Location via proxy:   [ UP ]  
[Report a bug]   [Manage cookies]                
Scribd Logo
Upload

Welcome to Scribd!

  • 94 views

    IWASAWA v. GANGAN

    Uploaded by

    Tootsie Guzma
    This case involved a petition to declare a marriage null and void due to bigamy. Yasuo Iwasawa, a Japanese national, presented documentary evidence from the National Statistics Office showing that his wife Felisa Custodio Gangan had previously been married to another man, Raymond Arambulo, who had passed away. The trial court dismissed this evidence because Iwasawa had no personal knowledge of the previous marriage. However, the Supreme Court ruled that as public documents, the NSO records were admissible without need for further authentication. As prima facie evidence, they established Gangan's prior marriage unless rebutted, which did not occur. The petition was granted and the marriage declared null and void.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    IWASAWA v. GANGAN

    Uploaded by

    Tootsie Guzma
    94 views2 pages
    This case involved a petition to declare a marriage null and void due to bigamy. Yasuo Iwasawa, a Japanese national, presented documentary evidence from the National Statistics Office showing that his wife Felisa Custodio Gangan had previously been married to another man, Raymond Arambulo, who had passed away. The trial court dismissed this evidence because Iwasawa had no personal knowledge of the previous marriage. However, the Supreme Court ruled that as public documents, the NSO records were admissible without need for further authentication. As prima facie evidence, they established Gangan's prior marriage unless rebutted, which did not occur. The petition was granted and the marriage declared null and void.

    Original Title

    IWASAWA-v.-GANGAN

    Copyright

    © © All Rights Reserved

    Available Formats

    DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd

    Did you find this document useful?

    Is this content inappropriate?

    This case involved a petition to declare a marriage null and void due to bigamy. Yasuo Iwasawa, a Japanese national, presented documentary evidence from the National Statistics Office showing that his wife Felisa Custodio Gangan had previously been married to another man, Raymond Arambulo, who had passed away. The trial court dismissed this evidence because Iwasawa had no personal knowledge of the previous marriage. However, the Supreme Court ruled that as public documents, the NSO records were admissible without need for further authentication. As prima facie evidence, they established Gangan's prior marriage unless rebutted, which did not occur. The petition was granted and the marriage declared null and void.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    94 views2 pages

    IWASAWA v. GANGAN

    Uploaded by

    Tootsie Guzma
    This case involved a petition to declare a marriage null and void due to bigamy. Yasuo Iwasawa, a Japanese national, presented documentary evidence from the National Statistics Office showing that his wife Felisa Custodio Gangan had previously been married to another man, Raymond Arambulo, who had passed away. The trial court dismissed this evidence because Iwasawa had no personal knowledge of the previous marriage. However, the Supreme Court ruled that as public documents, the NSO records were admissible without need for further authentication. As prima facie evidence, they established Gangan's prior marriage unless rebutted, which did not occur. The petition was granted and the marriage declared null and void.

    Copyright:

    © All Rights Reserved
    Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online from Scribd
    Download as docx, pdf, or txt
    of 2

    YASUO IWASAWA v.

    FELISA CUSTODIO GANGAN


    G.R. No. 204169 September 11, 2013
    VILLARAMA, JR., J.:
    DOCTRINE: The books making up the civil register and all documents
    relating thereto shall be considered public documents and shall be prima
    facie evidence of the facts therein contained.

    FACTS:
    This is a petition for review on certiorari under Rule 45.
    Yasuo Iwasawa, a Japanese national, filed a petition for declaration of nullity of
    his marriage with Felisa Custodio Gangan for being bigamous, based on Article
    35 (4) in relation to Article 41 of the Family Code.
    When Yasuo met Felisa in the Philippines, the latter introduced herself as
    “single” and “has never been married before”. Eventually, they got married and
    resided in Japan.
    Sometime after, Felisa became depressed and it was then when Yasuo learned
    that Felisa was previously married to one Raymond Arambulo who already
    passed away.
    During trial, aside from his testimony, petitioner also offered the following
    pieces of documentary evidence issued by the National Statistics Office (NSO):
    (1) Certificate of Marriage between petitioner and private respondent on
    November 28, 2002;
    (2) Certificate of Marriage between private respondent and Raymond Maglonzo
    Arambulo on June 20, 1994;
    (3) Certificate of Death of Raymond Maglonzo Arambulo on July 14, 2009; and
    (4) Certification from the NSO to the effect that there are two entries of
    marriage recorded by the office pertaining to private respondent, the first one
    was to a Raymond Maglonzo Arambulo on June 20, 1994, and second, to
    petitioner on November 28, 2002.
    The prosecutor appearing on behalf of the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG)
    admitted the authenticity and due execution of the above documentary exhibits
    during pre-trial.
    The RTC, however, ruled that there was insufficient evidence to prove private
    respondent’s prior existing valid marriage to another man. It held that while
    petitioner offered the certificate of marriage of private respondent to Arambulo,
    it was only petitioner who testified about said marriage. The RTC ruled that
    petitioner’s testimony is unreliable because he has no personal knowledge of
    private respondent’s prior marriage nor of Arambulo’s death which makes him
    a complete stranger to the marriage certificate between private respondent and
    Arambulo and the latter’s death certificate. It further ruled that petitioner’s
    testimony about the NSO certification is likewise unreliable since he is a
    stranger to the preparation of said document.

    ISSUE:
    Whether the testimony of the NSO records custodian certifying the authenticity
    and due execution of the public documents issued by said office was necessary
    before they could be accorded evidentiary weight.

    RULING:
    Yes. There is no question that the documentary evidence submitted by
    petitioner are all public documents. As provided in the Civil Code:
    ART. 410. The books making up the civil register and all documents relating
    thereto shall be considered public documents and shall be prima facie evidence
    of the facts therein contained.
    As public documents, they are admissible in evidence even without further
    proof of their due execution and genuineness. Thus, the RTC erred when it
    disregarded said documents on the sole ground that the petitioner did not
    present the records custodian of the NSO who issued them to testify on their
    authenticity and due execution since proof of authenticity and due execution
    was not anymore necessary. Moreover, not only are said documents
    admissible, they deserve to be given evidentiary weight because they constitute
    prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein. And in the instant case, the
    facts stated therein remain unrebutted since neither the private respondent
    nor the public prosecutor presented evidence to the contrary.
    Petition granted. The marriage of petitioner Yasuo Iwasawa and private
    respondent Felisa Custodio Gangan is declared NULL and VOID.

    You might also like