G.R. No. 159614 - Republic vs. Court of Appeals

On March 29, 2001, Alan B. Alegro filed a petition in the RTC of Catbalogan, Samar, Branch 27, seeking the declaration of presumptive death of his wife, Rosalia (Lea) A. Julaton.
An order dated April 16, 2001, set the petition for hearing on May 30, 2001, and imposed several jurisdictional requirements:

Publication of the order in the Samar Reporter for three consecutive weeks.
Posting the order on the court’s bulletin board for the same period.
Service of copies on the Solicitor General, the Provincial Prosecutor of Samar, and on Alan through counsel, as well as sending copies to Lea via registered mail.

Alan complied with the above procedural steps.
On May 28, 2001, the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed a Motion to Dismiss the petition, which was denied by the RTC for failure to comply with Rule 15 of the Rules of Court.

Alan testified regarding the couple’s marriage on January 20, 1995, in Catbalogan, Samar.
On February 6, 1995, following a quarrel about her tardiness and conduct at home, Lea was seen arriving late but then later was nowhere to be found at home.
Subsequent investigations by Alan included:

Inquiries at the house of Lea’s parents in Bliss, Sto. NiAo, where he learned she had been there but left abruptly.
Inquiry at the residence of Lea’s friend, Janeth Bautista, which yielded information that Janeth had left for Manila.
Follow-up at his parents-in-law’s house, where he was informed again that Lea had visited but departed without notice.

Alan enlisted the help of Barangay Captain Juan Magat, who corroborated that on February 14, 1995, he had not seen Lea passing by and confirmed that she had disappeared from the barangay.
Although Alan tried additional methods of locating his wife—including personal searches in Manila as early as June 1995 and later again in 1997—he was unable to determine her whereabouts.
He reported her disappearance to the local police on June 20, 2001, resulting in the issuance of an Alarm Notice on July 4, 2001, and to the National Bureau of Investigation on July 9, 2001.
After Alan rested his case, no opposing evidence was adduced by the OSG or the Provincial Prosecutor.

On January 8, 2002, the RTC rendered judgment granting the petition, declaring Lea presumptively dead under Article 41 of the Family Code, thereby allowing Alan to pursue a subsequent marriage.
The OSG appealed the RTC decision to the Court of Appeals (CA), which affirmed the RTC ruling on August 4, 2003. The CA based its decision in part on the precedent from Republic v. Nolasco.
Subsequently, the OSG filed a petition for review on certiorari with the Supreme Court, contesting that Alan did not establish a well-founded belief in Lea’s death and alleging his failure to exercise the requisite diligent inquiries before filing the petition.

Whether the petitioner (Alan B. Alegro) sufficiently proved that he harbored a well-founded belief that his wife, Lea, was dead prior to filing the petition for presumptive death.
Whether the petitioner exercised reasonable and diligent efforts to locate his missing wife, as mandated by Article 41 of the Family Code and required by prevailing jurisprudence.
Whether the procedural and evidentiary shortcomings in Alan’s petition warrant dismissal of his claim for presumptive death, even though the RTC and CA had previously granted relief.