Case Digest (G.R. No. 109454)
Facts:
This is Jose C. Sermonia v. Hon. Court of Appeals, Eleventh Division, Hon. Deogracias Felizardo, Presiding Judge, Regional Trial Court of Pasig, Br. 151, and Joseph Sinsay, G.R. No. 109454, promulgated June 14, 1994, before the Supreme Court First Division, Bellosillo, J., writing for the Court.Petitioner Jose C. Sermonia was charged by information dated May 26, 1992 with the crime of bigamy for allegedly contracting a second marriage with Ma. Lourdes Unson on February 15, 1975 while his earlier marriage to Virginia C. Nievera remained subsisting (Crim. Case No. 92582, RTC‑Pasig). The second marriage contract was registered in 1975 (Entry No. 1572, Bk. No. 36). Petitioner did not deny coverture with Nievera and attached the marriage contract with Unson as an annex to his petition.
Petitioner moved to quash the information on the ground of prescription. The Regional Trial Court of Pasig, Branch 151, denied the motion to quash by order dated October 1, 1992, and denied a motion for reconsideration on October 27, 1992. Petitioner filed a petition for certiorari and prohibition with the Court of Appeals; the Court of Appeals, in CA‑G.R. SP No. 29495 (decision penned by Justice Gloria C. Paras with Justices Luis L. Victor and Fermin A. Martin, Jr., concurring), dismissed the petition on January 21, 1993.
Petitioner elevated the matter to the Supreme Court, challenging whether his prosecution for bigamy was time‑barred on the theory that re...(Subscriber-Only)
Issues:
- Is petitioner’s prosecution for bigamy barred by prescription?
- Does registration of a marriage in the Civil Registry give constructive notice that starts the running of prescription for the crime...(Subscriber-Only)
Ruling:
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Ratio:
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Doctrine:
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