long, what appeared to be a happy arrangement at first, took an unexpected turn.
Jay noticed a sudden change of Marilens behavior: the frequent texts that she
regularly sent to him and the phone calls that she often made became far and

infrequent. There were times that when he called her up, Maricen would simply drop
the call. On certain occasions that he would call her late at night, she was not still in
the house and nowhere to be found. And whenever they would finally talk on the
phone, she was always in a hurry to stop the conversation arguing that that the
international calls was expensive even if it was Jay who was paying for them
anyway. Making the situation worse, the respondent even prevented their two
children from talking to him on the phone. But to the biggest surprise of Jay, she
had the gall to ask him for a marital separation on the phone! She made it clear to
Jay that she was ending their marriage right on the very moment they were
conversing on the phone. Jay was at a loss on Marilens strange new actuations
towards him and her seeming loss of affection towards him. The new sad
development in his married life drove him to tears and he almost lost his mind
figuring out what could be the reason for his wifes drastic decision. Did I do
something terribly wrong? This was the nagging question at the back of his tortured
mind. He could not think of anything he had done to merit such a cold treatment
from the lady she dearly loved. He however recalled what his childhood friend,
Froilan Bagares, told him about the rumors of Marilen having entertained another
man. This man was often seen driving off Marilen after work. Despite these rumors,
Jay still continued to believe that his wife still loved him, ever loyal to him, cared for
their children and valued the sanctity of their young marriage. He was wrong.

Jay went home to the Philippines in 2005 in order to find the real score and hoped to
save his marriage to Marilen. His main task of returning to the Philippines was
precisely to fix their marital union he dearly valued and for the sake of their
children. To his consternation, Marilen frankly told him that they part ways and from
then on would lead separate lives. But Jay, hopeful as he had always been,
requested the help of his relatives in the hope that Marilen would take a 360 degree
turn on her drastic decision to split up with Jay. Instead of listening to them
however, she dropped the bomb, so to speak, on him in front of their close relatives:
Jays parents and sibling and Marilens mother. Marilen made her feelings loud and
clear to Jay that she had no intention anymore to patch things up with him. She
further added that she no longer loved him, hence, the eventual separation. That
was the last straw for him, and has from then on learned to accept the faith of his
marriage to his once beloved wife. Right there, he decided to go back working
abroad. He presently has a girlfriend and he also religiously continues to give
financial support to his two children. And since then, the petitioner and the
respondent had been living separate lives.

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed that after trial,

judgment be rendered by this Honorable Court declaring the marriage between the

Petitioner and the Respondent VOID AB INITIO by reason of the psychological

incapacity of the petitioner and respondent, citing Art. 36 of the Family Code.

Other reliefs just and equitable are prayed for.

June 28, 2010

Taytay, Rizal for Pasig City

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have set hereunto my hand this ______________________,

2010, ____________________.

JOHN C. FABON

Affiant

SUBSCRIBED and sworn to before me, in the city/municipality of Taytay Rizal, this
_________ day of __________ 2009.

Doc.No.; _____

Page No.; _____

Book No.; _____

Series of 2009.

P, C and Associates Law Offices

Counsel for Petitioner

2/F MaDRIGAL Bldg. 183 Rizal Ave. Taytay Rizal

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This entry was posted on July 25, 2010 at 1:00 pm and is filed under Law.
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2 Responses to Petition for Marriage Annulment in the Philippines

Leymhan Lanzuela Says:
February 19, 2011 at 12:25 pm | Reply
hi, im 30yrs old and have a 5years old child. due to misunderstandings and personal
problems ,it has been three years ago when , my wife and i decided to live
separately. now i want to file formally our seperation,, please give me advise when
to start. thanks

mgaliacaesar Says:

July 7, 2011 at 12:47 pm | Reply

Hi. The very first step is for you to write a written account of your marriage where
we will base your petition for nullity of marriage. You will then undergo a
psychological exam from our accredited psychiatrist the result of which will be
attached to your petition. Of course, you will also provide us with the following
documents: marriage contract and birth certificates of the children if any. The cost
of the proceeding is 180K pesos. You may pay it in several instruments. Should you
have more questions, please feel free to call us at 09277884555. Thank you.