REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
MAKATI CITY, BRANCH 55

ELENITA SALAMAT-MAGDALENO,
Plaintiff,
Civil Case No. 198761
- versus - For: DECLARATION OF
NULLITY OF
MARRIAGE
JOEL H. MAGDALENO,
Respondent.
x -------------------------------------- x

JUDICIAL AFFIDAVIT OF
ELENITA SALAMAT-MAGDALENO

PRELIMINARY STATEMENT

I, Elenita Salamat-Magdaleno, Filipino, Married, of legal age,

with residence at 9023 Kalayaan St., Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City,
after having been duly sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose
and state:

That the person examining me is Atty. Mario Batongbacal, of

Villanueva, Romulo, Palabra Law Office, with address at 6th Floor,
RCBC Tower, Ayala Ave. cor. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City. The
examination is being held at the same address;

That I am answering his questions fully conscious that I do so

under oath and may face criminal liability for false testimony and
perjury.

PURPOSE

The testimony of the plaintiff is being offered to prove:

1. That the respondent, Joel H. Magdaleno, contracted a

subsequent marriage with plaintiff, Elenita Salamat-Magdaleno, while
respondent’s previous marriage is still valid and subsisting;
2. That plaintiff Elenita Salamat-Magdaleno only knew of the
subsisting marriage between respondent Joel H. Magdaleno and a
certain Nanette Natividad-Magdaleno in 2019 through the records of
the Philippine Statistics Authority;
3. That the subsequent marriage between respondent and
plaintiff is void for being bigamous; and
4. That such testimony will serve as the legal basis for the
claim and/or prayer of the plaintiff;

Page 1 of 8
Civil Case No. 198761
 AFFIDAVIT PROPER

Q: Please state your name and other circumstances for the record.
A: My name is Elenita Salamat-Magdaleno. I am 45 years old. And
I am currently residing at 9023 Kalayaan St. Brgy. Poblacion,
Makati City

Q: Do you have any job?

A: No, I am a housewife.

Q: Housewife, so you are married?

A: Yes. I am married

Q: To whom are you married?

A: To Joel H. Magdaleno, the respondent.

Q: When did you and Mr. Magdaleno get married?

A: We got married on March 18, 1996.

Q: Do you have any proof of your marriage with Joel H. Magdaleno?

A: Yes, I have here our Marriage Certificate duly certified by the
Philippine Statistics Authority (Annex A).

Q: Do you have any children with Mr. Magdaleno?

A: Yes. We have a daughter. Francine is now fifteen (15) years old.

Q: After you and Mr. Magdaleno got married, did you live together?
A: Yes. We lived in his parents’ house in Paco, Manila for three (3)
months and thereafter acquired a house and lot in Poblacion
Makati.

Q: Is this the house where you are currently residing?

A: Yes, in 9023 Kalayaan St. Brgy. Poblacion, Makati City. That is
our family home.

Q: Are you two living together in that conjugal dwelling until now?
A: No. We are already living separately since June 2015, more than
four (4) years now. My daughter and I are the only ones left in
the family home.

Q: So where is Mr. Magdaleno residing now?

A: He now lives in Pearl Condominium in Makati.

Q: Is he renting in one of the units in Pearl Condominium Makati?

A: No. We bought the 11B unit in Pearl Condominium in 1999
through our conjugal savings. We own the unit.

Q: Can you tell me the reason for this separation between you and
Mr. Madaleno?
A: We were never in good terms.

Q: Since the beginning of your marriage?

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Civil Case No. 198761
A: No. Our marriage was smooth sailing during the first five (5)
years. I was then working as an agent of a travel agency in
Makati and my husband manages his parents’ lending company.
We had a stable income. But everything changed since 2002.

Q: What happened in 2002?

A: It was a difficult time. I had a miscarriage and my husband’s
company declared bankruptcy. Joel had to start from scratch. He
was employed in another lending company but he was earning
almost half of his previous monthly income. Joel was not satisfied
with his new job. He didn’t want to settle for less that’s why he
decided to put up his own company instead. Our conjugal
savings, which we earned during the early years, helped him
build his own small lending company in 2003.

Q: Did you agree with the idea of him putting up this company?
A: Of course. During those time, I still had full trust on him. It was
after my second miscarriage in 2004 that Joel completely lost
himself.

Q: What happened after the second miscarriage?

A: Because of my difficulty to get pregnant and our desire to have
children, we agreed that I should quit working so I can properly
take care of myself. It was the most right decision because on
January 1, 2005, I gave birth to a healthy baby girl.

Q: Did you return to work after giving birth?

A: No. Joel said that I should just stay home and I should just let
him take care of our finances. I willingly obliged. That time, I fully
believed that my husband’s company was going well because
Joel was able to acquire a lot of properties like the unit in Pearl
Condominium, our 500-square meter lot in Imus, Cavite, and the
Innova car he is currently using. All these properties were
acquired within the span of only eight (8) years from the founding
of Joel’s lending company. But in 2011, I knew something was
wrong with him and the company.

Q: Why, what happened in 2011?

A: Joel started going home late and drunk almost every day. He
was not like that so I suspected something was going on with his
work. I went to the company office one time and there I found out
that Joel do not own the company anymore.

Q: What do you mean by “do not own the company anymore”?

A: Joel lost his shares and what was left for him was only 10% of
the total company shares.

Q: Did he ever tell you about this situation?

A: No, he never mentioned anything to me. In fact, we were barely
talking to each other because he was always drunk.

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Civil Case No. 198761
Q: So what did you do after finding out about the company’s
situation?
A: I confronted him. He was drunk that time. He shouted at me while
denying about his lost shares. He told me not to interfere in his
business because I was not the one earning money for the
family. Since then, he’s been always drunk. And there are times
that he would shout at me and drag me all over the house.

Q: Did your daughter see these events inside your home?

A: Yes. Francine was able to witness most of our fights.

Q: Can you take me to the time you and Mr. Magdaleno started
living separately?
A: It was on January 2, 2016 that I decided to kick him out of the
house. I arrived home from my parents’ house in Laguna at
around four o’clock in the afternoon. Francine was playing in our
neighbor’s house. I noticed that our front door was open. I
entered the living room and saw another woman’s underwear on
the floor. When I went to the bedroom, there I saw my husband
lying with a naked woman.

Q: Do you know this woman?

A: No. I do not know her. Her face was not even familiar

Q: What did you do after seeing them naked?

A: I shouted at them. I kicked them out of the house and I threw my
husband’s clothes and things outside. That’s when he started
living in Pearl Condominium.

Q: Did Mr. Magdaleno continue to provide for you and your daughter
thereafter?
A: No. My parents are the ones supporting me and Francine from
then on.

Q: Was Mr. Magdaleno living alone in Pearl Condominium?

A: He was living alone only until the early months of 2018.

Q: Then who’s living with him in the condominium from the latter
months of 2018?
A: A certain Nanette Natividad-Magdaleno. Joel and Nanette have
been living together since 2018. They even have a two-year old
daughter already.

Q: Is this Nanette the same woman Mr. Magdaleno slept with in your
house in Poblacion?
A: No, she’s not.

Q: Do you know this Nanette Natividad before?

A: No. I never had an encounter with her.

Q: How did you acquire such information about this Nanette

Natividad-Magdaleno and your husband?

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Civil Case No. 198761
A: I went to the condominium in 2017 to confirm what my relatives
were telling me about Joel living with another woman in Pearl
Condominium.

Q: What happened when you went there?

A: I saw Joel, this Nanette and their daughter. Joel and I were
shouting at each other but what shocked me was what Nanette
showed to me when she intervened.

Q: What did Nanette show you?

A: It was a Marriage Certificate stating that Joel and she were
married since May 5, 1992. Nanette told me that she is the
legitimate wife and I should leave or else she would call the
police.

Q: How did you confirm that the woman you saw in the
condominium unit with your husband is the Nanette Natividad in
the Marriage Certificate?
A: I confronted Joel’s parents and they admitted that Joel got
married in a civil wedding with his then girlfriend Nanette in Cebu
in 1992. They showed me the photos of Joel and Nanette during
their civil wedding. They even told me that Nanette went abroad
and never returned, leaving Joel behind. From then, Joel lost his
communication with Nanette, and started living as a single man.

Q: Were Mr. Magdaleno’s parents aware that your husband and

Nanette Natividad started living together in 2018?
A: No. They told me that it was only when I went to their house three
(3) months that they found out Nanette is back and was now
living with Joel.

Q: Did you confirm the authenticity of the Marriage Certificate?

A: Yes, I was able to acquire a copy (Annex B) of it from the PSA.
It confirmed that Joel married Nanette on May 5, 1992, four (4)
years before we got married.

Q: Is the alleged marriage still subsisting?

A: Yes, I was able to confirm this as well from PSA. I also found out
that Joel never presented his CENOMAR (Certificate of No
Marriage) when we applied for a marriage license.

Q: What are your prayers to this court with regard to this case?
A: That the Honorable Court grant my petition for Declaration of
Nullity of my Marriage with Joel H. Magdaleno on the ground that
our marriage is void ab inito for being bigamous.

- END OF STATEMENT –

Page 5 of 8
Civil Case No. 198761
 IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I hereunto set my hand below this 27th
day of February, 2020 at Makati City.

ELENITA SALAMAT-MAGDALENO
AFFIANT

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this 24th day of

February, 2020, in the City of Makati, affiant Elenita Salamat-
Magdaleno personally came and appeared before me, exhibiting her
Passport No. E91254 issued on 31 March 2017 at Pasay City.

ATTY. BRIAN MIRANDA

NOTARY PUBLIC
Until December 31, 2020
Roll of Attorney No. 726615
IBP No. 182727 / 01-08-20 / Makati City
PTR No. 152525 / 01-06-20 / Makati City
MCLE No. V-815263 until April 21, 2022

Doc. No. 10;

Page No. 06;
Book No. III;
Series of 2020.

Page 6 of 8
Civil Case No. 198761
 ANNEXES TO THE JUDICIAL AFFIDAVIT

Annex “A”

PSA Certificate of Marriage of

Joel H. Magdaleno and Elenita S. Magdaleno

Annex “B”

PSA Certificate of Marriage of

Joel H. Magdaleno and Nanette N. Magdaleno

ATTESTATION

That I, MARIO BATONGBACAL, of legal age, and with law office

address at 6th Floor, RCBC Tower, Ayala Ave. cor. Gil Puyat Ave.,
Makati City, under oath, hereby attest that I conducted the examination
of the witness; that I have faithfully recorded the questions I asked and
the corresponding answers that the witness gave; and that neither I nor
any other person, then present or assisting me coached the witness
regarding her answers.

In witness whereof, I hereby sign my name this 27th day of

February, 2020 at Makati City, Philippines.

ATTY. MARIO BATONGBACAL

Counsel for Elenita Salamat-Magdaleno
6/F RCBC Tower, Ayala Ave. cor. Gil Puyat Ave., Makati City
IBP No. 525265 / Makati City
PTR No. 176543 / 01-02-20 / Makati City
Roll of Attorney’s No. 817615
MCLE Compliance No. V-765345
Valid until April 22, 2022

Page 7 of 8
Civil Case No. 198761
 SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN TO before me this 27th day of
February, 2020, in the City of Makati, Atty. Mario Batongbacal
personally came and appeared before me, exhibiting his LTO Driver’s
License No. 736353 issued on March 31, 2019 at Makati City.

ATTY. BRIAN MIRANDA

NOTARY PUBLIC
Until December 31, 2020
Roll of Attorney No. 726615
IBP No. 182727 / 01-08-20 / Makati City
PTR No. 152525 / 01-06-20 / Makati City
MCLE No. V-815263 until April 21, 2022

Doc. No. 11;

Page No. 06;
Book No. III;
Series of 2020.

Page 8 of 8
Civil Case No. 198761