GR 45320; (January, 1939) (Digest)
G.R. No. L-45320; January 26, 1939
Intestate estate of the deceased Macario Carrillo. ROSENDA ALMEIDA VIUDA DE CARRILLO, petitioner-appellee, vs. CORAZON EDELMIRA CARRILLO DE GALANG, GRACIA CARRILLO, and ROMULO CARRILLO, oppositors-appellants.
FACTS
Macario Carrillo died in 1931, survived by his widow, Rosenda Almeida (appellee), and his three children from a first marriage (appellants). In the intestate proceedings, the project of partition approved by the court included an agreement that the widow would undertake the “care of the tomb.” The widow later built a mausoleum in Biñan, Laguna, for her husband’s remains. Initially, she consented to the appellants’ request to temporarily transfer the remains to Ermita Church in Manila, but she withdrew her consent upon legal advice. The appellants then planned to proceed with the transfer, prompting the widow to seek an injunction from the court, which was granted. The appellants appealed.
ISSUE
Who has the superior right to disinter and transfer the remains of the deceased—the surviving spouse or the children from a prior marriage?
RULING
The Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s order, ruling in favor of the widow. First, the agreement in the partition, wherein the widow undertook the “care of the tomb,” was interpreted to encompass not only the initial burial but also the subsequent transfer and final resting place, giving her a contractual right. Second, while Philippine law lacks an express statute on the preference among next of kin for disposition of remains, Section 1103 of the Revised Administrative Code, which prioritizes the surviving spouse for the duty of burial, reflects a similar preference. Third, consistent with American jurisprudence, the primary right to control the burial and disposition of remains resides in the surviving spouse, absent a contrary provision by the deceased. The widow’s initial consent was vitiated by mistake, as she was led to believe the transfer to Ermita Church was only temporary. Therefore, the widow possesses the superior right to transfer the remains to the mausoleum she built.
AI Generated by Armztrong.