FACTS: Vitaliana
Vargas’ brothers and sisters unaware of the former’s death on August 28, 1988
filed a petition for Habeas Corpus on September 27, 1988 before the RTC of
Misamis Oriental alleging that she was forcible taken from her residence
sometime in 1987 and was confined by the herein petitioner, Tomas Eugenio in
his palacial residence in Jasaan, Misamis Oriental. The court then issued a writ of habeas corpus
but petitioner refused to surrender the Vitaliana’s body to the sheriff on the
ground that a corpse cannot be subjected to habeas corpus proceedings. Vitaliana, 25 year old single, died of heart
failure due to toxemia of pregnancy in Eugenio’s residence. The court ordered that the body should be
delivered to a funeral parlor for autopsy but Eugenio assailed the lack of
jurisdiction of the court.
ISSUE: Whether or not
the petitioner can claim custody of the deceased.
HELD: The court held that the custody of the
dead body of Vitaliana was correctly awarded to the surviving brothers and
sisters pursuant to Section 1103 of the Revised Administrative Code which
provides: “Persons charged with duty of burial- if the deceased was an
unmarried man or woman or a child and left any kin; the duty of the burial
shall devolve upon the nearest kin of the deceased. Albeit, petitioner claims
he is the spouse as contemplated under Art. 294 of the Civil Code, Philippine
law does not recognize common law marriages where “a man and a woman not
legally married who cohabit for many years as husband and wife, who represent
themselves to the public as husband and wife, and who are reputed to be husband
and wife in the community where they live may be considered legally mauled in
common law jurisdictions”. In addition,
it requires that the man and woman living together must not in any way be
incapacitated to contract marriage.
Whereas, the petitioner has a subsisting marriage with another woman,
legal impediment that disqualified him from even legally marrying Vitaliana.
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