GR 38230; (November, 1933) (Digest)
G.R. No. 38230 ; November 21, 1933
THE PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINE ISLANDS, plaintiff-appellee, vs. BITDU, defendant-appellant.
FACTS
The accused, Mora Bitdu, a Moro woman, was married to Moro Halid in accordance with Mohammedan rites. About seven months prior to the case, she contracted a second marriage with Moro Hajirol, also in accordance with Mohammedan customs. She defended herself by claiming she had been divorced from her first husband by Datu Gavino Cuevas in accordance with Mohammedan customs. The trial court found her guilty of bigamy, rejecting the validity of the Mohammedan divorce, and ordered her sent to a training school until majority.
ISSUE
Whether a divorce obtained in accordance with Mohammedan religious customs, without complying with the statutory grounds and procedures under Act No. 2710 (the Divorce Law), is valid and can serve as a defense to a charge of bigamy.
RULING
No. The Supreme Court affirmed the conviction. A valid divorce in the Philippines can only be granted by the courts for the causes specified in Act No. 2710. While Act No. 3613 (the Marriage Law) allowed marriages between Mohammedans to be performed according to their religious rites, no law authorized divorces according to religious practices. The alleged Mohammedan divorce, even if proven to follow Koranic precepts, had no legal effect. The accused’s good faith belief in the validity of the divorce was a mistake of law, not fact, and did not exempt her from criminal liability. The recognition of such divorces as a matter of public policy was a matter for the legislative, not the judicial, branch.
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