REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES v PONCE-PILAPIL

G.R. No. 219185, November 25, 2020

THIRD DIVISION, HERNANDO

Presumptive Death

A declaration of presumptive death must be predicated upon a well-founded fact of death.

The fact that the absent spouse is merely missing, no matter how certain and undisputed,
will never yield a judicial presumption of the absent spouse's death.

Josephine sought to declare her husband, Agapito, presumptively dead in the RTC. Proper
publication was made and there was no opposition thereto, which the trial eventually
ensued and the decision was in favor of Josephine. The decision was then reversed upon
appeal with the OSG arguing that Josephine failed to prove that she had a well-founded
belief that Agapito was already dead, and that she exerted the required amount of diligence
in searching for her missing husband to which Josephine argues otherwise.

Were the requisites of presumptive death satisfied?

NO. In this case, the Court discussed the requirements for granting a petition for
declaration of presumptive death under Article 41 of the Family Code in the Philippines.
There are four requisites that need to be met: (1) The absent spouse has been missing for
four consecutive years, or two consecutive years if the disappearance occurred where there
is a danger of death under the circumstances laid down in Article 391 of the Civil Code. (2)
The present spouse wishes to remarry. (3) The present spouse has a well-founded belief
that the absentee is dead. This requirement necessitates the present spouse to prove that
their belief was the result of diligent and reasonable efforts to locate the absent spouse.
Mere absence, lack of communication, or general presumption of absence would not suffice.
The present spouse must actively and genuinely search for the absent spouse and ascertain
whether they are still alive or already dead. (4) The present spouse files for a summary
proceeding for the declaration of presumptive death of the absentee.

In this particular case, the Court found that the third requirement of a "well-founded belief"
was not adequately established. The evidence presented by the present spouse, Josephine,
was considered too bare and self-serving. Her efforts to locate her missing spouse, Agapito,
were deemed insufficient and not diligently and exhaustively conducted. Therefore, the
Court ruled that her belief in Agapito's death was not well-founded, and the petition for
declaration of presumptive death was denied.