Republic v. Tanyag-San Jose, 517 SCRA 123, Feb. 6, 2007

FACTS: Manolito San Jose and Laila Tanyag-San Jose got married and had two children. For nine years, the couple stayed with Manolito’s parents. Manolito was jobless and was hooked to gambling and drugs. As for Laila, she sold fish at the wet market of Taguig. On August 20, 1998, Laila left Manolito and transferred to her parents’ house. On March 9, 1999, Laila filed a Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage on the ground of psychological incapacity. Testifying for Laila, Dr. Nedy Tayag, a clinical psychologist at the National Center for Mental Health, declared that from the psychological test and clinical interview she conducted on Laila, she found Manolito, whom she did not personally examine, to be psychologically incapacitated to perform the duties of a husband. RTC denied Lalila’s petition. CA reversed RTC’s decision.

ISSUE: W/N Manolito is psychologically incapacitated

HELD: The term "psychological incapacity" to be a ground for the nullity of marriage under Article 36 of the Family Code, refers to a serious psychological illness afflicting a party even before the celebration of the marriage. It is a malady so grave and so permanent as to deprive one of the awareness of the duties and responsibilities of the matrimonial bond one is about to assume. The report of Dr. Tayag shows that her conclusion about Manolito‘s psychological incapacity was based on the information supplied by Laila which she found to be ―factual. Undoubtedly, the doctor‘s conclusion is hearsay. It is unscientific and unreliable. Dr. Tayag's Psychological Report does not even show that the alleged anti-social personality disorder of Manolito was already present at the inception of the marriage or that it is incurable. Neither does it explain the incapacitating nature of the alleged disorder nor identify its root cause. It merely states that "such disorder is considered to be grave and is deeply immersed within the system and continues to influence the individual until the later stage of life." Manolito's alleged psychological incapacity is thus premised on his being jobless and a drug user, as well as his inability to support his family and his refusal or unwillingness to assume the essential obligations of marriage. Manolito's state or condition or attitude has not been shown, however, to be a malady or disorder rooted on some incapacitating or debilitating psychological condition.