Read and review the following:

1. Guevara vs Eala (A.C. No. 7136)

- Noli Eala was disbarred because of grossly immoral conduct
- Complainant (Guevarra) filed against Eala (respondent) due to affair between Eala and
Guevara’s wife, Irene, while Eala himself was married to Marianne with three children.

2. Wassmer vs Velez (GR No. L-20089)

- breach of promise to marry itself is not punishable by law but violating Article 21 of the Civil
Code of the Philippines is subject to indemnification of moral and exemplary damages
- Wassmer have prepared and have already spent money on the event only for Velez not to
appear.

3. Chi Ming Tsoi vs CA (GR No. 119190)

- the marriage is void because even a year into the marriage, the husband and wife have not
consummated violating one of the article in the Family Code, to procreate.

4. Citizenship (Article IV, 1987 Philippine Constitution)

- The following are citizens of the Philippines:
a. Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this Constitution;
b. Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;
c. Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship
upon reaching the age of majority; and
d. Those who are naturalized in accordance with law (Section 1, Article IV).
- Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth without having to
perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those who elect Philippine
citizenship in accordance with paragraph 3 of Section 1 shall be deemed natural-born citizens
(Section 2, Article IV).
- Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law (Section 3,
Article IV).
- Citizens of the Philippines who marry aliens shall retain their citizenship, unless by their act or
omission they are deemed, under the law, to have renounced it (Section 4, Article IV).
- Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and shall be dealt with by law
(Section 5, Article IV).
5. The Judicial Department (Article VIII, 1987 Philippine Constitution)
a. No person shall be appointed Member of the Supreme Court or any lower collegiate court
unless he is a natural-born citizen of the Philippines. A Member of the Supreme Court must
be at least forty years of age, and must have been for fifteen years or more a judge of a
lower court or engaged in the practice of law in the Philippines.
b. The Congress shall prescribe the qualifications of judges of lower courts, but no person
may be appointed judge thereof unless he is a citizen of the Philippines and a member of
the Philippine Bar.
c. A Member of the Judiciary must be a person of proven competence, integrity, probity, and
independence (Section 7, Article VIII).

6. Void and Voidable Marriages (Chapter 3, Family Code)

- grounds for nullity (psychological incapacity) (declaration for nullity of marriage)
• Article 36 – a marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was
psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage,
shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its
solemnization. (As amended by Executive Order 227)
• Article 37 - Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning,
whether relationship between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:
a. Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and
b. Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood. (81a)
• Article 38 - The following marriages shall be void from the beginning for reasons of public
policy:
Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth civil
degree;
a. Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the
fourth civil degree;
b. Between step-parents and step-children;
c. Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;
d. Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;
e. Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child;
f. Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;
 g. Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter;
h. Between adopted children of the same adopter; and
i. Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other
person’s spouse, or his or her own spouse (Article 38, FC).
- grounds for annulment (concealment of fraud)
• Article 46 - any of the following circumstances shall constitute fraud referred to in Number
3 of the preceding Article:
a. Non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final judgment of the other party of a
crime involving moral turpitude;
b. Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the marriage, she was
pregnant by a man other than her husband;
c. Concealment of sexually transmissible disease, regardless of its nature, existing at
the time of the marriage; or
d. Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism or homosexuality or
lesbianism existing at the time of the marriage.
• No other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health, rank, fortune or chastity shall
constitute such fraud as will give grounds for action for the annulment of marriage. (86a)