Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

National Capital Judicial Region
Makati City
Branch 54

ISHA MARTIN ERO,

Petitioner,

- Versus - Civil Case No. 18-0721

For: Declaration of Nullity of
Marriage under Art. 36 of the
Family Code

FELIPE “BABE’ ERO,

Respondent.

X-------------------------X

JUDICIAL AFFIDAVIT OF DR. DOMINGO A. REYES IV

The following direct examination of witness, DR. DOMINGO A. REYES

IV, Filipino, of legal age, and with office address at 12 Park St., Madison
Village, Makati City, was conducted by Atty. ANNA CARMELA G.
VIRTUCIO and taken on the latter’s office address at Unit 505 Peninsula
Court Bldg., Makati Avenue, cor. Paseo de Roxas, Salcedo Village, Makati
City, Metro Manila.

OFFER OF TESTIMONY

The testimony of the witness is being offered to prove the following:

1. The personal circumstances of Dr. Domingo A. Reyes IV, and his

qualifications as an expert witness.

2. Petitioner consulted the aforesaid expert witness to determine

whether her husband is suffering from psychological incapacity to
fulfill the essential marital obligations.

3. The expert witness subjected Petitioner and two (2) other informants
namely: Pilita Corrales and Elizabeth Ramsey who are both
petitioner’s and respondent’s college friends to several clinical tests to
determine the presence of psychological incapacity.

4. Upon psychological examination of the expert witness, Respondent,

Felipe “Babe” Ero was found to be suffering from PERSONALITY
DISORDER, NARCISSISTIC TYPE with underlying anti –
social traits.

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5. The aforementioned condition rendered said respondent to be
psychologically incapable of fulfilling his marital obligations.

PRELIMINARY MATTERS:

1. Q: Mr. Witness, please state your name, age, nationality and

civil status.
A: I am Domingo A. Reyes IV, 39 years old, Filipino, single

2. Q: What is your current profession?

A: I am a Physician and Clinical Psychologist.

3. Q: Where did you get your degree in psychology?

A: I got it from De La Salle University ( lagay mo din WHAT
YEAR)

4. Q: Did you take any further studies?

A: Yes. I took Masters in Psychology in New York University
and Doctor of Clinical Psychology in Teacher’s College –
Columbia University. ( lagyan mo din ng year)

5. Q: Lagyan mo din ng awards or books na napublish mo ( Q: Do you

have any other activities involving the practice of your profession?)

6. Q: How long have you been practicing your profession as a

psychologist?
A: I have been practicing as a psychologist since 2000.

7. Q: Where are you presently employed?

A: I am employed at DARFour Mental Health Care Clinic
which I own and I work there as a Clinical Psychologist since
2010.

8. Q: Where else have you worked in other than your

current employment?
A: I also worked in Polytechnic Institute of New York as a
Staff Psychologist from 2002 to 2008. Prior to that, I worked in
the The Medical City Hospital as a Staff Psychologist from the
years 2001 to 2002.

9. Q: What are the principal functions and duties you currently

hold?
A: I am the founder and owner of DARFour Mental Health
Care Clinic. I have more than 8 years of experience providing
psychotherapy to individuals, couples, families and children. In
addition, I specialize in Psychodiagnostic Assessment which is
one of the most efficient tools used by clinical psychologists all
over the world in examining a person’s mental state.

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10. Q: Have you examined married couples or persons having
psychological incapacity before?
A: Yes, I have.

11. Q: Have you been qualified to testify as an expert witness?

A: Yes, I have.

12. Q: Do you recall how many times you acted as expert witness
in cases for declaration of nullity of marriage on the ground of
psychological incapacity of one or both spouses?
A: I appear in court on an average of three working days in a
week.

13. Q: I am showing you a copy of the curriculum vitae of

Domingo A. Reyes IV, do you recognize this document?
A: Yes, that is my curriculum vitae.

ATTY. VIRTUCIO: YOUR HONOR, WE RESPECTFULLY MOVE FOR

THE MARKING OF DR. DOMINGO A. REYES’ CURRICULUM
VITAE AS EXHIBIT “A.”

TESTIMONY PROPER

14. Q: Mr. Witness, who is the petitioner in this case?

A: The petitioner is Mrs. Isha Martin Ero.

15. Q: How do you know the petitioner?

A: She came to my office for a psychological evaluation.

16. Q: To your knowledge, why did petitioner seek your

professional opinion?
A: Petitioner told me that she was having a marital problem.
In fact, she was already living apart from her husband during
the time she was consulting me. At that time, she told me that
she was contemplating on filing a petition for the declaration of
nullity of marriage under Article 36 of the Family Code against
her husband herein respondent.

17. Q: What did you do after the petitioner sought your

professional opinion?
A: At the back of my mind was the possibility of being able to
save their marriage so I instituted individual counseling on the
Petitioner with the thought that she and her husband might still
be able to resolve their issues to be able to save their marriage.
However, I found out that they have been living separately since
2017 and their emotional separation started even earlier so the
possibility of them saving their marriage is moot.

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18. Q: What were the tests that you conducted on petitioner?
A: I conducted Raven’s Progressive Matrices, Bender Visual
Motor Gestalt Test, Rorschach Psychodiagnostic Test, Draw-A-
Person, Sach’s Sentence Completion Test, Self – Analysis, and
Minnesota Multi – Phasic Personality Inventory.

19. Q: Can you please the tests that you conducted on the
petitioner?
A: Raven's Progressive Matrices is a nonverbal group test
typically used in educational settings. It is usually a 60-item test
used in measuring abstract reasoning and regarded as a non-
verbal estimate of fluid iuntelligence. It is made of 60 multiple
choice questions, listed in order of difficulty. This format is
designed to measure the test taker's reasoning ability, the
eductive ("meaning–making”) component of Spearman’s g (g is
often referred to as general intelligence). In each test item, the
subject is asked to identify the missing element that completes a
pattern. Many patterns are presented in the form of a 6×6, 4×4,
3×3, or 2×2 matrix. All of the questions on the Raven's
progressives consist of visual geometric design with a missing
piece. The test taker is given six to eight choices to pick from
and fill in the missing piece.

The Bender Gestalt Test is used to evaluate visual maturity,

visual motor integration skills, style of responding, reaction to
frustration, ability to correct mistakes, planning and
organizational skills, and motivation. Copying figures requires
fine motor skills, the ability to discriminate between visual
stimuli, the capacity to integrate visual skills with motor skills,
and the ability to shift attention from the original design to what
is being drawn.

The Rorschach test is a psychological test used to examine a

person's personality characteristics and emotional functioning.
It has been employed to detect underlying thought disorder,
especially in cases where patients are reluctant to describe their
thinking processes openly. The administrator and subject
typically sit next to each other at a table, with the administrator
slightly behind the subject. Side-by-side seating of the examiner
and the subject is used to reduce any effects of inadvertent cues
from the examiner to the subject. In other words, side-by-side
seating mitigates the possibility that the examiner will
accidentally influence the subject's responses. This is to
facilitate a "relaxed but controlled atmosphere". There are ten
official inkblots, each printed on a separate white card,
approximately 18 by 24 cm in size. Each of the blots has near
perfect bilateral symmetry. Five inkblots are of black ink, two
are of black and red ink and three are multicolored, on a white
background. After the test subject has seen and responded to all

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of the inkblots (free association phase), the tester then presents
them again one at a time in a set sequence for the subject to
study: the subject is asked to note where he sees what he
originally saw and what makes it look like that (inquiry phase).
The subject is usually asked to hold the cards and may rotate
them. Whether the cards are rotated, and other related factors
such as whether permission to rotate them is asked, may expose
personality traits and normally contributes to the
assessment. As the subject is examining the inkblots, the
psychologist writes down everything the subject says or does, no
matter how trivial. Analysis of responses is recorded by the test
administrator using a tabulation and scoring sheet and, if
required, a separate location chart. The general goal of the test
is to provide data about cognition and personality variables
such as motivations, response tendencies, cognitive
operations, affectivity, and personal/interpersonal perceptions.
The underlying assumption is that an individual will class
external stimuli based on person-specific perceptual sets, and
including needs, base motives, conflicts, and that this clustering
process is representative of the process used in real-life
situations.

Draw a person test involves the administrator requesting

children to complete three individual drawings on separate
pieces of paper. Children are asked to draw a man, a woman,
and themselves. No further instructions are given and the child
is free to make the drawing in whichever way he/she would like.
There is no right or wrong type of drawing, although the child
must make a drawing of a whole person each time — i.e. head to
feet, not just the face. The test has no time limit; however,
children rarely take longer than about 10 or 15 minutes to
complete all three drawings. Harris's book (1963) provides
scoring scales which are used to examine and score the child's
drawings. The test is completely non-invasive and non-
threatening to children, which is part of its appeal. The purpose
of the test is to assist professionals in inferring
children's cognitive developmental levels with little or no
influence of other factors such as language barriers or special
needs. Any other uses of the test are merely projective and are
not endorsed by the first creator.

Sentence completion tests are a class of semi-structured

projective techniques. Sentence completion tests typically
provide respondents with beginnings of sentences, referred to
as "stems", and respondents then complete the sentences in
ways that are meaningful to them. The responses are believed to
provide indications of attitudes, beliefs, motivations, or other
mental states. Therefore, sentence completion technique, with
such advantage, promotes the respondents to disclose their

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concealed feelings. Notwithstanding, there is debate over
whether or not sentence completion tests elicit responses from
conscious thought rather than unconscious states. This debate
would affect whether sentence completion tests can be
strictly categorized as projective tests.

Self – Analysis Test is a way to learn about a peron’s

character and personality traits by gathering data that includes
information about his or her work-related values, interests,
personality type, and aptitudes.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory

(MMPI) is a psychological test that assesses personality traits
and psychopathology. It is primarily intended to test people
who are suspected of having mental health or other clinical
issues.

The MMPI is designed with 10 clinical scales which assess 10

major categories of abnormal human behavior, and four validity
scales, which assess the person’s general test-taking attitude
and whether they answered the items on the test in a truthful
and accurate manner. The MMPI is made up 10 clinical
subscales, which are a result of answering certain questions on
the test in a specific manner:

a. Hypochondriasis (Hs) – The Hypochondriasis scale tapes a

wide variety of vague and nonspecific complaints about bodily
functioning. These complaints tend to focus on the abdomen
and back, and they persist in the face of negative medical tests.
There are two primary factors that this subscale measures —
poor physical health and gastrointestinal difficulties. The scale
contains 32 items.

b. Depression (D) – The Depression scale measures clinical

depression, which is characterized by poor morale, lack of hope
in the future, and a general dissatisfaction with one’s life. The
scale contains 57 items.

c. Hysteria (Hy) – The Hysteria scale primarily measures five

components — poor physical health, shyness, cynicism,
headaches and neuroticism. The subscale contains 60 items.

d. Psychopathic Deviate (Pd) – The Psychopathic Deviate scale

measures general social maladjustment and the absence of
strongly pleasant experiences. The items on this scale tap into
complaints about family and authority figures in general, self
alienation, social alienation and boredom. The scale contains 50
items.

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e. Masculinity/Femininity (Mf) – The Masculinity/Femininity
scale measures interests in vocations and hobbies, aesthetic
preferences, activity-passivity and personal sensitivity. It
measures in a general sense how rigidly a person conforms to
very stereotypical masculine or feminine roles. The scale
contains 56 items.

f. Paranoia (Pa) – The Paranoia scale primarily measures

interpersonal sensitivity, moral self-righteousness and
suspiciousness. Some of the items used to score this scale are
clearly psychotic in that they acknowledge the existence of
paranoid and delusional thoughts. This scale has 40 items.

g. Psychasthenia (Pt) -The Psychasthenia scale is intended to

measure a person’s inability to resist specific actions or
thoughts, regardless of their maladaptive nature.
“Psychasthenia” is an old term used to describe what we now
call obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), or having obsessive-
compulsive thoughts and behaviors. This scale also taps into
abnormal fears, self-criticisms, difficulties in concentration and
guilt feelings. This scale contains 48 items.

h. Schizoprenia (Sc) – The Schizophrenia scale measures

bizarre thoughts, peculiar perceptions, social alienation, poor
familial relationships, difficulties in concentration and impulse
control, lack of deep interests, disturbing question of self-worth
and self-identity, and sexual difficulties. This scale has 78 items,
more than any other scale on the test.

i. Hypomania (Ma) – The Hypomania scale is intended to

measure milder degrees of excitement, characterized by an
elated but unstable mood, psychomotor excitement (e.g., shaky
hands) and flight of ideas (e.g., an unstoppable string of ideas).
The scale taps into overactivity — both behaviorally and
cognitively — grandiosity, irritability and egocentricity. This
scale contains 46 items.

j. Social Introversion (Si) – The Social Introversion scale

measures the social introversion and extroversion of a person. A
person who is a social introvert is uncomfortable in social
interactions and typically withdraws from such interactions
whenever possible. They may have limited social skills, or
simply prefer to be alone or with a small group of friends. This
scale has 69 items.

The Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory contains four

validity scales designed to measure a person’s test-taking
attitude and approach to the test:

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 a. Lie (L) – The Lie scale is intended to identify individuals who
are deliberately trying to avoid answering the MMPI honestly
and in a frank manner. The scale measures attitudes and
practices that are culturally laudable, but rarely found in most
people. In other words, people who make these items are often
trying to make themselves look like a better person than they
really are (or that anybody is). The scale contains 15 items.

b. F – The F scale (the “F” does not stand for anything, although
it is mistakenly sometimes referred to as the Infrequency or
Frequency scale) is intended to detect unusual or atypical ways
of answering the test items, like if a person were to randomly fill
out the test. It taps a number of strange thoughts, peculiar
experiences, feelings of isolation and alienation, and a number
of unlikely or contradictory beliefs, expectations and self-
descriptions. If a person answers too many of the F and Fb scale
items incorrectly, it will invalidate the entire test. Contrary to
some descriptions of the scale, F scale items are scattered
throughout the entire test up until around item 360. The scale
contains 60 items.

c. Back F (Fb) – The Back F scale measures the same issues as

the F scale, except only during the last half of the test. The scale
has 40 items.

d. K – The K scale is designed to identify psychopathology in

people who otherwise would have profiles within the normal
range. It measures self-control, and family and interpersonal
relationships, and people who score highly on this scale are
often seen as being defensive. The scale contains 30 items.

20. Q: Was it only the Petitioner on whom you conducted said

tests?
A: No. Petitioner brought along with her, her college friends
namely Pilita Corrales and Elizabeth Ramsey.

21.Q: Did you conduct the same tests to the Respondent?

A: No. He was not presented to me nor did he visit in my
office. Regardless, I exerted efforts to get in touch with him but
he remained uncooperative by not submitting himself to
psychological evaluation. Thus, it is of standard procedure in
our practice that whenever patients are unable to submit
themselves for psychological evaluation, we are to interview
significant persons in their life for us to be able to arrive at a
psychological profile or impression of this individual. In this
case the psychological evaluation was based on the information
coming from the petitioner and the two (2) other persons I
previously mentioned.

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22. Q: Based on the tests that you conducted on all your
informants, what were your impressions of the Respondent?
A: Respondent has a defective superego. He is selfish, immature
and a negligent person and followed a pattern of gross
irresponsibility and gross disregard of the feelings of his
partner/wife disregarding their marriage contract and the
commitment he agreed on during the wedding. Respondent did
not grow up mature enough to cope up with his obligations and
responsibilities as married man and father. Additionally, the
tests revealed respondent’s incurability, as he has no
psychological insight that he has a character problem. People
suffering from this personality disorder are unmotivated to
treatment and impervious to recovery.

23. Q: What was your diagnosis of Respondent’s psychological

condition?
A: Petitioner is found to be suffering from a PERSONALITY
DISORDER, NARCISSISTIC TYPE with underlying anti – social
traits.

24. Q: Kindly explain briefly the Personality Disorder you had

just mentioned.
A: The personality disorder speaks of antecedence as it has
an early onset, with an enduring pattern and behavior that
deviates markedly from the expectations of the individual's
culture. His poor parental and family molding (particularly lack
of parental parenting) caused him to have a defective superego
and he proved to be selfish, immature and negligent person and
followed a pattern of gross irresponsibility and gross disregard
of the feelings of his partner/wife disregarding the marriage
contract and the commitment he agreed on during the wedding.
In other words, the root cause of respondent's flawed
personality pattern can be in childhood milieu. Respondent's
familial constellation, unreliable parenting style from
significant figures around him, and unfavorable childhood
experiences have greatly affected his perceptions of himself and
his environment in general. The respondent did not grow up
mature enough to cope with his obligations and responsibilities
as married man and father.

It also speaks of gravity as he was not able to carry out the

normative and ordinary duties of marriage and family,
shouldered by any married man, existing in ordinary
circumstances. He just cannot perform his duties and
obligations as a husband, as he entered into marriage for his
own self-satisfaction and gratification, manipulate and
denigrate the petitioner for his own pleasures and satisfaction.
In the process, respondent was unable to assume his marital

9
 duties and responsibilities to his wife. He failed to render
mutual help and support (Article 68, FC).

These flawed personality traits have caused the constant fights

and disruption of their marital relationship. These are deeply
rooted in his system as it was developed early on in his
childhood; the kind of upbringing he had, the family
atmosphere and relationship he grew up in, and the
environmental influences that he was exposed to. Although
being youngest of the brood, his expectation of being treated
better than that of his siblings never materialized as his parents
got separated when he was still in the formation of his familial
and social skills. He grew up with a relative, hence, he was not
able to get what he was supposed to get from his parents, thus
leaving him always craving for attention and the satisfaction of
his needs and desires.

In his adulthood, particularly in his married life, he failed to

comply with the demands and responsibilities of being a
husband and a father. This just shows that he is indeed, not
ready for a lifelong commitment like marriage. All he did while
living with his wife was bring suffering and trauma to his family
while he continued with his preferred lifestyle which according
to the test brought him so much joy and happiness.

He obviously lacks the will, heart and mind to comply with his
marital duties and obligations. The damage he has done on the
relationship is so severe that it has become irreparable which
makes reconciliation very remote and impossible.

Additionally, it also speaks of incurability, as respondent has no

psychological insight that he has a character problem. He would
not acknowledge the pain he caused to people around him.
People suffering from this personality disorder are unmotivated
to treatment and impervious to recovery. There are no
medications and laboratory examinations to be taken for
maladaptive behavior such as the NPD (Narcissistic Personality
Disorder).

Otherwise stated, his personality disorder is chronic and

pervasive affecting many aspects of his life, such as social
functioning and close relationships. Apparently, he has failed to
develop appropriate adjustment methods. He lacks the
intrapersonal and interpersonal integration that caused him the
failure to understand the very nature of that sharing of life that
is directed toward the solidarity and formation of family.

25. Q: What document shows the results of the tests you

conducted on petitioner?

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 A: I prepared a psychological test report of Respondent and
a copy was given to Petitioner.

26. Q: I am showing you a copy of Petitioner’s psychological

evaluation. Is this the same document you were referring to?
A: Yes, this is the one.

27. Q: At the bottom of the document, there appears to be a

signature above the name, Domingo A. Reyes IV, is this your
signature?
A: Yes, that is my signature

ATTY. VIRTUCIO: YOUR HONOR, WE RESPECTFULLY MOVE FOR

THE MARKING OF THIS PSYCHOLOGICAL EVALUATION OF
PETITIONER AS EXHIBIT “B.”

28. Q: To what extent is this psychological incapacity of the

Respondent?
A: The Respondent is suffering from a condition that is a
deeply grave and chronic one that was present even before the
marriage. The manifestations of such condition were only
externalized after marriage. This is a continuous and chronic
abnormality that is at the same time permanent and incurable.

29. Q: To what extent is this psychological incapacity of the

respondent?
A: Just the same, the condition of respondent is grave,
permanent and incurable.

30. Q: How do you say it is grave, permanent and incurable?

A: The Respondent is suffering from personality disorders
that are unable to identify mutual love, care, support, fidelity,
trust and respect over his spouse. Since these conditions are
important in marriage under persons and family relations,
these are grave and serious personality disorders that render
them incognizant of their marital obligations.

31.Q: What is your clinical recommendation?

A: My clinical recommendation is for the declaration of
nullity of marriage of the parties in this case based on the
psychological incapacity of the Respondent.

32. Q: Why are you executing this Affidavit?

A: I am executing this Affidavit to give my clinical findings
on this case and to give my clinical recommendation of which I
am ready to enter now before this Honorable Court.

33. Q: Please go over the testimony contained in this Judicial

Affidavit. Do you confirm and affirm the due execution of this

11
 affidavit, the truthfulness and veracity of the testimonies
contained herein and the faithfulness to originals of the copies
or reproductions attached?
A: Yes, I am executing this Judicial Affidavit to attest to the
truth of the foregoing facts, psychological evaluation report
conducted to petitioner and respondent, and to serve as my
direct testimony in connection with Civil Case No. 18-0721, Mrs.
Isha Martin Ero v. Mr. Felipe “Babe” Ero. I likewise warrant
that the copies or reproductions of my curriculum vitae,
psychological report on Respondent, all attached to my Judicial
Affidavit are faithful copies or reproduction of the originals.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature

this 7th day of January 2019, at Makati City, Philippines.

DR. DOMINGO A. REYES IV

Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME, a notary public

in and for City of Makati this 7th day of January 2019. Affiant personally
came and appeared with SSS No. 02-8883722-9, issued by the Social
Security System on May 15, 2005 at Makati City, bearing his photograph
and signature, known to me as the same person who personally signed the
foregoing instrument before me and avowed under penalty of law to the
whole truth of the contents of said instrument.

ATTY. JAIME H. PADILLA

Notary Public
Doc. No. 25 Until 13 December 2019
Page No. 2 PTR. NO. 2735146 / 2017-2019 MAKATI
Book No. 3 IBP NO. 8723648 / 2017 MAKATI
Series of 2019 ROLL NO. 12534 / TIN 097-233-345-45
MCLE IV-0003749
COM. NO. 2017-043

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 ATTESTATION

In compliance with A.M. No. 12-8-8-SC, otherwise known as the Judicial

Affidavit Rule, I, ATTY. ANNA CARMELA G. VIRTUCIO, hereby certify
that I have conducted the examination of the abovementioned witness, DR.
DOMINGO A. REYES IV, and that:

1. I have faithfully recorded or caused to be recorded

the questions asked of, and the corresponding answers given by,
the witness; and

2. Neither I nor any other person then present or

assisting him coached the witness regarding the latter’s
answers.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this
26 day of October 2018, at Makati City, Philippines.
th

ATTY. ANNA CARMELA G. VIRTUCIO

Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO BEFORE ME, a notary

public in and for City of Makati this 7th day of January 2019. Affiant
personally came and appeared SSS No. 02-8892784-0, issued by the Social
Security System on May 15, 2005 at Makati City, bearing his photograph
and signature, known to me as the same person who personally signed the
foregoing instrument before me and avowed under penalty of law to the
whole truth of the contents of said instrument.

ATTY. JAIME H. PADILLA

Notary Public
Doc. No. 26 Until 13 December 2019
Page No. 2 PTR. NO. 2735146 / 2017-2019 MAKATI
Book No. 3 IBP NO. 8723648 / 2017 MAKATI
Series of 2019 ROLL NO. 12534 / TIN 097-233-345-45
MCLE IV-0003749
COM. NO. 2017-043

13
Copy Furnished:

Office of the Solicitor General

134 Amorsolo St., Legaspi Village
Makati City, 1229

Office of the City Prosecutor

Makati City
16th Floor, Makati City Hall (New Building)
J.P. Rizal, Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City

Atty. Zharmaine Tamondong

Atty Frederick Barcelon

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