ANNULMENT 101: Philippine Annulment Law Made Easy

LESSON V: COURT PROCEDURE AND EVIDENCE TO PROVE

PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY
March 15, 2003 is the date of effectivity of the New Rule on Declaration of
Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages
promulgated by the Supreme Court. Thereafter, we wrote an article
simplifying this Rule for easy understanding to laymen (Please step-by-step
procedure here). We received numerous feedback from our web audience
that the article was very useful and informative to them. But education is a
continuing process, so is our passion and commitment to translate the law in
laymans term.
Q. Do I need a psychological report before I could file a petition for
annulment?
GTALAW: No. Generally, a psychological report is not required before you
could file the petition to declare your marriage void. It is also specified under
the New Rule that an expert opinion is not required to be alleged in the
Petition.
Q. But does your Firm require your clients to submit to a
psychological evaluation before filing the Petition?
GTALAW: Yes. The psychological report is the very foundation of your
petition. It is like going to battle fully prepared. In this case, it would be
easier for us to allege the manifestations of psychological incapacities
because these facts are already stated in the psychological Report.
Q. If I am the one filing the Petition, do I still need to take a
psychological test?
GTALAW: Yes, you have to take the test because the psychological report is
the very foundation of your Petition. In the psychological test, our resident
psychologist will determine the psychological incapacities of your husband or
even your own incapacities. We usually recommend

that you take the test prior to the filing of the Petition.
Q. I am planning to file an annulment case on the ground of the
psychological incapacity of my husband. The lawyer that I have
contacted over there told me that I can already receive the decision
after five (5) to eight (8) months. But I dont remember him
mentioning about psychological report. Do I have reason to be
suspicious?
GTALAW: Every lawyer has its own style in handling the case. We are not at
liberty to comment about it. But for your information, the Supreme Court
has already set guidelines in proving a case for a petition for nullity of
marriage on the ground of psychological incapacity.
We would like our web audience to be informed about these guidelines
which are as follows:
1. The burden of proof to show nullity of the marriage belongs to the plaintiff
and any doubt must be resolved in favor of the existence of marriage and
against its nullity.
2. The root cause of the psychological incapacity must be:
a. medically or clinically identified;
b. alleged in the complaint;
c. sufficiently proven by experts; and
d. clearly explained in the decision
3. Incapacity must be proven to be existing at the time of the celebration
of the marriage, although the manifestation need not be perceivable at such
time.
4. Such incapacity must also be shown to be medically or clinically
permanent or incurable, although the incurability may be relative only in
regard to the other spouse, not necessarily absolute against everyone of the
same sex. Furthermore, the incapacity must be relevant to the assumption
of marriage obligations, not to those not related to marriage like the exercise
of profession or employment
in a job.
5. Such illness must be grave enough to bring about the disability of the
party to assume the essential obligations of marriage.

6. The essential marital obligations must be those embraced by Articles 68

to 71 of the Family Code as regards the husband and wife as well as Articles
220, 221, and 225 of the same code in regards to parents and their children.
Such non-compliance must also be stated in the petition, proven by
evidence, and included in the text of the decision.
7. Interpretations given by the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal of the
Catholic Church in the Philippines, while not controlling or decisive, should
be given great respect by our courts.
8. The trial court must order the fiscal and the Solicitor General to appear as
counsel for the state. No decision shall be handed down unless the Solicitor
General issues a certification, which will be quoted in the decision, briefly
stating therein his reasons for his agreement or opposition, as the case may
be, to the petition. The Solicitor General, along with the prosecuting
attorney, shall submit to the court such certification within fifteen (15) days
from the date the case is deemed submitted for resolution of the court.
Obviously, an annulment case cannot be concluded in the five (5) to eight
(8) months and without the psychological report if Courts will follow the
guidelines.
Q. I was informed that my annulment case would take longer if the
Solicitor Generals Office will appeal the RTC Court decision to the
Court of Appeals. How true is this?
GTALAW: Yes, your annulment case would take longer than what is
expected. The good news is, appeal by the Solicitor General to the Court of
Appeals is not anymore mandatory under the New Rule. But sometimes, the
Solicitor General would make an Appeal to the Court of Appeals if it feels
that the proceedings in the RTC Court was patently erroneous. We would like
to take this opportunity to express our opinion that an annulment case is not
a walk in the park. We already heard so many nightmare stories about
Petitions being denied by the Court of Appeals. We would like to tell litigants
to concentrate on strengthening their cases rather than entertaining any
idea of approaching the prosecutors or judges to expedite the process of
their annulment.
Q. How long does it take to get my marriage annulled?
GTALAW: For uncontested petitions, the estimated processing time of the

annulment petition is one year and six months to two years depending on
the availability of witnesses and the courts trial dates. The case would take
longer if the Petition is contested meaning the other spouse is interposing
an opposition. Custody of children and property issues are also known
factors that cause delay. There are also factors outside of our control that
cause delay like unexpected postponements of trial due to sickness of
thejudge or the prosecutor; retirement of the judge or postponements due
to inclement weather.
Q. Am I required to appear in every Court hearing?
GTALAW: No, you are not. As petitioner, you are only required to appear
during the pre-trial conference and during your scheduled testimony in
Court.
Q. How many witnesses do we need to present in Court in order to
prove my case?
GTALAW: We need to present you as our principal witness, the
psychologist/psychiatrist as expert witness to prove the psychological
incapacity; one or two more witnesses who have personal knowledge of your
marital relations and who can affirm your story.
Q. My husband and I are planning to file the petition jointly. Will this
help expedite my case?
GTALAW: Your case will be dismissed by the Court. The New Rule says that
the petition can only be filed solely by the husband or the wife. Besides, this
is a clear evidence of collusion oragreement of the spouses to annul their
marriage, which is a ground to dismiss the petition.
Q. The public prosecutor summoned me to appear for investigation
regarding the annulment case which I filed earlier? What is this
investigation all about? Can I just send my lawyer instead?
GTALAW: This investigation is usually conducted by the prosecutor to find
out if there was an agreement or collusion between the spouses to annul
their marriage. This happens especially in
uncontested petitions when the respondent spouse did not submit his/her
Answer to the petition despite receipt of the Court Summons.
If you are in the country, I suggest that you attend the investigation
together with your lawyer. During our early years of practicing Family Law,

we have had an experience that the prosecutor submitted a Certification of

the Presence of Collusion between the parties because our client, the
petitioner, failed to attend in the investigation.
The Certification was only withdrawn by the public prosecutor when our
client appeared. However, prosecutors are very considerate if you can give a
valid excuse for not attending the investigation.