GR 237412; (January, 2020) (Digest)
G.R. No. 237412 , January 06, 2020
Republic of the Philippines, Petitioner, v. Remar A. Quiñonez, Respondent.
FACTS
Respondent Remar A. Quiñonez and Lovelyn Uriarte Quiñonez were married in 1997 and had two children. In 2001, Lovelyn requested and was granted permission by Remar to vacation in Manila for three months. Initial communication existed but eventually ceased. Remar received information that Lovelyn was cohabiting with another man and would not return out of shame. In November 2003, upon being informed she was visiting their children in Bislig City, Remar went to see her but was told she had left for Lingig, Surigao del Sur. He followed but was again told she had already returned to Bislig. In 2004, he looked for her in Manila, Batangas, and Cavite but failed. He also consistently inquired about her whereabouts from her relatives in Bislig City. On February 27, 2013, after almost ten years, Remar filed a Petition for Declaration of Presumptive Death under Article 41 of the Family Code before the Regional Trial Court (RTC). The RTC granted the petition, finding his efforts to locate his wife diligent. The Republic, through the Office of the Solicitor General, filed a Petition for Certiorari before the Court of Appeals (CA), arguing Remar failed to exert proper and honest efforts to ascertain Lovelyn’s whereabouts and whether she was still alive. The CA denied the petition, affirming the RTC Judgment. The Republic filed the present Petition for Review on Certiorari.
ISSUE
Whether the Court of Appeals erred when it found sufficient legal basis to uphold the declaration of Lovelyn’s presumptive death.
RULING
The Petition is GRANTED. The Supreme Court reversed and set aside the assailed CA Decision and Resolution, as well as the RTC Judgment, and denied Remar’s petition to have his wife declared presumptively dead.
The Court held that for a declaration of presumptive death under Article 41 of the Family Code, the present spouse must have a “well-founded belief” that the absent spouse is already dead. This belief requires a showing of diligent and reasonable efforts to locate the absent spouse, based on the circumstances of the case, and that the present spouse acted on a sufficient basis to form such belief. The Court found Remar’s efforts insufficient. His search was primarily passive, relying on information from relatives and following leads that proved futile. He did not report her disappearance to authorities, seek help from the NBI or police, or inquire from her last known employer or friends. The information he received indicated she was alive but cohabiting with another man, which suggests abandonment, not death. The Court emphasized that a declaration of presumptive death requires a belief in death, not merely an absence or a likelihood that the spouse does not want to be found. Remar’s actions did not demonstrate a well-founded belief that Lovelyn was dead, only that she had left and could not be located.