GR 166357, January 14, 2015

VALERIO E. KALAW

Vs.

ELENA FERNANDEZ,

FACTS:

Two alleged expert experts testified in the aforementioned case by Kalaw, concluding that the
respondent is psychologically incompetent. The charges that respondent regularly played Mahjong,
frequented beauty parlors, went out with friends, committed adultery, and neglected their children
were widely cited by the petitioner's experts. According to the specialists hired by the petitioner, the
respondent's stated behaviors, when consistently practiced to the detriment of the quality and amount
of time spent on her responsibilities as a wife and mother, constitute a psychological disability in the
form of NPD.

However, the Supreme Court denied the lawsuit for the declaration of the nullity of the marriage in its
decision of September 19, 2011, on the grounds that there was no factual support for the conclusion of
psychological incapacity.

Issue

Whether or not the marriage was void on the ground of psychological incapacity.

HELD:

YES. In granting the Motion for Reconsideration, the Court loosened the previously established
rules with respect to this case and determined that Fernandez was indeed psychologically incompetent.