50. Calingo vs.

Calingo to limit her visitation to their neighbors to gossip, but Cynthia got mad
and told him there was nothing much to do in their house. 6
[G.R. No. 212717. March 11, 2020.]
Despite their marital problems, Ariel and Cynthia had their
REPUBLIC OF THE church wedding on February 22, 1998. At the time of their church
PHILIPPINES, petitioner, vs. ARIEL S. CALINGO and celebration, Cynthia was five months pregnant. Ariel claimed that
CYNTHIA MARCELLANA-CALINGO, respondents. Cynthia's behavior was no different even after their second rites. She
continued to gossip and pick fights with their neighbors. 7
According to Ariel, not only did Cynthia showed aggressive
DECISION behavior during their union, but she likewise exhibited unfaithfulness.
Ariel recalled that Cynthia's first instance of marital infidelity was with
Noli, their neighbor, who became close to them. When Ariel found out
J.C. REYES, JR., J  : p
about the affair, he forgave Cynthia, who allegedly showed no remorse. 8

Assailed in this Petition for Review 1 are the Decision 2 dated Noli later on revealed to him that their twin children were not
September 9, 2013 and Resolution 3 dated May 29, 2014 of the Court of really Ariel's children, but his own. Ariel then remembered one incident
Appeals (CA) in CA-G.R. CV No. 94407 which declared null and void between him and Cynthia wherein the latter told him "hindi mo anak
the marriage between Ariel S. Calingo (Ariel) and Cynthia Marcellana- yan," as she got mad because Ariel spanked one of their children. 9
Calingo (Cynthia). CAIHTE Cynthia's second affair involved Louie, who was also their
The Relevant Antecedents neighbor. Ariel testified that he discovered Louie hiding under their
marital bed and wearing his pants only. 10
As culled from the records, the facts of the case are as follows:
Not long after, Ariel reached his peak and left their conjugal
In 1978, Ariel and Cynthia met when the latter was still the abode after Cynthia threw a knife at him, which fortunately hit the wall.
girlfriend of the former's friend. After a while, Cynthia and his then Premised on Cynthia's irritable and irascible attitude, Ariel narrated that
boyfriend broke up. From the conclusion of such relationship, there the same took place after he asked Cynthia to check the pressure cooker;
sprung a new one. After developing a strong sense of sexual desire and and in the course thereof, the pressure cooker exploded. Surprised,
physical attraction towards each other, Ariel and Cynthia became a Cynthia got so angry and started throwing curses at Ariel. Allegedly,
couple. 4 Cynthia threw a knife against him which hit the wall.
On February 5, 1980, Ariel and Cynthia decided to get married Ariel filed a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage.
civilly. The couple initially lived in Paco, Manila; and later on
transferred to several places because of the alleged aggressive behavior To support his petition, Ariel secured the psychological
of Cynthia. 5 evaluation of Dr. Arnulfo Lopez (Dr. Lopez). The result thereof shows
that Ariel possesses an emotionally disturbed personality, but not severe
As they lived together, Ariel narrated that Cynthia kept herself enough to constitute psychological incapacity. 11 Dr. Lopez likewise
occupied by gossiping and reading comic books. Once, he asked Cynthia conducted an assessment on Cynthia; and the same revealed that Cynthia

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is suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder with Histrionic Defending the sanctity of marriage, the Republic, through the
Personality Disorder Features. 12 Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) filed this petition.
In a Decision 13 dated August 3, 2009, the Regional Trial Court In essence, the OSG was resolute in propounding Ariel's failure
of Quezon City, Branch 107 (RTC), denied the petition. Finding to provide sufficient evidence to demonstrate Cynthia's psychological
insufficiency of evidence, the RTC stressed that the totality of evidence incapacity within the ambit of Article 36 of the Family Code. 18
presented did not exhibit Cynthia's psychological incapacity as there was
In his Comment, 19 Ariel reiterated that Cynthia's Histrionic
absolutely no showing that her traits were already present at the inception
Personality Disorder is a psychological incapacity which warrants the
of the marriage or that they were incurable. The fallo thereof reads:
nullity of their marriage.
WHEREFORE, the instant petition for
In its Reply, 20 the OSG pointed out that Ariel failed to justify in
declaration of void marriage is denied. The above-entitled
his Comment sufficient basis to justify the denial of the instant petition.
case is dismissed.
The Issue
SO ORDERED. 14
Whether or not the marriage between Ariel and Cynthia should
Ariel's motion for reconsideration was denied in a
be declared null on the basis of psychological incapacity under Article 36
Resolution 15 dated October 19, 2009.
of the Family Code.
Raising a lone error, Ariel filed an appeal before the CA and
The Court's Ruling
insisted that the RTC erred in denying the petition for the evidence
presented adequately established Cynthia's psychological incapacity. 16 While marriage is considered by our fundamental law as an
inviolable social institution, our laws allow the nullity of marriage
In a Decision dated September 9, 2013, the CA reversed the
entered into between parties who are incognizant of their obligations on
ruling of the RTC and granted the petition for declaration of nullity of
the ground of psychological incapacity. Specifically, Article 36 of
marriage. Hinged on Cynthia's attitude of being "mabunganga" and
the Family Code provides:
having relationships with other men coupled with the diagnosis of Dr.
Lopez, the CA was convinced that Cynthia is psychologically Art. 36. A marriage contracted by any party who,
incapacitated to fulfill her essential marital obligations to Ariel. The at the time of the celebration, was psychologically
dispositive portion reads: incapacitated to comply with the essential marital
obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such
WHEREFORE, the appeal is GRANTED. The
incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.
Decision dated August 3, 2009 and Resolution dated
October 19, 2009 of the Regional Trial Court, Branch 107, Marriage nullified based on such justification is considered as
Quezon City, in Civil Case No. Q-06-57906 void from the outset.
are REVERSED and SET ASIDE. The marriage of Ariel
Jurisprudence defined psychological incapacity to no less than a
S. Calingo and Cynthia Marcellana-Calingo is
mental, not physical, incapacity that causes a party to be truly incognitive
declared NULL and VOID AB INITIO.
of the basic marital covenants that must concomitantly be assumed and
SO ORDERED. 17 discharged by the parties to the marriage. 21 It ought to pertain to only the
Hence, this petition. most serious cases of personality disorders that clearly demonstrate the
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party's/parties' utter insensitivity or inability to give meaning and Likewise, Cynthia's sexual infidelity is not a satisfactory proof of
significance to the marriage. 22 psychological incapacity. To be a ground to nullify a marriage based on
Article 36 of the Family Code, it must be shown that the acts of
To be accurate, such incapacity must be characterized by gravity,
unfaithfulness are manifestations of a disordered personality which
juridical antecedence, and incurability:
makes him/her completely unable to discharge the essential obligations
The incapacity must be grave or serious such that of marriage. 26
the party would be incapable of carrying out the ordinary
duties required in marriage; it must be rooted in the history As discussed, there was no evidence which proved that such
of the party antedating the marriage, although the overt raised to the level of psychological incapacity within the meaning of
manifestations may emerge only after the marriage, and it Article 36 of the Family Code, warranting the severance of Cynthia and
must be incurable or, even if it were otherwise, the cure Ariel's marital bonds.
would be beyond the means of the party involved. 23 Unequivocally, psychological incapacity must be more than just
In this case, Ariel presented the medical assessment of Dr. Lopez a "difficulty," "refusal" or "neglect" in the performance of the marital
who found that Cynthia is suffering from Borderline Personality Disorder obligations; it is not enough that a party prove that the other failed to
with Histrionic Personality Disorder Features rooted on her disorderly meet the responsibility and duty of a married person. 27
filial relationship as she was subjected to physical abuse and Hence, contrary to CA's decision, the fact that Cynthia is
abandonment. 24 Such findings were based on the testimony of Ariel and "mabunganga" and had extra-marital affairs are not sufficient indicators
their friends, Francisca Bilason (Bilason) and Ruben Kalaw (Kalaw).  DETACa

of a psychological disorder.
However, this Court refuses to accept as credible the assessment WHEREFORE, premises considered, the instant petition is
of Dr. Lopez as there was no other evidence which established the hereby GRANTED. The Decision dated September 9, 2013 and
juridical antecedence, gravity, and incurability of Cynthia's alleged Resolution dated May 29, 2014 of the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CV
incapacity. While jurisprudence recognizes the dispensability of personal No. 94407 are REVERSED and SET ASIDE.
examination of the party alleged to be suffering from psychological
incapacity, it is but necessary to provide corroborative evidence to The petition for declaration of nullity of marriage
exhibit the required legal parameters. 25 is DISMISSED for lack of merit.

To recall, the report itself cited the testimonies of Ariel and their SO ORDERED.
friends, Bilason and Kalaw as bases for the findings. However, in the Peralta, C.J. and Gesmundo,  * J., concur.
same report, it displayed that Bilason and Kalaw are friends with the
Lazaro-Javier, J., please see dissenting opinion.
couple for more or less thirty years, and the same does not show that they
have known Cynthia longer than such period of time so as to have Caguioa, J., please see concurring opinion.
personal knowledge of her circumstances. Neither was it shown that |||  (Republic v. Calingo, G.R. No. 212717, [March 11, 2020])
Ariel likewise had personal knowledge of Cynthia's family background.
Thus, they could not have known Cynthia's childhood nor the manner as
to how she was raised.

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