GR 186722; (June, 2012) (Digest)
G.R. No. 186722 ; June 18, 2012
The United Abangan Clan, Inc., Represented by Cristituto F. Abangan, Petitioner, vs. Yolanda C. Sabellano-Sumagang, Ernesto Tiro, Basilisa Cabellon-Moreno, Martin C. Tabura, Jr., Romualdo C. Tabura, Rolando Cabellon, represented by Rolando Cabellon, and the honorable city civil registrar of Cebu City, Respondents.
FACTS
Petitioner United Abangan Clan, an association of collateral relatives of the late Anastacia Abangan, sought the cancellation of a delayed registration of a marriage between Anastacia and Raymundo Cabellon. The marriage was allegedly celebrated in 1873 but was registered only in 2007 upon application by respondents, who claim descent from the couple. Petitioner asserted that Anastacia died single and without issue, and that the registration was void for non-compliance with Act No. 3753 , as the marriage predated the law’s effectivity and was not filed by the contracting parties themselves.
Respondents opposed, arguing forum shopping, estoppel, failure to exhaust administrative remedies, and the existence of ancient church documents supporting the marriage. The Regional Trial Court dismissed the petition for cancellation on the ground of litis pendentia, finding that a prior pending petition for judicial declaration of heirship involving the same parties and the same ultimate issue of succession over Anastacia’s estate rendered the cancellation action unnecessary.
ISSUE
Whether the RTC correctly dismissed the petition for cancellation of entry in the civil register on the ground of litis pendentia.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court reversed the RTC’s dismissal. The legal logic for litis pendentia requires identity of parties, rights asserted and reliefs prayed for founded on the same facts, and such identity between the two cases that a judgment in one would constitute res judicata in the other. The Court found the crucial element of identity of causes of action lacking.
The prior case (SP. PROC. No. 16171-CEB) is a special proceeding for judicial declaration of heirship, which seeks to establish a party’s right of succession to a decedent’s estate. The present case (SP. PROC. No. 16180-CEB) is a special proceeding for cancellation of an entry in the civil register, which seeks a substantial correction affecting civil status, such as the registrability of a marital event. The subject matters and reliefs are distinct: one determines rights of inheritance, while the other determines the validity of a registered entry. A judgment in the heirship case would not be conclusive on the propriety of the marriage registration, and vice-versa. Therefore, the dismissal based on litis pendentia was improper. The case was remanded to the RTC for trial on the merits.