4/3/2017 Guidelines in Psychological Incapacity (Article 36, Family Code) | Philippine e­Legal Forum

GUIDELINES IN PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY

(ARTICLE 36, FAMILY CODE)
By: jlp | July 22, 2006 in Annulment and Legal Separation

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Psychological incapacity, which a ground for annulment of marriage (which is di꠱�erent from divorce),
contemplates downright incapacity or inability to take cognizance of and to assume the basic marital
obligations; not a mere refusal, neglect or di伳culty, much less, ill will, on the part of the errant spouse.
Irreconcilable di꠱�erences, con帾icting personalities, emotional immaturity and irresponsibility, physical abuse,
habitual alcoholism, sexual in齙delity or perversion, and abandonment, by themselves, also do not warrant a
齙nding 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 plainti꠱� (the spouse who 齙led 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 identi齙ed, (b) alleged in the
complaint, (c) su伳ciently 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 quali齙ed 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

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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 齙scal and the Solicitor General to appear as counsel
for the state. No decision shall be handed down unless the Solicitor General issues a certi齙cation, which will be
quoted in the decision, brie帾y 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 identi齙ed his illness. This could have been
done through an expert witness.

Related Posts:

http://jlp­law.com/blog/guidelines­psychological­incapacity­article­36­family­code/ 2/7
4/3/2017 Guidelines in Psychological Incapacity (Article 36, Family Code) | Philippine e­Legal Forum

1. Psychological Incapacity: Habitual Lying

2. The “Relaxation” of Rules in Declaration of Nullity of Marriage Based on Psychological Incapacity
3. Valerio E. Kalaw vs. Ma. Elena Fernandez (G.R. No. 166357, 14 January 2015)
4. E꠱�ect of Annulment in a Criminal Case for Bigamy
5. Rule on declaration of absolute nullity of void mariages and annulment of voidable marriages

26 thoughts on “Guidelines in Psychological Incapacity (Article 36, Family Code)”

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nylever
May 26, 2007 at 1:48 pm

gud pm atty.
My husband 齙le 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 齙le 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 齙le 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 齙lling for motion to dismiss, its seem we
have no time left and she told me that she is going to 齙le 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

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Atty. Fred
June 4, 2007 at 9:37 am

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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abcdef
May 1, 2008 at 9:36 am

Good pm attorney. I would like to ask if my reasons are enough grounds for 齙ling 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.

cel
December 8, 2008 at 4:47 am

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

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bri817
July 12, 2010 at 10:02 am

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 sti꠱� 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 齙ghting… 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 齙le for annulment… i do hope i
could receive enlightenment from you? thank you

Ste
June 29, 2015 at 7:13 pm

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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yelrish
June 30, 2011 at 8:29 am

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 齙nancial
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 齙le 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 di꠱�erent name (passport, visa, etc). Need your advice on this matter.
Thank you and hope to hear from you soon.

KennethJohn
July 30, 2011 at 9:26 pm

Good Day Attorney,

i have a sister… her husband 帾ew 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.

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