I

Sidley and Sol were married with one (1) daughter, Solenn. Sedfrey and Sonia were another couple
with one son, Sonny. Sol and Sedfrey both perished in the same plane accident. Sidley and Sonia
met when the families of those who died sued the airlines and went through grief-counseling
sessions. Years later, Sidley and Sonia got married. At that time, Solenn was four (4) years old and
Sonny was five (5) years old. These two (2) were then brought up in the same household. Fifteen
(15) years later, Solenn and Sonny developed romantic feelings towards each other, and eventually
eloped. On their own and against their parents' wishes, they procured a marriage license and got
married in church.

(a) Is the marriage of Solenn and Sonny valid, voidable, or void? (5%)

(b) If the marriage is defective, can the marriage be ratified by free cohabitation of the
parties? (5%)

II

Ted, married to Annie, went to Canada to work. Five (5) years later, Ted became a naturalized
Canadian citizen. He returned to the Philippines to convince Annie to settle in Canada.
Unfortunately, Ted discovered that Annie and his friend Louie were having an affair. Deeply hurt,
Ted returned to Canada and filed a petition for divorce which was granted. In December 2013, Ted
decided to marry his childhood friend Corazon in the Philippines. In preparation for the wedding, Ted
went to the Local Civil Registry of Quezon City where his marriage contract with Annie was
registered. He asked the Civil Register to annotate the decree of divorce on his marriage contract
with Annie. However, he was advised by the National Statistics Office (NSO) to file a petition for
judicial recognition of the decree of divorce in the Philippines.

Is it necessary for Ted to file a petition for judicial recognition of the decree of divorce he obtained in
Canada before he can contract a second marriage in the Philippines? (5%)

Ill

Silverio was a woman trapped in a man's body. He was born male and his birth certificate indicated
his gender as male, and his name as Silverio Stalon. When he reached the age of 21, he had a sex
reassignment surgery in Bangkok, and, from then on, he lived as a female. On the basis of his sex
reassignment, he filed an action to have his first name changed to Shelley, and his gender, to
female. While he was following up his case with the Regional Trial Court of Manila, he met Sharon
Stan, who also filed a similar action to change her first name to Shariff, and her gender, from female
to male.

Sharon was registered as a female upon birth. While growing up, she developed male
characteristics and was diagnosed to have congenital adrenal hyperplasia ("CAH") which is a
condition where a person possesses both male and female characteristics. At puberty, tests
revealed that her ovarian structures had greatly minimized, and she had no breast or menstrual
development. Alleging that for all intents and appearances, as well as mind and emotion, she had
become a male, she prayed that her birth certificate be corrected such that her gender should be
changed from female to male, and that her first name should be changed from Sharon to Shariff.

Silverio and Sharon fell in love and decided to marry. Realizing that their marriage will be frowned
upon in the Philippines, they travelled to Las Vegas, USA where they got married based on the law
of the place of celebration of the marriage. They, however, kept their Philippine citizenship.
Can the marriage of Silverio (Shelley) and Sharon (Shariff) be legally recognized as valid in the
Philippines? (5%)

IV

Saul, a married man, had an adulterous relation with Tessie. In one of the trysts, Saul's wife, Cecile,
caught them in flagrante. Armed with a gun, Cecile shot Saul in a fit of extreme jealousy, nearly
kiiling him. Four ( 4) years after the incident, Saul filed an action for legal separation against Cecile
on the ground that she attempted to kill him.

1. If you were Saul's counsel, how will you argue his case? 5%
2. If you were the lawyer of Cecile, what will be your defense? 5%
3. If you were the judge, how will you decide the case? 10%

Gigi and Ric, Catholics, got married when they were 18 years old. Their marriage was solemnized
on August 2, 1989 by Ric's uncle, a Baptist Minister, in Calamba, Laguna. He overlooked the fact
that his license to solemnize marriage expired the month before and that the parties do not belong to
his congregation. After 5 years of married life and blessed with 2 children, the spouses developed
irreconcilable differences, so they parted ways.

While separated, Ric fell in love with Juliet, a 16 year-old sophomore in a local college and a
seventh-Day Adventist. They decided to get married with the consent of Juliet's parents. She
presented to him a birth certificate showing she is 18 years old. Ric never doubted her age much
less the authenticity of her birth certificate. They got married in a Catholic church in Manila. A year
after, Juliet gave birth to twins, Aissa and Aretha.

1. What is the status of the marriage between Gigi and Ric - valid, voidable or void? Explain.
5%
2. What is the status of the marriage between Ric and Juliet - valid, voidable or void? Explain.
5%
3. Suppose Ric himself procured the falsified birth certificate to persuade Juliet to marry him
despite her minority and assured her that everything is in order. He did not divulge to her his
prior marriage with Gigi. What action, if any, can Juliet take against him? Explain. 5%
4. If you were the counsel for Gigi, what action/s will you take to enforce and protect her
interests? Explain. 5%

VI

Gemma filed a petition for the declaration of nullity of her marriage with Arnell on the ground of
psychological incapacity .She alleged that after 2 months of their marriage, Arnell showed signs of
disinterest in her, neglected her and went abroad. He returned to the Philippines after 3 years but did
not even get in touch with her. Worse, they met several times in social functions but he snubbed her.
When she got sick, he did not visit her even if he knew of her confinement in the hospital.
Meanwhile, Arnell met an accident which disabled him from reporting for work and earning a living to
support himself.
Will Gemma's suit prosper? Explain. 5%

VIII

Marvin, a Filipino, and Shelley, an American, both residents of California, decided to get married in
their local parish. Two years after their marriage, Shelley obtained a divorce in California. While in
Boracay, Marvin met Manel, a Filipina, who was vacationing there. Marvin fell in love with her. After
a brief, courtship and complying with all the requirements, they got married in Hongkong to avoid
publicity, it being Marvin's second marriage. Is his marriage to Manel valid? Explain. 5%

Write "TRUE" if the statement is true or "FALSE" if the statement is false. If the statement is FALSE,
state the reason. (2.5% each).

1. Roberta, a Filipino, 17 years of age, without the knowledge of his parents, can acquire a
house in Australia because Australian Laws allow aliens to acquire property from the age of
16.
2. If a man commits several acts of sexual infidelity, particularly in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, the
prescriptive period to file for legal separation runs from 2002.
3. The day after John and Marsha got married, John told her that he was impotent. Marsha
continued to live with John for 2 years. Marsha is now estopped from filing an annulment
case against John.
4. Amor gave birth to Thelma when she was 15 years old. Thereafter, Amor met David and they
got married when she was 20 years old. David had a son, Julian, with his ex-girlfriend
Sandra. Julian and Thelma can get married.

IX

Despite several relationships with different women, Andrew remained unmarried. His first
relationship with Brenda produced a daughter, Amy, now 30 years old. His second, with Carla,
produced two sons: Jon and Ryan. His third, with Donna, bore him no children although Elena has a
daughter Jane, from a previous relationship. His last, with Fe, produced no biological children but
they informally adopted without court proceedings, Sandy's now 13 years old, whom they consider
as their own. Sandy was orphaned as a baby and was entrusted to them by the midwife who
attended to Sandy's birth. All the children, including Amy, now live with Andrew in his house.

Can Jon and Jane legally marry? (5%)

a. After they got married, Nikki discovered that Christian was having an affair with another
woman. But Nikki decided to give it a try and lived with him for two (2) years. After two (2)
years, Nikki filed an action for legal separation on the ground of Christian’s sexual infidelity.
Will the action prosper? Explain. (5%)
b. The petitioner filed a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage based allegedly on the
psychological incapacity of the respondent, but the psychologist was not able to personally
examine the respondent and the psychological report was based only on the narration of
petitioner. Should the annulment be granted? Explain. (5%)

XI
tate whether the following marital unions are valid, void, or voidable, and give the corresponding
justifications for your answer:

(a) Ador and Becky's marriage wherein Ador was afflicted with AIDS prior to the marriage.
(2%)

(b) Carlos' marriage to Dina which took place after Dina had poisoned her previous husband
Edu in order to free herself from any impediment in order to live with Carlos. (2%)

(c) Eli and Fely's marriage solemnized seven years after the disappearance of Chona, Eli's
previous spouse, after the plane she had boarded crashed in the West Philippine Sea. (2%)

(d) David who married Lina immediately the day after obtaining a judicial decree annulling his
prior marriage to Elisa. (2%)

(e) Marriage of Zoren and Carmina who did not secure a marriage license prior to their
wedding, but lived together as husband and wife for 10 years without any legal impediment
to marry. (2%)