G.R. No. 191425; September 7, 2011
ATILANO O. NOLLORA, JR., Petitioner, vs. PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES, Respondent.

FACTS

On August 24, 2004, an Information was filed charging Atilano O. Nollora, Jr. and Rowena P. Geraldino with Bigamy. It alleged that on December 8, 2001, in Quezon City, Nollora, then legally married to Jesusa Pinat Nollora (with the marriage not legally dissolved and still subsisting), willfully contracted a second marriage with Geraldino, who knowingly consented.
During pre-trial, the parties stipulated on the following facts: (1) the validity of the first marriage between Nollora and Jesusa Pinat solemnized on April 6, 1999; (2) that Nollora contracted a second marriage with Geraldino on December 8, 2001; (3) that Nollora admitted contracting the second marriage in his Counter-Affidavit; (4) that Geraldino attached the Certificate of Marriage to her Counter-Affidavit; and (5) Geraldino’s admission of the marriage in her Counter-Affidavit.
At trial, Jesusa Pinat Nollora testified that she learned of the second marriage in November 2003 after securing a certification from the NSO. She confronted Geraldino, who allegedly admitted knowing about the first marriage but married Nollora anyway out of love. Witness Ruth Santos corroborated this confrontation.
For the defense, Nollora admitted both marriages but claimed he was a Muslim convert since January 10, 1992, prior to his first marriage, and was thus entitled under Muslim law to marry up to four wives. He presented a Certificate of Conversion dated August 2, 2004, and a Pledge of Conversion dated January 10, 1992, to support his claim. He testified that Jesusa knew of his conversion but that Geraldino did not know of his first marriage. He stated that he indicated “Catholic” and “single” in both marriage contracts to keep his Muslim faith and first marriage secret. Defense witness Hadji Abdul Qasar Madueño testified to Nollora’s conversion in 1992.
The Regional Trial Court found Nollora guilty of bigamy and sentenced him to imprisonment. Geraldino was acquitted. The Court of Appeals affirmed the trial court’s decision.

ISSUE

Whether or not the second marriage contracted by Atilano O. Nollora, Jr. constitutes the crime of bigamy.

RULING

The Supreme Court DENIED the petition and AFFIRMED the conviction. The second marriage is bigamous.
The crime of bigamy under Article 349 of the Revised Penal Code requires: (1) that the offender has been legally married; (2) that the marriage has not been legally dissolved or, in case his or her spouse is absent, the absent spouse could not yet be presumed dead according to the Civil Code; (3) that he contracts a second or subsequent marriage; and (4) that the second or subsequent marriage has all the essential requisites for validity.
All these elements are present. The first and second marriages were proven and stipulated. The first marriage was never dissolved. The defense of Muslim conversion is unavailing. For the Muslim Code (P.D. No. 1083) to apply, the party must have been a Muslim at the time of the marriage contract. Nollora’s first marriage in 1999 was solemnized under the Family Code, as evidenced by the marriage contract listing him as “Catholic Pentecostal.” He cannot claim the benefits of the Muslim Code for a marriage entered into under the general law. His subsequent conversion does not retroactively dissolve his first marriage or exempt him from the penal laws applicable at the time of that marriage. Furthermore, his act of declaring himself “single” in the second marriage contract constitutes a false declaration that undermines his claim of good faith regarding his capacity to remarry under Muslim law. His defense is an afterthought, and the certificates of conversion presented were issued only after the bigamy case was filed. Consequently, Nollora is guilty of bigamy.