G.R. No. 1850: September 6, 1905
NATIVIDAD AGUILAR, plaintiff-appellant, vs. PLACIDO LAZARO, defendant-appellee.
FACTS: Natividad Aguilar, then 19 years and 3 months old, left her family home in Molo after a reported mistreatment and went to her aunt’s house. The defendant, Placido Lazaro, a longtime acquaintance, proposed marriage as the only way to avoid her returning home. She consented, and they were legally married on December 31, 1899. Lazaro left her immediately after the ceremony and never lived with her as her husband. Aguilar did not obtain the consent of her parents for the marriage. She filed an action to have the marriage declared null and void.
ISSUE
Whether the marriage between Natividad Aguilar and Placido Lazaro can be annulled under Section 10 of General Orders No. 68 for lack of parental consent, given that the plaintiff was a minor over the age of 12 but under 21 at the time of the marriage.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s judgment denying the annulment. The Court held that the phrase “under the age of legal consent” in Section 10, paragraph 1 of General Orders No. 68 refers specifically to the ages established in Section 1 (12 years for females, 14 for males), which is the age at which a party can give personal consent to marry. It does not refer to the age (21 years) under which parental consent is required under Section 7. Since Aguilar was 19, she was above the “age of legal consent.” While Section 7 prohibited the solemnization of her marriage without parental consent, the law did not declare such a marriage void or voidable. Therefore, the marriage, though celebrated in violation of the prohibition, remained valid.