Summary Judgment in Annulment of Marriages Case A Taboo

It is on the principle that marriage is not a mere contract but an inviolable social institution and as the foundation of the family, the State is duty bound to protect and preserve it. In obedience to this legal truism that “judgment on the pleadings” or “summary judgment”, or even “confession of judgment,” for that matter has no place in cases of declaration of absolute nullity of marriage as well as in annulment of marriage. The rationale is not difficult to see because the grounds for the dissolution of marriages must be proved by preponderance of evidence by the party invoking the same through the trial personally conducted by the Judge.

This is precisely the reason behind that both the Civil Code of the Philippines and the Family Code of the Philippines prescribe that the Court should order the prosecuting attorney to appear and intervene for and in behalf of the State. It is to be noted that the mere submission by the public prosecutor of his report that no collusion exists between the parties would not mean the termination of the State’s participation in the proceedings. The public prosecutor, whose role among other things is the preservation of marriage, should actively participate in the trial of the case and to subject the petitioner’s witnesses to extensive and exhaustive cross examination purposely to see to it that there is no suppression as well as fabrication of evidence.

If there is still any doubt as to the propriety in the application of “summary judgment” or “judgment on the pleadings” or “confession of judgment” it has been laid to rest by the promulgation of the “Rule on Declaration of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages” As it is written, the Rule is explicit in its mandate that the Judge should personally conduct the trial of the case and there should be no delegation of the reception of evidence before a commissioner save as to matter involving property relations of the parties. Putting a stamp of clarity like an unexpected thundercloud looming in the horizon, the Rule also provides that no “judgment on the pleadings” “summary judgment” or “confession of judgment shall be allowed, which means that the grounds for the declaration of absolute nullity of marriage or annulment of marriage must be duly proved and established.

In the strict observance of the State’s policy to maintain the Filipino family as a foundation of the nations, the law requires in no uncertain terms the active participation of the public prosecutor or the Solicitor General in the trial of the case and not like a puppet whose string is being pulled to nod agreement to everything the petitioner says. In this way it could ensure that the interest of the State is fully represented and protected in the proceedings for declaration of nullity of marriage by way of preventing the presentation of fabricated or suppressed evidence. By Judge Globert J. Justalero