Almelor v. RTC-Las Pinas, G.R. No. 179620, Aug. 26, 2008

FACTS: Petitioner Manuel G. Almelor (Manuel) and respondent Leonida Trinidad (Leonida) were married on January 29, 1989 and had three children. Manuel and Leonida are both medical practitioners, an anesthesiologist and a pediatrician, respectively. After eleven (11) years of marriage, Leonida filed a petition with the RTC in Las Piñas City to annul their marriage on the ground that Manuel was psychologically incapacitated to perform his marital obligations. Leonida that in the public eye, Manuel was the picture of a perfect husband and father but this was not the case in his private life.  At home, Leonida described Manuel as a harsh disciplinarian, unreasonably meticulous, easily angered.  Manuel’s unreasonable way of imposing discipline on their children was the cause of their frequent fights as a couple. Leonida complained that this was in stark contrast to the alleged lavish affection Manuel has for his mother. She also alleged that her husband has concealed from her his homosexuality. She caught him in an indiscreet telephone conversation manifesting his affection for a male caller. She also found several pornographic homosexual materials in his possession. And she saw Manuel kissed another man on the lips. The man was a certain Dr. Nogales. When she confronted Manuel, he denied everything. At this point, Leonida took her children and left their conjugal abode.  Since then, Manuel stopped giving support to their children. Dr. Valentina del Fonso Garcia, a clinical psychologist, was presented to prove Leonida’s claim.  She testified that she conducted evaluative interviews and a battery of psychiatric tests on Leonida.  She also had a one-time interview with Manuel and face-to-face. She concluded that Manuel is psychologically incapacitated and such incapacity is marked by antecedence; it existed even before the marriage and appeared to be incurable. Manuel countered that the true cause of Leonida’s hostility against him was their professional rivalry. The trial court nullified the marriage, not on the ground of Article 36, but Article 45 of the Family Code. CA denied the appeal.

ISSUE: Whether or not the marriage between the two can be declared as null and void due to fraud by reason of Manuel’s concealment of his homosexuality.

HELD: Concealment of homosexuality is the proper ground to annul a marriage, not homosexuality per se. Evidently, no sufficient proof was presented to substantiate the allegations that Manuel is a homosexual and that he concealed this to Leonida at the time of their marriage.  The lower court considered the public perception of Manuel’s sexual preference without the corroboration of witnesses.  Also, it took cognizance of Manuel’s peculiarities and interpreted it against his sexuality. Even granting that Manuel is indeed a homosexual, there was nothing in the complaint or anywhere in the case was it alleged and proven that Manuel hid such sexuality from Leonida and that Leonida’s consent had been vitiated by such.