REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

6TH JUDICIAL REGION

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
BRANCH 32
ILOILO CITY

JOHN JOEL FUENTES,

Petitioner,

CIVIL CASE NO. 88-10228

- versus - For: Declaration of Absolute Nullity of

a Void Ab Initio Marriage under Art.
36 of
the Family Code of the Philippines

GELINE SAMILLANO-FUENTES,
Respondent.
X----------------------------------------------X

PETITION
COMES NOW Petitioner, through the undersigned counsel, and unto this
Honorable Court, most respectfully states that:
1. Petitioner JOHN JOEL FUENTES is a Filipino, of legal age, married and a
resident of Guanco St. Sto. Domingo, Arevalo, Iloilo City, Philippines, where
all legal notices may be sent; while Respondent GELINE SAMILLANO-
FUENTES, is a Filipino, of legal age, married and a resident of Guanco St.
Sto. Domingo, Arevalo, Iloilo City, Philippines, where she can be served
summons and all legal notices and processes of this Honorable Court.
Attached hereto is the Certification dated September 26, 2015 issued by
Barangay Sto. Domingo, Arevalo, Iloilo City as ANNEX “A” and is made an
integral part of this Petition;
2. Both parties to this petition were married on 19 JULY 2014, before Rev. Fr.
Jesse T. Tabobo, Jr., Officiating Priest, Parish of St. Anne, Molo, Iloilo City.
The marriage was registered with the Office of the Local Civil Registrar, City
of Iloilo, Province of Iloilo, under Registry Number 2014-138 and with
Marriage License Number 0081849 issued on 14 July 2014 at Iloilo City.
Petitioner was twenty one (21) years old and Respondent was just twenty
(20) years old when both got married on 19 July 2014. Copy of the said
Certificate of Marriage, issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO) is
 hereto attached as ANNEX “B” and is made an integral part of this Petition;
3. The property regime governing the marriage of the parties herein is that of
ABSOLUTE COMMUNITY OF PROPERTIES, there being no marriage
settlement and/or pre-nuptial agreement entered into before their marriage;
4. Petition has an illegitimate son from a previous relationship RYAN FUENTES
(RYAN, hereafter), who was born on 2 MAY 2007 at Iloilo Doctors Hospital,
Iloilo City, Philippines. Ryan is currently living with both the petitioner and the
respondent. Attached hereto as ANNEX “C” is the NSO copy of the
Certificate of Live Birth of said Ryan Fuentes, under Registry No. 2009-4087
and is made an integral part of this petition;
5. Petitioner is a graduate of Bachelor of Arts in Psychology at the University of
San Agustin, Iloilo City and currently a Human Resource Officer at Pepsi-
Cola Products Philippines Inc.; while Respondent is a graduate of Bachelor
of Science in Nursing of the same University, unemployed;
6. Friends at a party introduced petitioner and respondent in January 2013
during the highlight of Iloilo’s Dinagyang festivities. The parties immediately
took a liking to each other and petitioner thereafter courted respondent. They
became a couple a week after. From the time of their courtship, petitioner
noticed that his attempts to establish physical intimacy were rejected by the
respondent. Nevertheless, petitioner soldiered on because of his love for
respondent;
7. Petitioner and respondent got married on July 19, 2014 at St. Anne’s Parish
in Molo, Iloilo City. They spent their honeymoon at a luxurious resort in
Boracay but were not able to consummate their marriage. Respondent
claims that the office of her genitals was too small to allow copulation and
that she is afraid the consummating the marriage will be very painful for her.
The respondent didn’t push any further and thought that respondent just
needed some time to adjust as a newlywed couple;
8. During the course of their marriage, petitioner attempted to have sexual
relations with respondent but she continued to refuse his advancements.
Petitioner tried very hard to slowly coax her into fulfilling their marital
obligations and to be understanding of the apprehensions experienced by
respondent;
9. The lack of physical intimacy in their marriage resulted to the development of
feelings of rejection, frustration and unhappiness on the part of the petitioner.
Although they shared a same bed, all sexual advances of petitioner were still
being refused by the respondent. This also led to frequent marital spats
between petitioner and respondent that were often observed by their
neighbour and family friend Yong Custodio as well as petitioner’s son, Ryan,
 who was living with the couple.;
10. As an attempt to address their strained relationship, both petitioner and
respondent underwent marriage counselling and a subsequent psychiatric
evaluation on October 22, 2015 with Dr. Justicia Barrios, MD, DBP, FPPA,
clinical psychologist and psychiatrist. Despite their counseling sessions,
respondent still refuses to have sexual relations with the petitioner;
11. This continued rejection of the respondent made the petitioner finally decide
to file for a petition to declare his marriage with respondent null and void;
12. The psychiatric evaluation with Dr. Justicia Barrios showed the presence of a
psychological sexual dysfunction on the part of the RESPONDENT. This
sexual dysfunction is described in the criteria of the DSM V Diagnostic
Criteria for GENITO-PELVIC PAIN OR PENETRATION DISORDER
(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition -a
standardized American classification of mental diseases), seen below:

“DSM-V DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA FOR GENITO-PELVIC PAIN OR

PENETRATION DISORDER
Genito-Pelvic Pain or Penetration Disorder is a condition in which the pelvic floor
muscles around the vagina contract or tighten whenever an attempt is made to
penetrate. This is an involuntary action, wherein, the partner has no control over
the muscle contraction. The tightening of the muscles prevents any possible
penetration of foreign object such as tampons, instruments used for
gynecological tests, and the phallus. During any attempt to penetrate, a reflex
action triggers tension in the muscles, resulting in pain. It is a state where the
woman has no control over the contraction of the muscles, and experiences pain
that may vary from mild to intense. (Psychiatric Report dated June 23, 2016, Dr.
Justicia Barrios which is hereto attached as ANNEX “D” and is made an integral
part of this Petition);

13. In view of the above-said psychiatric evaluation, the respondent was found to
have a Genito-Pelvic Pain or Penetration Disorder, described by the DSM V
Criteria. The said disorder made respondent extremely afraid to have any
intimate or sexual relations that led to her severe behavioral problems before
and during the marriage. This psychological disorder has no specific cure
and therefore permanent. This psychological disorder is also grave and
serious because it is a developmental defect that is persistent and
unchanging. The Genito-pelvic Pain or Penetration Disorder made the
respondent unable to perform her responsibilities in marriage to love, care,
respect and support her husband;
14. Considering the above-described personality disorder of respondent, Dr.
Justicia Barrios made the following recommendations, to wit:

“Remarks and Recommendations:

In view of the foregoing psychiatric evaluation, the respondent is found to have
Genito-Pelvic Pain or Penetration Disorder wherein the pelvic floor muscles
around the vagina contract or tighten whenever an attempt is made to penetrate.
This disorder has a tremendous impact on one’s personal life. Women with this
disorder often have strained relationships because of the inability to have sexual
intercourse, and because it prevents them from having a child and raising a
family. As psychological stress builds up over time, it may even lead to
depression. The inability to get penetrated is likely to cause a deep psychological
influence in a person's mind. The person may begin to feel ashamed, shocked,
embarrassed or even inferior. The chances of this person coming to a conclusion
of being “defective” are also high after repeated failures and unbearable pain. It
has no specific cure.
The petitioner was not found to have any personality disorder. He did his role in
this marriage. However, it was the Penetration disorder of the respondent that
caused immense problems in their marriage.
Having found that the respondent has Genito-pelvic Pain or Penetration
Disorder, the petition for nullity of marriage is highly recommended. The
petitioner can pursue a healthy marital life in the future.” Attached hereto is the
Resume/Curriculum Vitae of Dr. Justicia Barrios as ANNEX “E” and is made an
integral part of this Petition;

15. Moreover, respondent miserably failed to observe mutual love and respect
towards petitioner so that there is an urgent need for this Honorable Court to
declare the marriage between the parties NULL AND VOID, otherwise, both
parties will be unnecessarily exposed to continuous pain and sufferings;
16. The Local Civil Registrar of Iloilo City, should likewise be ordered by this
Honorable Court to cause the cancellation of the subject marriage among the
lists of the registered marriage recorded thereto as soon as the subject
marriage be declared NULL AND VOID.

PRAYER
WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed of this
Honorable Court that judgment be rendered as follows:
1. Declaring the marriage between JOHN JOEL FUENTES, petitioner and
GELINE SAMILLANO-FUENTES, respondent, solemnized on 10 AUGUST 2009
solemnized by Rev. Fr. Jesse T. Tabobo, Jr., Officiating Priest, Parish of St.
Anne, as evidenced by Certificate of Marriage with Registry Number 2009-123
as NULL AND VOID;
2. Directing the Local Civil Registrar Iloilo City, Province of Iloilo, to record
or annotate in the official records the judgment of this Honorable Court declaring
the marriage between petitioner and respondent as NULL AND VOID;
3. Other reliefs and remedies that may be deemed proper and just.
Iloilo City, October 2, 2016.

GIAN C. BERMUDO
TRINIDAD BERMUDO AND ASSOCIATES
Counsel for the Petitioner
3RD Floor Manfred Building, General Luna St., Iloilo City Poper, Iloilo City
IBP ID No. 941490/ January 12, 2014/ Iloilo City
PTR No. 4678017/ January 12, 2014/ Iloilo City
Attorney’s Roll No. 8811
Email address: trinidad.bermudo.associates@gmail.com
Tel. No. (033) 3372254; 3372256
MCLE COMPLIANCE NO. IV-0005184/ 03/20/2014