4.

ADONG VS CHEONG SENG GEE (43 Phil 43)

Facts:

A Chinese national, Cheong Boo, died intestate in the

Philippines leaving a property worth nearly P100,000.00.

His (deceased) property in the Philippines is being claimed

by;

a) Respondent, Seng Gee, who alleged to be his son

from his first marriage with Tan Bit in China, and

b) Petitioner, Mora Adong, deceased lawfully

married wife in Basilan with 2 daughters

. CFI states that deceased Seng Gee failed to prove the

validity of the marriage of his parents in China through his
uncle’s letter, however, he is entitled to the estate of his
father because he has been admitted to the Philippines as a
natural child of the deceased, Cheong Boo.

On the other hand, Petitioner Mora Adong and the 2

daughters of Cheong are entitled also to the shares of the
estate.

Issue:

(1) W/N the marriage between Cheong Boo and Tan

Bit in China is valid here in the Philippines; and

(2) W/N the Mohammedan marriage between

Cheong Boo and Mora Adong was valid.

Held/Ratio Decidendi:

The SC found the

(1) Chinese marriage not proved thus Chinaman Cheong

Seng Gee has only the rights of a natural child, while

(2) it found the Mohammedan marriage to be proved and

valid thus giving the widow Mora Adiong and the two
legitimate children Payang and Rosalia the rights accruing
to them under the law.

To established a valid marriage, it must be proven before

the court of the islands the existence of the law as a
question of fact; and must be supported by convincing
evidence in which Respondent Cheong Seng Gee failed to
provide.

The SC held that marriage in this jurisdiction is not only a

civil contract, but it is a new relation, an institution in the
maintenance of which the public is deeply interested.
Consequently, every intendment of... the law leans toward
legalizing matrimony.
Persons dwelling together in apparent matrimony are
presumed, in the absence of any counter-presumption or
evidence special to the case, to be in fact married.
Public policy should aid acts intended to validate
marriages and should retard acts intended to invalidate
marriages.