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III. DOCTRINE: A divorce obtained abroad by an alien may be recognized in our

jurisdiction, provided such decree is valid according to the
national law of the foreigner. However, the divorce decree and
the governing personal law of the alien spouse who obtained the
divorce must be proven. Our courts do not take judicial notice of
foreign laws and judgments; hence, like any other facts, both the
divorce decree and the national law of the alien must be alleged
and proven according to our law on evidence.


Mirasol and Felipe started as friends then, eventually, became sweethearts. During their
courtship, Mirasol discovered that Felipe sustained his affair with his former girlfriend. The
couple's relationship turned tumultuous after the revelation. With the intervention of their
parents, they reconciled. They got married in Pangasinan in 1984 and were blessed with
two (2) children born in 1992 and in 2001.3

In 2011, Mirasol filed a Complaint for declaration of nullity of marriage before the RTC.
Mirasol alleged that at the beginning, their union was harmonious prompting her to believe
that the same was made in heaven. However, after thirteen (13) years of marriage, Felipe
resumed philandering. Tired of her husband's infidelity, she left the conjugal dwelling and
stopped any communication with him. Felipe's irresponsible acts like cohabiting with
another woman, not communicating with her, and not supporting their children for a period
of not less than ten (10) years without any reason, constitute a severe psychological

In support of her case, Mirasol presented clinical psychologist Sheila Marie

Montefalcon (Montefalcon) who, in her Psychological Evaluation Report,7 concluded that
Felipe is psychologically incapacitated to fulfill the essential marital obligations.

It also speaks of gravity as he was not able to carry out the normative and ordinary duties
of marriage and family, shouldered by any married man, existing in ordinary
circumstances. He just cannot perform his duties and obligations as a husband, as he
entered into marriage for his own self-satisfaction and gratification, manipulate and
denigrate the petitioner for his own pleasures and satisfaction. In the process, respondent
was unable to assume his marital duties and responsibilities to his wife. He failed to render
mutual help and support (Article 68, FC).

Additionally, it also speaks of incurability, as respondent has no psychological insight that

he has a character problem. He would not acknowledge the pain he caused to people
around him. People suffering from this personality disorder are unmotivated to treatment
and impervious to recovery. There are no medications and laboratory examinations to be
taken for maladaptive behavior such as the NPD (Narcissistic Personality Disorder).

Otherwise stated, his personality disorder is chronic and pervasive affecting many
aspects of his life, such as social functioning and close relationships.1âwphi1 Apparently,
he has failed to develop appropriate adjustment methods. He lacks the intrapersonal and
interpersonal integration that caused him the failure to understand the very nature of that
sharing of life that is directed toward the solidarity and formation of family.

RTC declared the marriage between Mirasol and Felipe null and void. In 2012, the
Republic of the Philippines, through the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG), filed a
motion for reconsideration, which the RTC denied. However, CA reversed and set aside
the decision of the RTC, ruling that Mirasol failed to present sufficient evidence to prove
that Felipe was suffering from psychological incapacity, thus, incapable of performing
marital obligations due to some psychological illness existing at the time of the celebration
of the marriage.


Whether or not the totality of evidence presented warrants, as the RTC determined, the
declaration of nullity of the marriage of Mirasol and Felipe on the ground of the latter's
psychological incapacity under Article 36 of the Family Code.


It was held that "psychological incapacity" has been intended by law to be confined to the
most serious cases of personality disorders clearly demonstrative of an utter insensitivity
or inability to give meaning and significance to the marriage. Psychological incapacity
must be characterized by (a) gravity, i.e., it must be grave and serious such that the party
would be incapable of carrying out the ordinary duties required in a marriage, (b) juridical
antecedence, i.e., it must be rooted in the history of the party antedating the marriage,
although the overt manifestations may emerge only after the marriage, and (c) incurability,
i.e., it must be incurable, or even if it were otherwise, the cure would be beyond the means
of the party involved.
The presentation of any form of medical or psychological evidence to show the
psychological incapacity, however, did not mean that the same would have automatically
ensured the granting of the petition for declaration of nullity of marriage. It bears repeating
that the trial courts, as in all the other cases they try, must always base their judgments
not solely on the expert opinions presented by the parties but on the totality of evidence
adduced in the course of their proceedings.
The Court finds that there exists insufficient factual or legal basis to conclude that Felipe's
sexual infidelity and irresponsibility can be equated with psychological incapacity as
contemplated by law. Aside from the psychologist, petitioner did not present other
witnesses to substantiate her allegations on Felipe's infidelity notwithstanding the fact that
she claimed that their relatives saw him with other women. Her testimony, therefore, is
considered self-serving and had no serious evidentiary value.