Case Summary (G.R. No. 53642)
Civil Annulment Proceeding
On September 28, 1979, Abayan filed Civil Case No. E-02627 seeking declaration of nullity of her September 26, 1978 marriage to Donato, alleging lack of informed consent due to non-disclosure of the subsisting first marriage. Donato countered that no license was issued and that he was coerced by force and intimidation.
Petitioner’s Motion to Suspend Criminal Proceedings
Prior to trial in the criminal case, Donato moved to suspend proceedings, invoking the prejudicial question doctrine and citing De la Cruz v. Ejercito. Judge Luna denied the motion on April 7, 1980—relying on Landicho v. Relova—and sustained that order on April 14, 1980, rejecting the motion for reconsideration.
Doctrine of Prejudicial Question
A prejudicial question arises when the resolution of an issue in one tribunal is a necessary antecedent to determination of the accused’s guilt in another. To warrant suspension, the civil issue must be distinct yet so intimately connected to the criminal charge that its resolution determines guilt or innocence.
Analysis of Prejudicial Question Application
The nullity action challenges the validity of the second marriage on consent grounds, not the existence of a prior marriage. Abayan, not Donato, asserted deceit in obtaining her consent. Donato’s belated claim of coercion postdates both the marriage and his cohabitation affidavit, undermining voluntariness arguments.
Distinction from Precedents
In Landicho v. Relova, annulment based on duress by the accused would negate voluntary entry into the second marriage, thus forming a prejudicial question. In De la Cruz v. Ejercito, the accused herself obtained a judicial nullity ruling before or concurrent with her bigamy prosecution. Here, no prior judicial declaration voiding either marriage exists, and annulment issues do not determine the fact of two existing marriages.
Absence of Essential Elements
Petitioner failed to establish that his consent to the second marriage was involun
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Factual Background
- On January 23, 1979, the City Fiscal of Manila filed an information for bigamy against Leonilo C. Donato in CFI Manila, Criminal Case No. 43554, Branch XXXII, based on Paz B. Abayan’s complaint.
- The alleged bigamy arose from Donato’s second marriage contracted on September 26, 1978, while his first marriage to Rosalinda R. Maluping (solemnized June 30, 1978) was still subsisting.
- Prior to the second marriage, Donato and Abayan had cohabited and represented themselves as husband and wife for over five years, triggering the dispensation of a marriage license under Article 76 of the New Civil Code.
Procedural History
- Before arraignment in the bigamy case, on September 28, 1979, Abayan filed Civil Case No. E-02627 for annulment of marriage in the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court, alleging deceit in her consent due to unawareness of Donato’s first marriage.
- Donato’s civil-case answer countered that the second marriage was void for lack of license and that Abayan used force, violence, intimidation, and undue influence to obtain his consent.
- Donato moved in the criminal case to suspend proceedings, invoking the doctrine of prejudicial question based on the pending annulment.
- On April 7, 1980, Judge Luna denied the suspension motion, relying on Landico v. Relova (22 SCRA 731).
- A motion for reconsideration, citing De la Cruz v. Ejercito (68 SCRA 1),