Title
XXXvs. People
Case
G.R. No. 263449
Decision Date
Nov 13, 2023
Husband's abandonment & infidelity, causing wife's emotional anguish & physical deterioration, violate RA 9262.
psychological violence
domestic violence
violence against women
A

Case Summary (G.R. No. 263449)

Factual Background

The Information charged that, between November 1, 2007 and November 30, 2007, and sometime before and after, Petitioner—described as the wedded husband of AAA—willfully, unlawfully, and feloniously left the conjugal dwelling, deserted or abandoned AAA, and allegedly did so without knowing that he had eloped or ran away with BBB, their 17-year-old working student. AAA allegedly endured years of searching and looking for Petitioner. In early 2010, AAA allegedly discovered through Facebook pictures showing Petitioner and BBB with a child believed born on May 20, 2009, which allegedly caused mental and emotional anguish and also contributed to physical deterioration, including a surgery after she “finally getting the scalpel in 2010.”

Upon arraignment, Petitioner pleaded not guilty. At trial, the prosecution established that Petitioner was married to AAA and that in October 2007 AAA found Petitioner and BBB kissing in the kitchen of their house, which led to an intense fight. AAA spent the night at her parents’ house. When she returned, she found the house empty because Petitioner and BBB had already left, and AAA suspected that Petitioner went to his province. Since that confrontation, Petitioner allegedly did not return to the residence. Later, in 2013, AAA learned through Facebook that Petitioner had a child with BBB, and she claimed she suffered emotionally and experienced anxiety because they had contracted loans to finance their business and she had been left alone to pay them. She alleged that she was diagnosed with abnormalities in her uterus and myomi uteri, causing vaginal bleeding for months, contributing to anemia, which necessitated surgery. She also testified that she was admitted to the hospital four times due to frequent vaginal bleeding and ultimately underwent a surgical operation involving the removal of her uterus and uterine myomas.

The defense denied the affair but admitted that Petitioner and BBB were living together and had a daughter. Petitioner asserted that the separation was mutually agreed upon and was allegedly instigated by AAA’s parents, who allegedly disapproved of him.

RTC Conviction

The RTC found Petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt for a violation of Section 5(i) of Republic Act No. 9262. The RTC gave prime consideration to AAA’s testimony, which it found clear, categorical, and straightforward, and it rejected Petitioner’s denial as a weak defense that did not overcome AAA’s positive testimony. The RTC sentenced Petitioner to an indeterminate penalty of imprisonment ranging from two (2) years, four (4) months, and one (1) day of prision correccional as minimum to twelve (12) years of prision mayor as maximum. It also imposed a fine of PHP 100,000.00 and ordered mandatory psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment, with a report of compliance to the court.

CA Affirmance

Petitioner appealed to the CA, but the CA affirmed his conviction in its Decision. The CA held that AAA’s testimony was strong and credible. It also ruled that Petitioner’s abandonment and marital infidelity constituted forms of psychological violence, and that these acts were the proximate cause of AAA’s emotional anguish and mental suffering. The CA further held that Petitioner’s denial deserved no weight, characterizing it as weak and unable to defeat the prosecution’s evidence. The CA denied Petitioner’s motion for reconsideration via a Resolution, prompting the petition before the Supreme Court.

The Parties’ Contentions and the Core Legal Question

The issue before the Supreme Court was whether the CA erred in sustaining Petitioner’s conviction under Republic Act No. 9262. The prosecution’s theory, adopted by both the RTC and CA, was that Petitioner’s abandonment of the conjugal dwelling, coupled with the circumstances indicating marital infidelity, inflicted mental and emotional anguish on AAA, thereby satisfying the statutory elements of psychological violence punished under Section 5(i). Petitioner, through his appeal and petition, maintained that the case was baseless, but he also admitted cohabitation with BBB and the existence of a child.

Legal Basis and Reasoning of the Majority

The Supreme Court affirmed the CA, holding that the prosecution proved Petitioner’s guilt beyond reasonable doubt. The Court anchored its analysis on the statutory definition and the elements of psychological violence.

First, the Court cited Section 3(c) of Republic Act No. 9262, which defines psychological violence as acts or omissions causing or likely to cause mental or emotional suffering, including, among others, public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal abuse, and marital infidelity. Second, the Court relied on Section 5(i), which penalizes the causing of mental or emotional anguish or public ridicule or humiliation to the woman, including repeated verbal and emotional abuse, and related forms of deprivation. The Court then referred to Dinamling v. People, where it enumerated the elements of psychological violence under Section 5(i): (a) the offended party is a woman and/or her child; (b) the woman is the wife, former wife, or a woman with whom the offender has or had a sexual or dating relationship, or a common child; (c) the offender causes mental or emotional anguish; and (d) the anguish is caused through acts of public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal and emotional abuse, denial of financial support or custody of minor children, or access to children, or similar acts or omissions.

The Court held that all elements were present. It found the first two elements undisputed because AAA was the wife of Petitioner. It then held that the third and fourth elements were also satisfied because Petitioner abandoned AAA to be with BBB. In support, the Court invoked Mangalino v. People, where it ruled that a husband’s abandonment of his family constitutes psychological violence causing mental or emotional suffering to the wife.

The Court emphasized that the statutory phrase “such as but not limited to” in the definition of psychological violence indicates that the list of examples is non-exclusive. It reasoned that Section 5(i) punishes the causing of mental or emotional anguish, including emotional abuse. Thus, the Court ruled that a husband’s abandonment falls under psychological violence because it naturally causes mental and emotional suffering to the wife, who is owed obligations of cohabitation, love, respect, and support. It further cited Article 68 of the Family Code, obliging spouses to live together, observe mutual love, respect, and fidelity, and render mutual help and support, and it held that abandonment defeats these obligations.

The Court also held that the Information alleged that Petitioner caused AAA mental and emotional anguish through leaving the conjugal dwelling and abandoning her, and that AAA’s testimony established these allegations. The Court reproduced key portions of AAA’s testimony: that Petitioner abandoned her in October 2007 after kissing with the house helper, that AAA learned Petitioner’s whereabouts only later by seeing them on Facebook in 2013, and that AAA was admitted to the hospital and operated on due to stress and depression.

On the element of emotional anguish, the Court cited Araza v. People, where it held that the law requires proof of emotional anguish and mental suffering, and that the testimony of the victim suffices because these effects are personal to her. The Court then held that AAA’s emotional stress affected her physical health: she was diagnosed with abnormalities in the uterus, experienced vaginal bleeding for months, contributed to anemia, was rushed to the hospital four times due to frequent vaginal bleeding, and eventually underwent surgery to remove her uterus and uterine myomas. It further held that her emotional anguish was exacerbated when conjugal debts were left unpaid, leaving her to shoulder the financial burden.

Finally, the majority addressed the connection between marital infidelity and psychological violence. While it noted that the RTC and CA relied primarily on Petitioner’s marital infidelity, it agreed with the reasoning attributed to Associate Justice Mario V. Lopez that there was insufficient evidence to show marital infidelity itself was the cause of psychological violence. Instead, the majority emphasized that the evidence showed abandonment as the more direct cause of AAA’s emotional suffering. The Court pointed to the evidentiary gap between the initial infidelity episode in 2007 and the later discovery in 2013, noting it was unclear what emotional harm from marital infidelity was occurring in the intervening years. The Court thus sustained the conviction on the basis of abandonment causing emotional suffering.

Disposition and Penalty

The Supreme Court also modified the penalty. It cited Section 6 of Republic Act No. 9262, which states that acts falling under Section 5(i) are punished by prision mayor, and that, in addition to imprisonment, the perpetrator must pay a fine of not less than PHP 100,000.00 but not more than PHP 300,000.00, and must undergo mandatory psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment and report compliance to the court.

Applying the Indeterminate Sentence Law, the Court held that, because there were no aggravating or mitigating circumstances, the maximum term should be taken from prision mayor in its medium period, or eight years and one day to ten years. The minimum term was taken as the next lower degree, prision correccional, at the Court’s discretion. It consequently modified the penalty to two (2) years, four (4) months, and one (1) day of prision correccional to eight (8) years and one (1) day of prision mayor. It affirmed the fine of PHP 100,000.00 and ordered Petitioner to undergo mandatory psychological counseling or psychiatric treatment, with reporting to the court of origin within fifteen (15) days after completion.

The Supreme Court dismissed the petition and affirmed

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