Professional Documents
Culture Documents
te; and that things have happened according to the ordinary course of nature and
the ordinary habits of life.
Courts look upon the presumption of marriage with great favor as it is founded on
Mariategui vs. CA the following rationale:
TOPIC : Requisites for a valid marriage
“The basis of human society throughout the civilized world is that of marriage. Marriage in
FACTS : this jurisdiction is not only a civil contract, but it is a new relation, an institution in the
● This is a case for partition of several pieces of land belonging to Lupo Mariategui, maintenance of which the public is deeply interested. Consequently, every intendment of the
law leans towards legalizing matrimony. Persons dwelling together in apparent matrimony
who died without a will.
are presumed, in the absence of any counterpresumption or evidence special to that case, to
● During his lifetime, Lupo contracted three (3) marriages. The first wife died, so he be in fact married. The reason is that such is the common order of society and if the parties
contracted a second marriage. The second wife also passed away so he were not what they thus hold themselves out as being, they would be living in the constant
contracted a third marriage. The third wife also preceded Lupo in death. violation of decency and of law.”
● The issue in this case arose because at the time of his death, Lupo left certain
properties which he acquired when he was still unmarried. Later, Lupo’s So much so that once a man and a woman have lived as husband and wife and
descendants by his first and second marriages executed a deed of extrajudicial such relationship is not denied nor contradicted, the presumption of their being married
partition whereby they adjudicated unto themselves a certain lot of the must be admitted as a fact.
Muntinglupa Estate and title was issued. Now, Lupo’s children by his third marriage
filed a complaint with the lower court, contending that since they were co-heirs of Evidence on record proves the legitimate filiation of the private respondents.
Lupo’s estate they were deprived of their respective shares in the lot mentioned. In Jacinto’s birth certificate was a record of birth referred to in Article 172 of the Code. Again,
answer, the other party said that the complaint was not really for annulment of the no evidence which tends to disprove facts contained therein was adduced before the lower
deed of extrajudicial partition but for recognition of natural children. court. In the case of the two other private respondents, Julian and Paulina, they may not
● The lower court ruled in favor of Lupo’s heirs from the first and second marriage. have presented in evidence any of the documents required by Article 172 but they
Thus, the case was elevated to the CA, where they raised the issue of their parents’ continuously enjoyed the status of children of Lupo in the same manner as their brother
lawful marriage and their legitimacy as children. Jacinto.
● CA ruled that all the heirs of Lupo were entitled to equal shares in the estate. In view of the foregoing, there can be no other conclusion than that private
Hence, this petition. respondents are legitimate children and heirs of Lupo and therefore, the time limitation
prescribed in Article 285 for filing an action for recognition is inapplicable to this case.
ISSUES : Whether or not the marriage was valid Corollarily, prescription does not run against private respondents with respect to the filing of
the action for partition so long as the heirs for whose benefit prescription is invoked, have
HELD : Lupo and Felipa were alleged to have been lawfully married in or about 1930. This not expressly or impliedly repudiated the co-ownership. In other words, prescription of an
fact is based on the declaration communicated by Lupo to his son who testified that “when action for partition does not lie except when the co-ownership is properly repudiated by the
his father was still living, he was able to mention to him that he and his mother were able to co-owner.
get married before a Justice of the Peace of Taguig, Rizal.” The spouses deported Petition dismissed.
themselves as husband and wife, and were known in the community to be such. Although
no marriage certificate was introduced to this effect, no evidence was likewise offered to
controvert these facts. Moreover, the mere fact that no record of the marriage exists does
not invalidate the marriage, provided all the requisites for its validity are present.
Under these circumstances, a marriage may be presumed to have taken place
between Lupo and Felipa. The laws presume that a man and a woman, deporting
themselves as husband and wife, have entered into a lawful contract of marriage; that a
child born in lawful wedlock, there being no divorce, absolute or from bed and board is