Castillo v. De Leon- Castillo

GR 189607

Facts:

            On 1972, Lea (respondent) married Bautista. On 1979, she married Renato (petitioner). On 2001, Renato filed for a declaration of nullity on the ground of bigamy. On 2002, she filed a declaration for nullity of her first marriage to Bautista and it was granted and declared null and void for lacking marriage license and same court issued Certificate of Finality to make the decision final and executory. On 2007, RTC declared null and void the marriage between petitioner and respondent for being bigamous. It said that even if respondent eventually had her first marriage judicially declared void, the fact remains that the first and second marriage were subsisting before the first marriage was annulled, since she failed to obtain a judicial decree of nullity for her 1^st marriage to Bautista before contracting her second marriage with Renato. CA reversed and set aside

Issue: W/N CA erred in finding marriage herein valid and that properties acquired during marriage be declared conjugal

Held:

            Court upholds CA decision. The Civil Code governs in this case since the Family Code was not yet born on the day the parties herein celebrated their marriage. Odayat, Mendoza, and Aragon doctrine provides that the Civil Code contains no express provision on the necessity of a judicial declaration of nullity of a void marriage. Also, subsequent decision annulling her first marriage only serves to strengthen the conclusion that her subsequent marriage to Renato is valid.