Case Summary (G.R. No. 133803)
Parties and Procedural Posture
Petitioner brought a special proceeding (Spec. Proc. No. 4850) in the Regional Trial Court (RTC), Branch 65, Tarlac City, seeking a judicial declaration of presumptive death in order to claim benefits under P.D. No. 1638, as amended. The Republic of the Philippines sought relief before the Court of Appeals (CA) via a petition for certiorari; the present matter is an appeal to the Supreme Court from the CA’s judgment and resolution.
Key Dates and Decisions (as stated in the record)
Petition filed before the RTC: April 10, 2012 (docketed as Spec. Proc. No. 4850). RTC Decision (granting the petition): January 15, 2012 (dispositive later corrected but dated in the record). CA Decision: November 28, 2016; CA Resolution: March 20, 2017. Supreme Court Decision affirming the CA: April 25, 2018. (Applicable constitutional framework: 1987 Philippine Constitution.)
Applicable Law and Governing Rules
Relevant substantive provisions: Article 41 of the Family Code (Executive Order No. 209, s. 1987) and Articles 390 and 391 of the Civil Code (Republic Act No. 386). Procedural authorities referenced include the Rules of Court (notably Rules on Special Proceedings / summary procedure, Rule 72/73 and Rules governing certiorari and appeal — Rule 65, Rule 43, Rule 40, Rule 109). Controlling jurisprudence cited: In re: Petition for the Presumption of Death of Nicolai Szatraw (1948), Lukban v. Republic, Gue v. Republic, Valdez v. Republic, and related cases interpreting the nature of presumptions of death.
Factual Background and Purpose of the Petition
Petitioner alleged that her husband Wilfredo, a long‑serving member of the Philippine Constabulary, departed on duty in 1979 and thereafter never returned or communicated; official service records indicated he was declared missing since 1979. Petitioner expressly stated that her petition sought a declaration of presumptive death solely to support a claim for death benefits under P.D. No. 1638 and not for purposes of remarriage.
RTC Proceedings and Disposition at First Instance
The RTC, Branch 65, granted the petition in a dispositive order that—as corrected—declared Wilfredo absent or presumptively dead for purposes of claiming financial benefits due to him as a former military officer. The RTC cited Article 41 of the Family Code in the dispositive language (an attribution that the Supreme Court later characterized as misleading given the petition’s stated objective).
CA Review and Rationale for Setting Aside the RTC Ruling
The CA granted the Republic’s petition for certiorari and annulled and set aside the RTC decision, dismissing the petition. The CA held that the RTC erred in employing Article 41 of the Family Code (which governs presumptive death for the purpose of contracting a subsequent marriage) because petitioner did not seek remarriage. The CA further concluded that a suit whose sole purpose is to obtain a judicial declaration that a person is presumptively dead under Articles 390 or 391 of the Civil Code is not a viable independent action: Articles 390 and 391 are evidentiary presumptions and cannot be the sole subject matter of an independent judicial proceeding.
Supreme Court Majority Ruling — Disposition and Central Holding
The Supreme Court denied the appeal and affirmed the CA. The Court held that a petition exclusively seeking a judicial declaration of presumptive death under Articles 390 or 391 of the Civil Code is not an authorized or viable suit in Philippine jurisprudence. The RTC’s grant of petitioner’s standalone petition thus constituted grave abuse of discretion. The Court affirmed the long‑standing principle that the presumptions in Articles 390 and 391 are rules of evidence that operate by law and may be invoked within an action or proceeding in which rights or status are actually in controversy, but they cannot be the sole subject of an independent action intended only to produce a judicial pronouncement of presumptive death.
Legal Reasoning: Article 41 vs. Articles 390‑391 and the Nature of the Presumption
The Court explained the distinction between Article 41 of the Family Code—a provision expressly designed to allow summary proceedings for presumptive death where the purpose is to enable remarriage—and Articles 390 and 391 of the Civil Code, which articulate evidentiary presumptions of death for civil purposes. Article 41’s presumption is procedural and tied to the discrete purpose of subsequent marriage; Articles 390 and 391 are “presumptions juris tantum” (disputable presumptions) of death that arise by operation of law when specified factual conditions are met. Judicial precedent (notably Szatraw) establishes that such presumptions, being evidentiary and disputable, cannot be transformed into final judgments through a stand‑alone declaratory proceeding because such a judgment would not attain the conclusiveness or res judicata effect that final judicial determinations are intended to provide.
Consequences for the RTC Ruling and Governing Jurisprudence
By adjudicating and granting a petition whose only object was the declaration of presumptive death under the Civil Code, the RTC exceeded its authority and violated controlling jurisprudence. The Supreme Court therefore sustained the CA’s annulment of the RTC decision and reiterated the rule that courts have no jurisdiction to entertain independent petitions solely for a presumption of death under Articles 390 and 391.
Administrative Remedies and Court’s Guidance to PVAO and AFP
Recognizing the practical hardships faced by claimants who are required by administrative practice to produce a court declaration, the Court issued clear guidance: the PVAO and the AFP may decide claims for death benefits of missing servicemen without insisting on a prior court declaration of presumptive death. These agencies may, on the basis of evidence presented (e.g., official service records showing duration and circumstances of disappearance, affidavits of witnesses), determine whether the factual prerequisites of Articles 390 or 391 are satisfied and may apply the presumption by operation of law. If administrative denial follows, claimants must exhaust administrative remedies (appeal to the Office of the President), and thereafter may seek judicial review (petition for review with the CA under Rule 43 and, if necessary, certiorari with the Supreme Court). The Court emphasized that requiring a judicial declaration is improper and contravenes established jurisprudence.
Practical Evidence Identified by the Court for Administrative Determination
The Court identified the type of evidence that PVAO or AFP may accept
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Case Citation and Composition
- 831 Phil. 245, Third Division; G.R. No. 230751; Decision promulgated April 25, 2018.
- Decision penned by Justice Velasco, Jr.; concurring: Bersamin, Martires, and Gesmundo, JJ.; Dissent: Leonen, J. (separate opinion).
- Appeal taken under Rule 45 of the Rules of Court from the Court of Appeals (CA) decision and resolution in CA-G.R. SP No. 129467 (CA decision dated November 28, 2016; CA resolution dated March 20, 2017).
- Record references and trial-court pleadings and decisions are identified in the rollo excerpts cited in the source material.
Parties and Nature of Proceeding
- Petitioner: Estrellita Tadeo-Matias.
- Missing person/subject of petition: Wilfredo N. Matias, petitioner’s husband, former member of the Philippine Constabulary.
- Respondent: Republic of the Philippines, represented in the trial court by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG).
- Nature of proceeding below: Special Proceeding docketed as Spec. Proc. No. 4850 before Branch 65, Regional Trial Court (RTC), Tarlac City — petition for declaration of presumptive death.
- Relief sought by petitioner: Judicial declaration of the presumptive death of Wilfredo N. Matias for the purpose of claiming benefits under P.D. No. 1638, as amended (not for remarriage).
Factual Allegations (as pleaded in petition)
- Petitioner and Wilfredo married on January 7, 1968 in Imbo, Anda, Pangasinan; thereafter they resided at 106 Molave Street, Zone B, San Miguel, Tarlac City.
- Wilfredo, a member of the Philippine Constabulary assigned to Arayat, Pampanga since August 24, 1967, was said to have set out on September 15, 1979, for duty and never returned or made contact thereafter.
- Service record from the National Police Commission indicated that Wilfredo had been declared missing since 1979.
- Petitioner repeatedly inquired with the then Philippine Constabulary regarding his whereabouts but received no information; Wilfredo’s last assignments were to areas frequented by the New People’s Army.
- Petitioner averred decades of waiting and economic hardship due to age and meager income, and stated that the petition was filed solely to claim benefits under P.D. No. 1638, as amended — specifically not to remarry.
RTC Proceedings and Decision
- Petition filed April 10, 2012 and assigned to RTC Branch 65, Tarlac City; copy furnished to the OSG, which filed a notice of appearance for the Republic.
- On January 15, 2012 the RTC (Judge Ma. Magdalena A. Balderama) issued a Decision granting petitioner’s petition. The dispositive portion ultimately corrected to declare Wilfredo “absent or presumptively dead under Article 41 of the Family Code of the Philippines for purposes of claiming financial benefits due to him as former military officer.” (The corrected dispositive replaced an original dispositive that erroneously stated the declaration was for purposes of remarriage.)
- The RTC’s fallo expressly declared Wilfredo absent or presumptively dead; the body of the decision, however, and the petition itself reflected that the petition was to claim death benefits, and petitioner did not seek remarriage.
CA Proceedings and Decision (First Appeal)
- The Republic questioned the RTC’s decision by filing a petition for certiorari under Rule 65 with the Court of Appeals.
- On November 28, 2012, the CA granted the Republic’s petition for certiorari, annulled and set aside the RTC Decision dated January 15, 2012, and dismissed the petition.
- CA’s principal ratiocination:
- The RTC erred in relying on Article 41 of the Family Code; Article 41 is limited to presumptions of death for the purpose of contracting subsequent marriages (i.e., remarriage) and is not applicable because petitioner did not seek to remarry.
- The petition, in substance, invoked the presumption of death under Articles 390 and 391 of the Civil Code (not Article 41).
- Articles 390 and 391 are rules of evidence that allow a court or tribunal to presume death in the course of other actions or proceedings but cannot themselves be the subject of an independent action; thus, a petition whose sole purpose is to have a person declared presumptively dead under the Civil Code is not a viable independent suit and must be dismissed.
- Petitioner moved for reconsideration before the CA; the CA denied reconsideration (Resolution dated March 20, 2017).
Issues Presented to the Supreme Court
- Whether the Court of Appeals correctly annulled and set aside the Regional Trial Court’s decision that declared Wilfredo presumptively dead.
- Whether a petition whose sole object is to have a person declared presumptively dead under Articles 390 and 391 of the Civil Code is a permissible independent special proceeding.
- Whether Article 41 of the Family Code applied to the RTC’s declaration and petitioner's purpose.
- Whether a court declaration of presumptive death is a precondition required by the Philippine Veterans’ Affairs Office (PVAO) or the Armed Forces of the Philippines (AFP) before granting death benefits under P.D. No. 1638.
Supreme Court Holding (Majority)
- The appeal is denied; the Decision dated November 28, 2016 and Resolution dated March 20, 2017 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. SP No. 129467 are affirmed.
- The RTC committed grave abuse of discretion in taking cognizance of, and granting, a petition that sought, as its sole object, the declaration that a person be presumed dead under the Civil Code.
- A judicial decision that a person is presumptively dead is not a prerequisite before the PVAO or the AFP may grant and pay benefits under Presidential Decree No. 1638; courts need not be required to issue declarations for the presumption of death to operate administratively.
Majority Reasoning — Key Legal Points and Authorities
- Article 41 of the Family Code
- Article 41 is limited in scope: it establishes a presumption of death for the specific purpose of contracting a subsequent marriage and contemplates a summary proceeding for that limited purpose.
- The petitioner did not seek remarriage; therefore Article 41 was inapplicable.
- Articles 390 and 391 of the