G.R. No.

143439 October 14, 2005

MAXIMO ALVAREZ, Petitioner,

vs.
SUSAN RAMIREZ, Respondent

Facts:

Respondent Maximo Alvarez has been accused of attempting to burn down the house of his
sister-in-law Susan Ramirez. He is married to Esperanza who is a sister of Ramirez but has been
estranged. Having witnessed Alvarez’ act of arson herself, Esperanza was also tasked to give her
testimony in court against Alvarez. However, she began to display uncontrolled emotions while
giving her testimony, prompting the trial judge to suspend the proceedings. Seeing this, Alvarez’
camp through his counsel filed a motion to disqualify Esperanza from testifying against her
husband on grounds of the Revised Rules of Court on Marital Disqualification. The trial court
granted the motion of the petitioner to disqualify Esperanza from further testifying and deleting
the testimony from the records.

Issue:

Won: Whether or not Esperanza can testify against her husband in court in this criminal case.

Ruling:

Alvarez’ act of arson or his intent to burn the house has effectively nullified all the aspects of
marriage life. It has also come to light that they are having a strained relationship as husband
and wife as they were already separated for six months. This has effectively negated Section 22,
Rule 130 of the Revised Rules of Court wherein neither the husband nor the wife may testify for
or against each other. With that said, their marriage is no longer an interest the state aims to
protect. As a result, the Supreme Court affirmed the Court of Appeals. ruling and allowed
Esperanza to testify against her husband.