[PFR] LAW CRAM

RA 10572

An Act Establishing the Liability of the Absolute Community or Conjugal Partnership for An Obligation of a Spouse Who Practices a Profession

Amended Art. 117 (FC)

The court decides if benefit accrued to the family prior to the objection or thereafter.

If benefit accrued prior to the objection, the resulting obligation is enforced against the community property. If benefit accrued thereafter, the obligation is enforced against the separate property of the spouse who has not obtained consent.

RA 10354

Responsible Parenthood and Reproductive Health Act

(Section 15) All applicants for a marriage license are required to receive adequate instructions and information on responsible parenthood, family planning, breastfeeding, and infant nutrition. No marriage shall be issued without the certificate of compliance.

RA 10172

Act Further Authorizing the City or Municipal Civil Registrar or the Consul General to Correct Clerical or Typographical Errors in the Date of Birth or Sex of a Person

Amended RA 9048

Allowed for the correction of the sex of a person appearing in the civil register without a judicial order, but only when it is patently clear that there was a clerical or typographical error.

RA 9710

Magna Carta of Women

The MCW was enacted to implement the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW). It demands substantive equality, encompassing equality in law (de jure equality) and equality in results (de facto equality). The State is bound to eliminate measures in law and practice that discriminate against women.

RA 9262

Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act

RA 9285

An Act to Institutionalize the Use of an Alternative Dispute Resolution System

In Mediation between the Spouses for Legal Separation, the Court refers the case to mediation, which is a voluntary process in which a mediator, selected by the spouses seeking legal separation, facilitates negotiation in order to reach a voluntary agreement between the spouses.

RA 9255

Act Allowing Illegitimate Children to Use the Surname of their Father

Amended Art. 176 of EO 209 (Family Code)

RA 9048

Act Authorizing the City or Municipal Civil Registrar or Consul General to Correct a Clerical or Typographical Error in an Entry and/or Change of First Name or Nickname in the Civil Registrar Without a Judicial Order

Amended by RA 10172

RA 8552

An Act Establishing The Rules And Policies On The Domestic Adoption Of Filipino Children

The law requires the joint decision of the spouses to adopt a child considering that by adoption they provide a permanent and loving home

Section 7: Allows for 3 exceptions to joint adoption:

1. If one spouse seeks to adopt the legitimate son or daughter of the other

2. If one spouse seeks to adopt his/her own illegitimate son or daughter (Provided that other spouse has signified his/her consent thereto)

3. If spouses are legally separated from each other

RA 8533

An Act Nullifying the Prescriptive Period for Action or Defenses Grounded on Psychological Incapacity

Act that Amended Art. 39, FC, removing the 10 year prescription period

RA 8371

Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997

(Section 32) The State shall develop and protect manifestations of Indigenous culture, including customs related to marriage

RA 8369

Family Courts Act of 1997

Granted specialized Family Courts exclusive original jurisdiction over specific cases

(Section 5) Enumerates the exclusive original jurisdiction of Family Courts:

• [CHILD] Petitions for guardianship, custody, and habeas corpus of children
• [MARRIAGE] Complaints for annulment of marriage, declaration of nullity, and those relating to marital status and property relations of husband and wife or those living together, and petitions for dissolution
• [SUPPORT] Petitions for support and/or acknowledgment

In areas where no Family Courts were established, these cases must be adjudicated by the RTC

RA 8353

Anti-Rape Law of 1997

(Art. 266-A) 1) By a man who shall have carnal knowledge of a woman under any of the following circumstances:
a) Through force, threat, or intimidation;
b) When the offended party is deprived of reason or otherwise unconscious;
c) By means of fraudulent machination or grave abuse of authority; and
d) When the offended party is under twelve (12) years of age or is demented, even though none of the circumstances mentioned above be present.
2) By any person who, under any of the circumstances mentioned in paragraph 1 hereof, shall commit an act of sexual assault by inserting his penis into another person's mouth or anal orifice, or any instrument or object, into the genital or anal orifice of another person.

(Art. 266-C)
The subsequent valid marriage between the offender and the offended party shall extinguish the criminal action or the penalty imposed.

In case it is the legal husband who is the offender, the subsequent forgiveness by the wife as the offended party shall extinguish the criminal action or the penalty:

RA 6809

Act that Lowered Age of Majority from 21 to 18 Years

PD 965

A Decree Requiring Applicants for Marriage License to Receive Instructions on Family Planning and Responsible Parenthood

All applicants for a marriage license shall receive instructions on family planning to receive a certificate of compliance. Non-Compliance will lead to withholding of license issuance for 2 weeks to allow Family Planning Office to give instruction

RA 386

Civil Code of the Philippines, August 30, 1950

EO 209

Family Code of the Philippines, August 3, 1988

3 Principles of Law

To live honorably or virtuously
Not to injure another
To give each his due

In the test of abuse of right, what is essential?

Absence of good faith

4 Relevant Provisions on Breach of Promise to Marry

Art. 19 - Every person must, in the exercise of his rights and in the performance of his duties, act with justice, give everyone his due, and observe honestly and good faith.

Art. 20 - Every person who, contrary to law, willfully or negligently causes damage to another, shall indemnify the latter for the same.

Art. 21 - Any person who willfully causes loss or injury to another in a manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall compensate the latter for the damages.

Art. 2176 - Whoever by act or omission causes damage to another, there being fault or negligence, is obliged to pay for the damage done.

Such fault or negligence, if there is no pre-existing contractual relation between the parties, is called a quasi-delict

5 Types of Legal Actions on Unjust Enrichment

1. Party gives someone something not due to him

2. Counterperformance by the other party which did not follow

3. Property recovery from a party who obtained it without legal grounds

4. Ground not worthy of protection by law

5. Obtained for an immoral purpose

For Courts in Heartbalm states, actions are allowed to be recovered on theories of

Restitution
Unjust enrichment
Conditional gifts

DEFINE: Actions for breach of promise to marry and Heartbalm acts

An action for a breach of promise to marry combines the elements of torts and contracts. The defendant is being sued for damages for breaching an agreement to marry.

Heartbalm acts are sweeping statutes that abolished actions for breach of promise to marry. They often abolished common law actions for alienation of affections, criminal conversations, and seduction

3 Factors in Deciding Whether Suits Fall Outside the Bar for Heartbalm Acts

1. If the action was based on common law rights and not on the actual breach of promise to marry

2. If the action has damages that are easily quantifiable and are limited to actual and demonstrable pecuniary loss

3. Courts must not permit perpetrators of fraud to use the heartbalm statutes to immunize their wrongful actions

What is the underlying principle of heartbalm?

Breach of promise action results in excessive damage verdicts. Such actions are prone to abuse by unscrupulous people filing meritless claims and threats of frivolous suits were being used for blackmail.

Society has changed that being a victim of breached marriage promise is no longer viewed as an injury deserving of judicial remedy. Nowadays, marriage is no longer a property transaction but a union of love.

Common principle of tort law applicable in heartbalm statutes

deceit on a fraudulent promise to marry is a cause of action distinct from the breach of promise to marry action, and it not necessarily barred by the heartbalm statutes

Differentiate the "Out-of-Pocket" rule from the "Loss-of-Bargain" rule concerning the measurement of damages in deceit actions based on a fraudulent marriage promise. Which rule is considered appropriate to measure damages, and why?

Loss of Bargain Rule - Gives the plaintiff the benefit of the bargain he thought he had with the defendant. This rule is generally barred because it includes expectancy damages. This is barred because it includes expectancy damages.

Out of Pocket Rules - Return to plaintiff to the position he would have been in if it weren’t the fraud and his reliance on it, This is appropriate because it permits recovery only insofar as it rectifies the harmful results of the fraud.

Cases in Heartbalm Acts

De Jesus v. Syquia - De Jesus filed a suit for breach of promise to marry after Syquia refused to marry her after her second pregnancy. Action for breach of promise to marry has no standing for civil law,, apart from the right to recover money advanced by one party upon the faith of such promise
Wassmer v. Velez - Velez left Wassmer a few days before the wedding after Wassmer has already spent on many things for the occasion. She sued for moral damages which was granted as leaving a few days before the wedding after all preparations are done is contrary to good customs (Art. 21)
Tanjanco v. CA - Tanjanco got Santos pregnant, which caused her to quit her job at IBM. He broke his promise to marry, so she is filing for moral damages on the ground of seduction (which required deceit, enticement, or superior power). There is seduction if woman has carnal knowledge based solely on promise. In this case, she had sexual relations with him for over than 1 year, so there was mutual desire, hence no seduction.
Piccininni v. Hajus - Piccinnini and Hajus agreed to marry. Hajus fradulently induced the latter to transfer properties to her name as future spouses. Piccinnini sued her for deceiving him in the conveyance. Hajus invoked the heartbalm act claiming she could not be liable for refusing him to marry. Heartbalm act cannot be invoked when it is an action for a recovery of unjust enrichment instead of a breach of promise to marry.
Guevarra et al. v. Banach - Banach gave 500,000 to Guevarra for her to purchase a conjugal home, promising marriage. However, unbeknownst to Guevarra, Banach had concealed 1) his true identity and 2) marital status. When Guevarra found out, she broke off the engagement. Banach instituted a legal proceeding for unjust enrichment against Guevarra. Court held that since Banach acted in bad faith, he could not avail of the damages under the NCC