Case Summary (G.R. No. 103047)
Trial Court Proceedings
Castro filed for annulment in the RTC of Quezon City, alleging no marriage license was ever issued. Cardenas was duly served but failed to answer and was declared in default. Castro introduced a February 20, 1987 certification from the Pasig civil registrar stating that license No. 3196182 could not be found in the records. The RTC denied annulment, ruling that inability to locate the license did not conclusively prove non-issuance.
Appellate Court Ruling
On appeal, the Court of Appeals reversed. It held that the registrar’s certification sufficiently established the absence of any valid marriage license prior to solemnization. It declared the marriage null and void ab initio and directed cancellation of the marriage contract.
Issue
Whether the registrar’s certificate of non-issuance and Castro’s uncorroborated testimony adequately proved that no marriage license was issued, thereby rendering the marriage void from its inception.
Admissibility of Registrar’s Certification
Under Rule 132, Section 29 of the Rules of Court, a custodian’s written statement that, after diligent search, no record of a specified document exists is admissible to prove its non-existence. As civil registrar, Cenona D. Quintos is the public officer charged by law to maintain marriage-license records. Her certificate of due search and inability to find license No. 3196182 thus carries full evidentiary weight.
Testimonial Evidence and Secret Marriage
Castro’s sole testimony on the absence of any pre-marriage application or signature is permitted given the secret nature of the ceremony, which precluded third-party witnesses. Cardenas’s default deprived him of contesting the factual allegations. No collusion or fraud was shown to undermine Castro’s evidence.
Supreme Court Ruling
The Supreme Court affirmed the appellate decision. It held that, u
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Procedural History
- Private respondent Angelina M. Castro filed a petition for judicial declaration of nullity of marriage in the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Quezon City (Civil Case No. Q-50117) on February 19, 1987.
- Defendant Edwin F. Cardenas was served but failed to answer and was declared in default; trial proceeded in his absence.
- The RTC (Branch LXXXVI) denied the petition on June 30, 1987, finding the certification inadequate to prove non-issuance of a license.
- Castro appealed to the Court of Appeals (CA), which on November 27, 1991 reversed the RTC, declared the marriage null and void, and directed cancellation of the marriage contract.
- The Republic of the Philippines petitioned the Supreme Court for review on certiorari.
Facts of the Case
- Angelina M. Castro and Edwin F. Cardenas were married in a civil ceremony on June 24, 1970 before Judge Pablo M. Malvar of Pasay City.
- The marriage was celebrated without Castro’s parents’ knowledge; Cardenas handled all documentation, including purported procurement of marriage license no. 3196182.
- The marriage contract recited issuance of license no. 3196182 on June 24, 1970, in Pasig, Metro Manila.
- The couple did not cohabit until Castro’s pregnancy in March 1971; they lived together for four months before separating.
- On October 19, 1971, Castro gave birth; the child was adopted by Castro’s brother, with Cardenas’s consent, and is now in the United States.
- Seeking to regularize her status before leaving for the U.S., Castro’s counsel obtained a certification from the Civil Registrar of Pasig dated February 20, 1987, stating that no record of license no. 3196182 appears in the registry.
- Castro testified s