G.R. No. 164790 ; August 29, 2008
SOCIAL SECURITY SYSTEM and LORELIE B. SOLIDUM, Branch Manager, Cubao Branch, petitioners, vs. GLORIA DE LOS SANTOS, respondent.

FACTS

Antonio de los Santos and respondent Gloria de los Santos were married in 1964. Gloria left Antonio less than a year later, contracting a second marriage with Domingo Talens in 1965. She returned to Antonio in 1969, and they lived together until 1983, having three children. In 1983, Gloria left for the United States, where she filed for and obtained a divorce from Antonio in 1986. She subsequently married Larry Thomas Constant, an American citizen, in 1987. Meanwhile, Antonio married Cirila de los Santos in 1987, with whom he had a daughter, May-Ann. Antonio amended his SSS records in 1989, changing his beneficiaries to Cirila and May-Ann. Upon Antonio’s death in 1999, Cirila applied for and received his SSS pension.
Gloria filed a claim for Antonio’s death benefits with the SSS in December 1999. The SSS denied her claim, stating she was not a qualified beneficiary as she had remarried and initiated the divorce. Gloria elevated her claim to the Social Security Commission (SSC), which dismissed her petition. The SSC ruled she was not a dependent spouse, having abandoned Antonio, obtained a divorce, and remarried. The Court of Appeals reversed the SSC, declaring Gloria the legal wife and primary beneficiary, ordering the SSS to pay her the benefits. The SSS filed this petition for review.

ISSUE

Whether or not Gloria de los Santos qualifies as a primary beneficiary entitled to the death benefits of her deceased husband, Antonio de los Santos, under the Social Security Law.

RULING

The Supreme Court granted the petition, reversing the Court of Appeals and reinstating the SSC Resolution. The Court held that Gloria was not a dependent spouse and thus not a qualified primary beneficiary under the Social Security Law. The law defines the primary beneficiary as the “dependent spouse until he or she remarries.” Dependency is a requisite condition.
The Court applied the principle that a spouse separated de facto from the marital union cannot be considered dependent for support absent proof to the contrary. The factual circumstances demonstrated Gloria’s lack of dependency. She abandoned Antonio on two separate occasions: first in 1965 to marry another man, and again in 1983 when she left for the U.S., obtained a divorce, and remarried. These acts of abandonment and establishing a life independent of Antonio severed any factual or legal basis for claiming dependency upon him for support. The Court cited precedent stating that a “dependent” is one who relies on another for main support, a condition not present where a spouse has voluntarily left and lived apart for extended periods. Consequently, Gloria failed to satisfy the statutory requirement of being a “dependent spouse,” disqualifying her from receiving the SSS death benefits. The Court emphasized that the SSC correctly awarded the balance of the guaranteed pension to Antonio’s minor daughter, May-Ann, as the rightful secondary beneficiary.