Case Digest (G.R. No. L-8492)
Facts:
In the Matter of the Declaration of the Civil Status of: Lourdes G. Lukban, G.R. No. L-8492, promulgated February 29, 1956, Supreme Court En Banc, Bautista Angelo, J., writing for the Court. Petitioner Lourdes G. Lukban contracted marriage with Francisco Chuidian on December 10, 1933. On December 27, 1933, Francisco left after a violent quarrel and thereafter was not heard from despite petitioner’s diligent searches, inquiries of his parents and friends, and knowledge that his last known address was Calle Merced, Paco, Manila. Petitioner believed him dead after more than twenty years of absence and sought to remarry; she filed a petition in the Court of First Instance of Rizal for a judicial declaration that she is a widow because her husband is presumed dead and therefore has no legal impediment to contract a subsequent marriage.The Solicitor General, acting for the Republic of the Philippines as oppositor, opposed the petition on the ground that the relief sought was not authorized by law. After petitioner presented evidence, the Court of First Instance sustained the opposition and dismissed the petition. Petitioner appealed to the Supreme Court (the opinion states simply "hence this appeal"), arguing that (a) the special-proceeding character of the petition made it proper (citing Hagans v. Wislizenus) and (b) Article 349 of the Revised Penal Code (defining bigamy) contemplated a "judgment rendered in the proper proceedings" declaring an absent spouse presumptively dead. The Supreme Court took the appeal, considered p...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Is a petition in a special proceeding for a judicial declaration that a spouse is presumed dead (and thus that the petitioner is a widow) authorized by law?
- Does Article 349 of the Revised Penal Code — by referring to a spouse "declared presumptively dead by means of a judgment rendered in the proper proceedings" — authorize the sort of judicial decl...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
- (Pro-only)
Ratio:
- (Pro-only)
Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)