Psychological incapacity, which a ground for annulment of marriage (which is different from divorce), contemplates downright incapacity or inability to take cognizance of and to assume the basic marital obligations; not a mere refusal, neglect or difficulty, much less, ill will, on the part of the errant spouse. Irreconcilable differences, conflicting personalities, emotional immaturity and irresponsibility, physical abuse, habitual alcoholism, sexual infidelity or perversion, and abandonment, by themselves, also do not warrant a finding of psychological incapacity.
Among the grounds for annulment of marriage, psychological incapacity is the more (if not the most) commonly used. It is also one of the more controversial provisions of the Family Code (Article 36). The guidelines (shortened here) in the interpretation and application of Article 36 were handed down by the Supreme Court in Molina:
1. The plaintiff (the spouse who filed the petition in court) has burden of showing the nullity of the marriage. Our laws cherish the validity of marriage and unity of the family, so any doubt is resolved in favor of the existence/continuation of the marriage.
2. The root cause of the psychological incapacity must be (a) medically or clinically identified, (b) alleged in the complaint, (c) sufficiently proven by experts and (d) clearly explained in the decision. Article 36 of the Family Code requires that the incapacity must be psychological – not physical, although its manifestations and/or symptoms may be physical. Expert evidence may be given by qualified psychiatrists and clinical psychologists.
3. The incapacity must be proven to be existing at “the time of the celebration” of the marriage. The evidence must show that the illness was existing when the parties exchanged their “I do’s.” The manifestation of the illness need not be perceivable at such time, but the illness itself must have attached at such moment, or prior thereto.
4. Such incapacity must also be shown to be medically or clinically permanent or incurable. Such incurability may be absolute or even relative only in regard to the other spouse, not necessarily absolutely against everyone of the same sex. Furthermore, such incapacity must be relevant to the assumption of marriage obligations, not necessarily to those not related to marriage, like the exercise of a profession or employment in a job.
5. Such illness must be grave enough to bring about the disability of the party to assume the essential obligations of marriage. Thus, “mild characteriological peculiarities, mood changes, occasional emotional outbursts” cannot be accepted as root causes.
6. The essential marital obligations must be those embraced by Articles 68 up to 71 of the Family Code as regards the husband and wife as well as Articles 220, 221 and 225 of the same Code in regard to parents and their children. Such non-complied marital obligation(s) must also be stated in the petition, proven by evidence and included in the text of the decision.
7. Interpretations given by the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal of the Catholic Church in the Philippines, while not controlling or decisive, should be given great respect by our courts.
8. The trial court must order the prosecuting attorney or fiscal and the Solicitor General to appear as counsel for the state. No decision shall be handed down unless the Solicitor General issues a certification, which will be quoted in the decision, briefly stating therein his reasons for his agreement or opposition, as the case may be, to the petition.
Let’s examine some recent Supreme Court cases on what constitutes or doesn’t constitute psychological incapacity.
In Antonio vs. Reyes (G.R. No. 155800, 10 March 2006), the Supreme Court sustained the nullity of the marriage based on the psychological incapacity of the wife (respondent). As concluded by the psychiatrist, the wife’s repeated lying is abnormal and pathological, and amounts to psychological incapacity (for the “digest” or a more detailed discussion of the case, click here).
On the other hand, in Republic vs. Quintero-Hamano (G.R. No. 149498, 20 May 2004), the wife alleged taht her husband, a Japanese, failed to meet his duty to live with, care for and support his family. He abandoned them a month after the marriage. The wife sent him several letters but he never replied. He made a trip to the Philippines but did not care at all to see his family. However, while the husband’s act of abandonment was doubtlessly irresponsible, it was never alleged nor proven to be due to some kind of psychological illness. Aside from the abandonment, no other evidence was presented showing that the husband’s behavior was caused by a psychological disorder. It’s not enough to prove that a spouse failed to meet his responsibility and duty as a married person; it is essential that he must be shown to be incapable of doing so due to some psychological, not physical, illness.
Although, as a rule, there was no need for an actual medical examination, it would have greatly helped the wife’s case had she presented evidence that medically or clinically identified his illness. This could have been done through an expert witness.
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gud pm atty.
My husband file the petition of annulment on grounds of psychological incapacity, i received the petition last march 27 and failed to make a reply we had our pre tial hearing last may 10 and was given another 15 days to reply because i oppose his petition. i was also given a pao lawyer, the judge found out that my husband and i still living together by the way he file the case in Imus Cavite he is using the address of the room he rented somewhere in cavite but all his billing statement address in our house in Mandaluyong the judge told him that it is only his physical residence. I have problem now and may i request a reply as soon as possible, my lawyer and i want to file a motion to dismiss because of the jurisdiction. She was too busy to attend on some of her cases i am jobless my lawyer want me to have my psychological evaluation done, but i dont have the money to pay the psychologist. Is it necessary to have this evaluation done for filling for motion to dismiss, its seem we have no time left and she told me that she is going to file for motion to admit because we run out of time, am going back and forth there. could you help me on this, what shall i do, is there any other option for me.
thanks
REV
nylever, I’m terribly sorry if I can’t be of any help. Fact is, you have a lawyer, and it is unethhical to second-guess the decision of your lawyer on this matter. Nevertheless, why don’t you discuss with your lawyer that since there’s no default in this kind of cases, perhaps you can still try to raise this matter.
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Good pm attorney. I would like to ask if my reasons are enough grounds for filing a legal separation. I am 23 yrs of age and my husband is 24. We already have a kid. Even before we got married he is physically and verbally abusing me. His family also doesn’t like me. They fabricate stories that worsen the situation. My husband also keeps on saying that he doesn’t love me any longer. Would that be a ground for psychological incapacity? Do you think I will have a good case? Hoping that you can help me from my problem. Thank you so much.
Gud pm atty… my friend was abandoned by her husband for around 20 yrs now, they have no communication or whatsoever, and his whereabouts are unknown.. She has no plans of remarrying..She wants to break the tie to his long lost husband..what is the best remedy that should be resorted by her and what is the ground of that remedy? .. We will will wait for your reply..pls
Cel
i would like to know if my case would be acceptable ground for annulment of my marriage…
for 10 years i seemed to put up a mask on myself to get by with the marriage.. i became stiff and serious almost for 10 years… i seldom smile and dont even joke with my children… i apparently became like a robot just to keep the marriage going… but inside me hostility is starting to grow… i dont talk to my husband because i know i will be rejected only… i dont talk much about my feelings… i just pent it up until i started to resent him… most especially when we talk we always end up fighting… his greed… taking all that is mine for his credit caused a lot of pain in me… i tried to keep the marriage happy but his continued neglect of my person seemed to push me further to hedge myself with an attitude so serious and unapproachable… when i am with my sisters i can feel a transformation of myself… i begin to see my old self… i can laugh naturally… i can crack jokes… it was nice seeing me coming out again… but once my husband around that “me” starts to curl up inside me and would not come out… then silence starts to dominate the atmosphere… for a long time i even seem to act like a lesbian… not a feminine display of myself… i needed to be hard… so as not to show how i am as woman or else i would feel sorry for myself…. this had been my situation for 10 years… always inside of me contradicting him and not agreeing with his views inside me… i let things happen just like a robot so as not to create argument anymore… but this had taken its toll on me… i started to feel like bursting… i long for a sense of freedom…. something in me as if would always like to burst out and my “me” would like to resurface again… now i have walked out of my marriage for 3 years already… now i wanted to file for annulment… i do hope i could receive enlightenment from you? thank you
Hi bri817,
I really adore you for that 10 years. We have the same situation but we only got married for only 4 mos now and yet I am on this site seeking answer to a possible solution. I admire your tolerance. Hope I can possess that even just a modicum to save this rocking marriage. It as all fucked up now. There should be the one who will give way but the question is “How Long”…
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Dear Atty,
I got married last October 2000, I was 19 then and my husband is 18. We got married 2 weeks before he left for japan,he was sponsored by my mother-in-law. He’s coming home for vacation only for 10 dys each year. In 2002 he went home secretly together with a japanese lady who at that time he’s living in with. One of their relative was concerned enough to tell me about it. While living with that girl he stopped sending financial support to us, and that is when the problem arised. I decided to work to support the needs of my son. Eventually his relationship with that japanese lady didn’t worked. Then he met another japanese girl with whom he had a child after 5 yrs of living together. Now, last thing I heard, he’s in jail due to drug related case. It has been 11 years of being separated. I think it’s about time to start a new life and have a family.
Is it possible to file for an annulment case and on what grounds. By the way, I’m currently working in Qatar and he is jailed in Japan, he’s also using a different name (passport, visa, etc). Need your advice on this matter. Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.
Good Day Attorney,
i have a sister… her husband flew to Malaysia sometime in 2008. after 6 months they never ever had communications given to the fact that they have their communication gadget like cellphone, an internet, to which i believe her husband is refusing. sometime last year we had found out that their is this common girl in her husband Facebook to which on an account was seen.. Until now they never ever have a communication… i dont if if it was a hearsay to say that her husband is with the girl or something.. we got nothing to prove if her husband is with another girl but one thing for sure, He aint got no communications after 6 months he left until now.
Any thoughts on this?
Thanks Much and Best Regards.