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YASU IWASAWA v. FELISA CUSTODIO GANGAN

FACTS:

Petitioner Yasuo Iwasawa, a Japanese national, met private respondent Felisa Custodio Gangan in the Philippines in 2002. They got married in November of the same year and eventually resided in Japan. In 2009, petitioner discovered that private respondent was previously married to Raymond Maglonzo Arambulo. Petitioner sought to have their marriage declared null and void due to bigamy. During the trial, petitioner presented documentary evidence from the National Statistics Office (NSO) to prove the existence of private respondent's previous marriage. However, the RTC denied the petition for declaration of nullity of marriage due to insufficient evidence, as it deemed petitioner's testimony and NSO certification unreliable.

ISSUES:

  1. 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.

  2. Whether the marriage of petitioner Yasuo Iwasawa and private respondent Felisa Custodio Gangan is null and void due to bigamy.

RULING:

  1. The Supreme Court ruled that the documentary evidence submitted by petitioner, being public documents, are admissible in evidence even without further proof of their due execution and genuineness. Therefore, it was unnecessary for the petitioner to call the NSO records custodian as a witness. The trial court erred in disregarding such documents on this ground.

  2. The Supreme Court granted the petition, declaring the marriage between petitioner Yasuo Iwasawa and private respondent Felisa Custodio Gangan null and void. The marriage was declared bigamous as there was no judicial declaration of nullity of private respondent's first marriage at the time she contracted the second marriage with the petitioner.

PRINCIPLES:

  • Prima Facie Evidence: Public documents are considered prima facie evidence of the facts stated therein (Article 410, Civil Code of the Philippines).

  • Admissibility of Public Documents: Public documents do not require further proof of their due execution and genuineness to be admissible in evidence.

  • Bigamous Marriage: A subsequent marriage contracted without a judicial declaration of nullity of a previous marriage is bigamous and void ab initio (Article 35(4), Family Code of the Philippines).

  • Judicial Declaration of Nullity: A judicial declaration of nullity is required before contracting a subsequent valid marriage to avoid bigamy.