SECOND DIVISION

[G.R. No. 183622. February 8, 2012.]

MEROPE ENRIQUEZ VDA. DE CATALAN , petitioner, vs . LOUELLA A.

CATALAN-LEE , respondent.

RESOLUTION

SERENO , J : p

Before us is a Petition for Review assailing the Court of Appeals (CA) Decision 1 and
Resolution 2 regarding the issuance of letters of administration of the intestate estate of
Orlando B. Catalan.
The facts are as follows:
Orlando B. Catalan was a naturalized American citizen. After allegedly obtaining a divorce
in the United States from his rst wife, Felicitas Amor, he contracted a second marriage
with petitioner herein.
On 18 November 2004, Orlando died intestate in the Philippines.
Thereafter, on 25 February 2005, petitioner led with the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of
Burgos, Pangasinan a Petition for the issuance of letters of administration for her
appointment as administratrix of the intestate estate of Orlando. The case was docketed
as Special Proceedings (Spec. Proc.) No. 228.
On 3 March 2005, while Spec. Proc. No. 228 was pending, respondent Louella A. Catalan-
Lee, one of the children of Orlando from his rst marriage, led a similar petition with the
RTC docketed as Spec. Proc. No. 232.
The two cases were subsequently consolidated.
Petitioner prayed for the dismissal of Spec. Proc. No. 232 on the ground of litis pendentia,
considering that Spec. Proc. No. 228 covering the same estate was already pending. HcaDIA

On the other hand, respondent alleged that petitioner was not considered an interested
person quali ed to le a petition for the issuance of letters of administration of the estate
of Orlando. In support of her contention, respondent alleged that a criminal case for
bigamy was led against petitioner before Branch 54 of the RTC of Alaminos, Pangasinan,
and docketed as Crim. Case No. 2699-A.
Apparently, Felicitas Amor led a Complaint for bigamy, alleging that petitioner contracted
a second marriage to Orlando despite having been married to one Eusebio Bristol on 12
December 1959.
On 6 August 1998, the RTC had acquitted petitioner of bigamy. 3 The trial court ruled that
since the deceased was a divorced American citizen, and since that divorce was not
recognized under Philippine jurisdiction, the marriage between him and petitioner was not
valid.
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 Furthermore, it took note of the action for declaration of nullity then pending action with
the trial court in Dagupan City led by Felicitas Amor against the deceased and petitioner.
It considered the pending action to be a prejudicial question in determining the guilt of
petitioner for the crime of bigamy.
Finally, the trial court found that, in the rst place, petitioner had never been married to
Eusebio Bristol.
On 26 June 2006, Branch 70 of the RTC of Burgos, Pangasinan dismissed the Petition for
the issuance of letters of administration led by petitioner and granted that of private
respondent. Contrary to its ndings in Crim. Case No. 2699-A, the RTC held that the
marriage between petitioner and Eusebio Bristol was valid and subsisting when she
married Orlando. Without expounding, it reasoned further that her acquittal in the previous
bigamy case was fatal to her cause. Thus, the trial court held that petitioner was not an
interested party who may file a petition for the issuance of letters of administration. 4
After the subsequent denial of her Motion for Reconsideration, petitioner elevated the
matter to the Court of Appeals (CA) via her Petition for Certiorari, alleging grave abuse of
discretion on the part of the RTC in dismissing her Petition for the issuance of letters of
administration. HCEcaT

Petitioner reiterated before the CA that the Petition led by respondent should have been
dismissed on the ground of litis pendentia. She also insisted that, while a petition for
letters of administration may have been led by an "uninterested person," the defect was
cured by the appearance of a real party-in-interest. Thus, she insisted that, to determine
who has a better right to administer the decedent's properties, the RTC should have rst
required the parties to present their evidence before it ruled on the matter.
On 18 October 2007, the CA promulgated the assailed Decision. First, it held that petitioner
undertook the wrong remedy. She should have instead led a petition for review rather
than a petition for certiorari. Nevertheless, since the Petition for Certiorari was led within
the fteen-day reglementary period for ling a petition for review under Sec. 4 of Rule 43,
the CA allowed the Petition and continued to decide on the merits of the case. Thus, it
ruled in this wise:
As to the issue of litis pendentia, we nd it not applicable in the case. For litis
pendentia to be a ground for the dismissal of an action, there must be: (a) identity
of the parties or at least such as to represent the same interest in both actions; (b)
identity of rights asserted and relief prayed for, the relief being founded on the
same acts, and (c) the identity in the two cases should be such that the judgment
which may be rendered in one would, regardless of which party is successful,
amount to res judicata in the other. A petition for letters of administration is a
special proceeding. A special proceeding is an application or proceeding to
establish the status or right of a party, or a particular fact. And, in contrast to an
ordinary civil action, a special proceeding involves no defendant or respondent.
The only party in this kind of proceeding is the petitioner of the applicant.
Considering its nature, a subsequent petition for letters of administration can
hardly be barred by a similar pending petition involving the estate of the same
decedent unless both petitions are filed by the same person. In the case at bar, the
petitioner was not a party to the petition led by the private respondent, in the
same manner that the latter was not made a party to the petition led by the
former. The rst element of litis pendentia is wanting. The contention of the
petitioner must perforce fail.

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 Moreover, to yield to the contention of the petitioner would render nugatory the
provision of the Rules requiring a petitioner for letters of administration to be an
"interested party," inasmuch as any person, for that matter, regardless of whether
he has valid interest in the estate sought to be administered, could be appointed
as administrator for as long as he les his petition ahead of any other person, in
derogation of the rights of those speci cally mentioned in the order of preference
in the appointment of administrator under Rule 78, Section 6 of the Revised Rules
of Court, which provides:

xxx xxx xxx

The petitioner, armed with a marriage certi cate, led her petition for letters of
administration. As a spouse, the petitioner would have been preferred to
administer the estate of Orlando B. Catalan. However, a marriage certi cate, like
any other public document, is only prima facie evidence of the facts stated
therein. The fact that the petitioner had been charged with bigamy and
was acquitted has not been disputed by the petitioner. Bigamy is an illegal
marriage committed by contracting a second or subsequent marriage before the
rst marriage has been dissolved or before the absent spouse has been declared
presumptively dead by a judgment rendered in a proper proceedings. The
deduction of the trial court that the acquittal of the petitioner in the
said case negates the validity of her subsequent marriage with Orlando
B. Catalan has not been disproved by her. There was not even an
attempt from the petitioner to deny the ndings of the trial court. There
is therefore no basis for us to make a contrary nding. Thus, not being an
interested party and a stranger to the estate of Orlando B. Catalan, the dismissal
of her petition for letters of administration by the trial court is in place.

xxx xxx xxx

WHEREFORE , premises considered, the petition is DISMISSED for lack of merit.

No pronouncement as to costs. AacDHE

SO ORDERED. 5 (Emphasis supplied)

Petitioner moved for a reconsideration of this Decision. 6 She alleged that the reasoning of
the CA was illogical in stating, on the one hand, that she was acquitted of bigamy, while, on
the other hand, still holding that her marriage with Orlando was invalid. She insists that with
her acquittal of the crime of bigamy, the marriage enjoys the presumption of validity.
On 20 June 2008, the CA denied her motion.
Hence, this Petition.
At the outset, it seems that the RTC in the special proceedings failed to appreciate the
nding of the RTC in Crim. Case No. 2699-A that petitioner was never married to Eusebio
Bristol. Thus, the trial court concluded that, because petitioner was acquitted of bigamy, it
follows that the rst marriage with Bristol still existed and was valid. By failing to take note
of the ndings of fact on the nonexistence of the marriage between petitioner and Bristol,
both the RTC and CA held that petitioner was not an interested party in the estate of
Orlando.
Second, it is imperative to note that at the time the bigamy case in Crim. Case No. 2699-A
was dismissed, we had already ruled that under the principles of comity, our jurisdiction
recognizes a valid divorce obtained by a spouse of foreign nationality. This doctrine was
established as early as 1985 in Van Dorn v. Romillo, Jr. 7 wherein we said:
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 It is true that owing to the nationality principle embodied in Article 15 of the Civil
Code, only Philippine nationals are covered by the policy against absolute
divorces[,] the same being considered contrary to our concept of public policy and
morality. However, aliens may obtain divorces abroad, which may be
recognized in the Philippines, provided they are valid according to their
national law. In this case, the divorce in Nevada released private
respondent from the marriage from the standards of American law,
under which divorce dissolves the marriage. . . .

We reiterated this principle in Llorente v. Court of Appeals, 8 to wit:

I n Van Dorn v. Romillo, Jr. we held that owing to the nationality principle
embodied in Article 15 of the Civil Code, only Philippine nationals are covered by
the policy against absolute divorces, the same being considered contrary to our
concept of public policy and morality. In the same case, the Court ruled that
aliens may obtain divorces abroad, provided they are valid according to
their national law. CaTcSA

Citing this landmark case, the Court held in Quita v. Court of Appeals ,
that once proven that respondent was no longer a Filipino citizen when
he obtained the divorce from petitioner, the ruling in Van Dorn would
become applicable and petitioner could "very well lose her right to
inherit" from him.

In Pilapil v. Ibay-Somera, we recognized the divorce obtained by the respondent in

his country, the Federal Republic of Germany. There, we stated that divorce
and its legal effects may be recognized in the Philippines insofar as
respondent is concerned in view of the nationality principle in our civil
law on the status of persons.
For failing to apply these doctrines, the decision of the Court of Appeals must be
reversed. We hold that the divorce obtained by Lorenzo H. Llorente from
his rst wife Paula was valid and recognized in this jurisdiction as a
matter of comity . . . .

Nonetheless, the fact of divorce must still rst be proven as we have enunciated in Garcia
v. Recio, 9 to wit:
Respondent is getting ahead of himself. Before a foreign judgment is given
presumptive evidentiary value, the document must rst be presented and
admitted in evidence. A divorce obtained abroad is proven by the divorce decree
itself. Indeed the best evidence of a judgment is the judgment itself. The
decree purports to be a written act or record of an act of an of cial body or
tribunal of a foreign country.
Under Sections 24 and 25 of Rule 132, on the other hand, a writing or document
may be proven as a public or of cial record of a foreign country by either (1) an
of cial publication or (2) a copy thereof attested by the of cer having legal
custody of the document. If the record is not kept in the Philippines, such copy
must be (a) accompanied by a certi cate issued by the proper diplomatic or
consular officer in the Philippine foreign service stationed in the foreign country in
which the record is kept and (b) authenticated by the seal of his office.

The divorce decree between respondent and Editha Samson appears to be an

authentic one issued by an Australian family court. However, appearance is not
suf cient; compliance with the aforementioned rules on evidence must
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 be demonstrated. TCaADS

Fortunately for respondent's cause, when the divorce decree of May 18, 1989 was
submitted in evidence, counsel for petitioner objected, not to its admissibility, but
only to the fact that it had not been registered in the Local Civil Registry of
Cabanatuan City. The trial court ruled that it was admissible, subject to
petitioner's quali cation. Hence, it was admitted in evidence and accorded weight
by the judge. Indeed, petitioner's failure to object properly rendered the divorce
decree admissible as a written act of the Family Court of Sydney, Australia.
Compliance with the quoted articles (11, 13 and 52) of the Family Code is not
necessary; respondent was no longer bound by Philippine personal laws after he
acquired Australian citizenship in 1992. Naturalization is the legal act of adopting
an alien and clothing him with the political and civil rights belonging to a citizen.
Naturalized citizens, freed from the protective cloak of their former states, don the
attires of their adoptive countries. By becoming an Australian, respondent severed
his allegiance to the Philippines and the vinculum juris that had tied him to
Philippine personal laws.

Burden of Proving Australian Law

Respondent contends that the burden to prove Australian divorce law falls upon
petitioner, because she is the party challenging the validity of a foreign judgment.
He contends that petitioner was satis ed with the original of the divorce decree
and was cognizant of the marital laws of Australia, because she had lived and
worked in that country for quite a long time. Besides, the Australian divorce law is
allegedly known by Philippine courts; thus, judges may take judicial notice of
foreign laws in the exercise of sound discretion.
We are not persuaded. The burden of proof lies with the "party who alleges
the existence of a fact or thing necessary in the prosecution or defense
of an action." In civil cases, plaintiffs have the burden of proving the
material allegations of the complaint when those are denied by the
answer; and defendants have the burden of proving the material
allegations in their answer when they introduce new matters. Since the
divorce was a defense raised by respondent, the burden of proving the
pertinent Australian law validating it falls squarely upon him.

It is well-settled in our jurisdiction that our courts cannot take judicial

notice of foreign laws. Like any other facts, they must be alleged and
proved. Australian marital laws are not among those matters that
judges are supposed to know by reason of their judicial function. The
power of judicial notice must be exercised with caution, and every
reasonable doubt upon the subject should be resolved in the negative.
(Emphasis supplied) aTIEcA

It appears that the trial court no longer required petitioner to prove the validity of Orlando's
divorce under the laws of the United States and the marriage between petitioner and the
deceased. Thus, there is a need to remand the proceedings to the trial court for further
reception of evidence to establish the fact of divorce.
Should petitioner prove the validity of the divorce and the subsequent marriage, she has
the preferential right to be issued the letters of administration over the estate. Otherwise,
letters of administration may be issued to respondent, who is undisputedly the daughter or
next of kin of the deceased, in accordance with Sec. 6 of Rule 78 of the Revised Rules of
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 Court.
This is consistent with our ruling in San Luis v. San Luis, 1 0 in which we said:
Applying the above doctrine in the instant case, the divorce decree allegedly
obtained by Merry Lee which absolutely allowed Felicisimo to remarry, would
have vested Felicidad with the legal personality to le the present petition as
Felicisimo's surviving spouse. However, the records show that there is
insuf cient evidence to prove the validity of the divorce obtained by
Merry Lee as well as the marriage of respondent and Felicisimo under
the laws of the U.S.A. In Garcia v. Recio , the Court laid down the speci c
guidelines for pleading and proving foreign law and divorce judgments. It held
that presentation solely of the divorce decree is insuf cient and that proof of its
authenticity and due execution must be presented. Under Sections 24 and 25 of
Rule 132, a writing or document may be proven as a public or of cial record of a
foreign country by either (1) an of cial publication or (2) a copy thereof attested
by the of cer having legal custody of the document. If the record is not kept in the
Philippines, such copy must be (a) accompanied by a certi cate issued by the
proper diplomatic or consular of cer in the Philippine foreign service stationed in
the foreign country in which the record is kept and (b) authenticated by the seal of
his office.
With regard to respondent's marriage to Felicisimo allegedly solemnized in
California, U.S.A., she submitted photocopies of the Marriage Certi cate and the
annotated text of the Family Law Act of California which purportedly show that
their marriage was done in accordance with the said law. As stated in Garcia,
however, the Court cannot take judicial notice of foreign laws as they must be
alleged and proved.

Therefore, this case should be remanded to the trial court for further
reception of evidence on the divorce decree obtained by Merry Lee and
the marriage of respondent and Felicisimo. (Emphasis supplied)

Thus, it is imperative for the trial court to rst determine the validity of the divorce to
ascertain the rightful party to be issued the letters of administration over the estate of
Orlando B. Catalan.
WHEREFORE , premises considered, the Petition is hereby PARTIALLY GRANTED . The
Decision dated 18 October 2007 and the Resolution dated 20 June 2008 of the Court of
Appeals are hereby REVERSED and SET ASIDE . Let this case be REMANDED to Branch
70 of the Regional Trial Court of Burgos, Pangasinan for further proceedings in accordance
with this Decision. DcSEHT

SO ORDERED.
Carpio, Brion, Perez and Reyes, JJ., concur.

Footnotes

1.Penned by Associate Justice Amelita G. Tolentino, with Associate Justices Lucenito N. Tagle
and Ramon R. Garcia concurring; rollo, pp. 20-30.
2.Id. at 49.
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 3.Id. at 38-45; penned by Judge Jules A. Mejia.

4.As narrated by the Court of Appeals on p. 3 of its Decision.

5.Rollo, pp. 26-29.
6.Id. at 31-36.
7.223 Phil. 357, 362 (1985).
8.399 Phil. 342, 355-356 (2000).

9.418 Phil. 723, 723-735 (2001).

10.G.R. Nos. 133743 & 134029, 6 February 2007, 514 SCRA 294, 313-314.

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