Case Digest (G.R. No. 249238)
Facts:
Republic of the Philippines v. Ruby Cuevas Ng a.k.a. Ruby Ng Sono, G.R. No. 249238, February 27, 2024, the Supreme Court En Banc, Dimaampa'o, J., writing for the Court.Respondent Ruby Cuevas Ng a.k.a. Ruby Ng Sono (Ng), a Filipino citizen, married Akihiro Sono (Sono), a Japanese national, on December 8, 2004; the spouses later resided in Japan and had a child. On August 31, 2007 the couple secured a divorce in Japan described in the record as a "divorce decree by mutual agreement"; documents admitted below included a Divorce Certificate issued by the Embassy of Japan in the Philippines, DFA authentication and Certificate of Acceptance of Notification of Divorce, a Manila City Civil Registry certification of filing, and an original Family Registry of Japan with English translation showing the divorce was recorded in Japan.
On May 28, 2018 Ng filed a Petition for Judicial Recognition of Foreign Divorce and Declaration of Capacity to Remarry under Article 26 of the Family Code before Branch 220, Regional Trial Court (RTC), Quezon City (SP Proc. Case No. R‑QZN‑18‑05526‑SP). The RTC admitted Ng’s documentary evidence for jurisdictional purposes, declared general default and allowed Ng to present her evidence-in-chief ex parte. On January 3, 2019 the RTC granted recognition under Article 26(2) and directed civil registrars to annotate Ng’s civil status as single; the RTC denied the Republic’s motion for reconsideration by Order dated September 6, 2019.
The Republic of the Philippines, through the Office of the Solicitor General (petitioner), sought review by the Supreme Court via a Petition for Review on Certiorari under Rule 45, challenging (a) the recognition of a foreign divorce obtained by mutual agreement rather than by adjudication in a foreign court, and (b) Ng’s alleged failure to prove the applicable Japanese law on ...(Pro-only)
Issues:
- Whether Article 26(2) of the Family Code permits judicial recognition in the Philippines of a foreign divorce obtained by mutual agreement (non‑adversarial/non‑judicial) between a Filipino and a foreign national.
- Whether respondent sufficiently proved (a) the foreign divorce decree as a fact and (b) the applicable Japanese law on divorc...(Pro-only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
- (Pro-only)