GR L 6505; (August, 1954) (Digest)

G.R. No. L-6505; August 23, 1954
ASUNCION ROQUE, petitioner, vs. HON. DEMETRIO B. ENCARNACION, as Judge of the Court of First Instance of Manila, and FRANCISCO REYES, respondents.

FACTS

Petitioner Asuncion Roque filed a complaint for legal separation, custody of children, liquidation of conjugal property, and support against her husband, respondent Francisco Reyes. In his answer, Reyes admitted the marriage but filed a counterclaim seeking annulment thereof. He alleged that Roque was already married to Policarpio Bayore since 1930 and fraudulently represented herself as single when she married him. Roque, in her answer to the counterclaim, specifically denied the allegation regarding her marital status, stating “the truth being that said Policarpio Bayore (plaintiff’s husband) has been absent for 14 consecutive years.” Reyes filed a motion for summary judgment, supporting it with the deposition of Policarpio Bayore (who identified a certified copy of his marriage to Roque) and his own affidavit. Roque did not present any countervailing affidavit, deposition, or document. The trial court granted the motion and rendered a summary judgment declaring the marriage between Roque and Reyes null and void ab initio, awarding custody of the children to Reyes, and declaring Roque’s rights to conjugal properties forfeited in favor of the children. Roque assails this judgment, contending the trial court had no jurisdiction to render a summary judgment in an action for annulment of marriage and that genuine issues of fact were raised.

ISSUE

Whether the trial court erred in granting a summary judgment to annul the marriage between Asuncion Roque and Francisco Reyes.

RULING

Yes. The Supreme Court annulled the judgment and ordered the lower court to proceed with the case according to the Rules. First, an action to annul a marriage is not an action “to recover upon a claim” or “to obtain a declaratory relief” to which summary judgment proceedings under Rule 35 are applicable. Such proceedings are traditionally limited to actions for money claims or liquidated demands. Second, it is the avowed policy of the State, which considers marriage as indissoluble, to be cautious and strict in granting annulments. This policy is embodied in Section 10, Rule 35 of the Rules of Court, which expressly prohibits annulment of marriages without an actual trial. The trial court’s error was compounded by its failure to address the genuine issue of fact raised by Roque’s pretense of good faith (based on Bayore’s 14-year absence) when she entered the marriage. The court’s additional declarations on property forfeiture and child custody, made without a trial despite this factual issue, constituted an abuse of discretion amounting to excess of jurisdiction.