1. PASTOR B. TENCHAVEZ vs.VICENTA F.

ESCAO FACTS February 24, 1948- got married o Vicenta Escao, 27 years old, Student at University of San Carlos Cebu City o Pastor Tenchavez, 32 years of age, an engineer, ex-army officer o Vicenta did not get her parents consent o Before a Catholic Chaplain o Recorded by Local Civil Register Vicenta and parents knew about amorous relationship between Pastor Tenchavez and Pacita Noel Vicenta continued living with her parents while Pastor returned to his job in Manila June 1948 the newlyweds were already estranged o Vicenta had gone to Jimenez, Misamis Occidental, to escape from the scandal that her marriage stirred in Cebu society o There, a lawyer filed for her a petition, drafted by then Senator Emmanuel Pelaez, to annul her marriage o She did not sign the petition o The case was dismissed without prejudice because of her non-appearance at the hearing June 1950, without informing her husband, she applied for a passport (single status) to study August 1950, she filed a verified complaint for divorce in United States on the ground of "extreme cruelty, entirely mental in character." October 1950, a decree of divorce, "final and absolute", was issued in open court by the said tribunal. 1951 Mamerto and Mena Escao filed a petition with the Archbishop of Cebu to annul their daughter's marriage to Pastor September 1954, Vicenta sought papal dispensation of her marriage September 1954, Vicenta married an American, Russell Leo Moran, in Nevada. o She now lives with him in California, and, by him, has begotten children August 1958, She acquired American citizenship July 1955, Tenchavez filed complaint in the Court of First Instance of Cebu against Vicenta F. Escao, her parents, Mamerto and Mena Escao, o Parents: dissuaded and discouraged Vicenta from joining her husband, and alienating her o Court allowed the counterclaim of Mamerto Escao and Mena Escao for moral and exemplary damages and attorney's fees against the plaintiffappellant, to the extent of P45,000. ISSUE: Whether or not Vicenta can issue or file for divorce against Pastor HELD: NO. It is equally clear from the record that the valid marriage between Pastor Tenchavez and Vicenta Escao remained subsisting and undissolved under Philippine law. Wife sought and obtained absolute divorce on 21 October 1950 from the Second Judicial District Court of Washoe County, State of Nevada, on grounds of "extreme cruelty, entirely mental in character." At the time the divorce decree was issued, Vicenta Escao, like her husband, was still a Filipino citizen. She was then subject to Philippine law, and Article 15 of the Civil Code of the Philippines (Rep. Act No. 386), already in force at the time, expressly provided: Laws relating to family rights and duties or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are binding upon the citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad. The Civil Code of the Philippines, now in force, does not admit absolute divorce, quo ad vinculo matrimonii. Therefore, Vicenta Escao's divorce and second marriage are not entitled to recognition as valid Plaintiff-appellant Tenchavez to a decree of "legal separation under our law, on the basis of adultery" (Revised Penal Code, Art. 333). RULING: (1) That a foreign divorce between Filipino citizens, sought and decreed after the effectivity of the present Civil Code (Rep. Act 386), is not entitled to recognition as valid in this jurisdiction

(2) That the remarriage of divorced wife and her co-habitation with a person other than the lawful husband entitle the latter to a decree of legal separation conformably to Philippine law;