Cercado-Siga v. Cercado Jr.

GR 185374      

March 11, 2015

Facts:

            Petitioners are children of Vicente and Benita. Vicente acquired by gratuitous tile a parcel of land. Upon his death and by virtue of intestate succession, ownership over said land pertained to them as heirs and also upon death of Benita, her share was passed on to them by operation of law. Sometime in 1998, petitioners read in a newspaper a notice that the estate of Vicente and Leonora Ditablan has been extra-judicially settled by their heirs, respondents herein. To prove marriage of petitioners’ parents, they presented several documents.

Issue: W/N marriage contract, or Contrato Matrimonial, as denominated in this case, is sufficient to prove fact of marriage.

Held:

            Petitioners failed to prove validity of marriage, hence, they do not have cause of action in the case for the declaration of nullity of the Extrajudicial Settlement of the Estate of Vicente and Leonora. They failed to present witness to establish Rule 132, Sec 20 Rules on Evidence that for a private document (Contrato Matrimonio) to be admissible as evidence. Also, Sec 21 thereof providing for a ‘proper custody’ requisite to the ancient document claimed for it also to be admissible was not met, Contrato Matrimonio is inadmissible as evidence. Marriage is void