Tabular Presentation of Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages

Below is a tabular presentation of the above-subject Rule, or you can read the complete text of the approved Rule as Resolved by the Supreme Court here.

I hope this finds practical use for beginning law practitioners and bar reviewers.

I was toying with the idea that everything academic can be better presented in tables, utilizing the “four wives and a husband” model (What, Who, When, Where, How), making it less verbose and appear more graphic, thus, easier to remember. At least, it suits me, so here’s experimenting on its effectiveness.

WHAT	WHO	WHERE	WHEN	HOW
Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Void Marriages Petition for Annulment of Voidable Marriages	Petitioner-Spouse; exclusive to the spouses, including OFW-spouse while abroad. Cannot be filed by atty.-in-fact, nor solely by counsel.	Family Court of the Province where the petitioner or the respondent has resided for the last 6 mos. prior to filing at the election of the petitioner. For non-resident respondent, where he/she may be found in the Philippines at the election of the petitioner.	For Void Marriages: Imprescrip-tible. For voidable marriages: 5 years; Before age of majority; During lifetime; Copies for SolGen & Pros must be served upon them w/in 5 days fr date of filing	By Filing personally or by counsel: For void marriages, anytime; action is imprescriptible For voidable marriages: By contracting party whose parent, guardian, or person having legal charge (pgphlc) did not give consent, w/in 5 yrs., after turning 21 unless he/she freely cohabited w/the other. By pgphlc of the contracting party, anytime before the latter turns 21. By sane spouse, pgphlc, or relative of insane, at anytime before death of either party; by insane during lucid internal, unless after coming to reason, petitioner cohabited w/the other; By injured party whose consent was obtained by fraud, w/in 5 yrs. from discovery, unless he/she freely cohabited w/the other. By injured party whose consent was obtained by force, intimidation, or undue influence, w/in 5yrs fr. disappearance/ceasing of foregoing, unless he/she freely cohabited w/the other. By injured party where the other spouse is incapable (continuing & incurable) of consummating the marriage, w/in 5 yrs. By injured party where the other is afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease (serious & incurable) w/in 5 yrs. after celebration of marriage. By Serving copies upon SolGen and Prov’l or City Pros.
Verification & Certification of Non-Forum Shopping (VCNFS)	Petitioner-Spouse Personally	Same court (attached to the petition)	Contempo-raneous with the petition	Must be personally signed by petitioner If petitioner is abroad, VCNFS must be authenticated by authorized officer of Phil. Embassy or legation, consul-gen., consul, or vice-consul or consular agent.
Summons	Court Sheriff	See Rule 14 RoC; Wherever respondent is found, at his office, or at his residence.	Upon filing of petition and payment of filing fee	By personal service upon respondent, or if refused, by tendering it; By substituted service; With leave of court, by publication once a week for 2 consecutive weeks in a NGC, and a copy of summons served by registered mail at respondent’s last known address
Answer/ counter-petition No motion to dismiss is allowed	Respondent	Same court; service at the residence or office address; either personally or by registered mail	Within 15 days from receipt of petition; or w/in 30 fr last issue of publication	By filing in court. Answer must be verified by respondent himself & not by counsel of attorney-in-fact. By serving upon the petitioner. No declaration of default on respondent who failed to answer.
Where no Answer is Filed or if the answer does not tender an issue	Court	Same Court	Upon receipt or upon lapse of time for filing therefor.	By ordering the Pros. to conduct an investigation if there is collusion between parties
Investigation report	Pros.	Same court	w/in 30 days from order of court upon receipt of report	By stating in the report WoN collusion exists; serving copies on parties & respective counsels ; If court is convinced of the existence of collusion, dismisses the case. May require a social worker to conduct case study & submit report 3 days before pre-trial
Pre-Trial Conference (Mandatory)	Petitioner, on motion, or the court, motu proprio	Court where filed	Upon receipt of the report of pros that no collusion exists, or after last pleading is served	By issuing a notice of pre-trial to the parties, their counsels, & public pros., directing them to appear at, and to file their respective pre-trial briefs at least 3 days before, pre-trial. Court may dismiss the petition if petitioner fails to appear; Court may refer the issue to a mediator on matters not prohibited by law; Court may also require a social worker to conduct a case study.
Trial	Parties	Same Court	Date set by court	By Petitioner proving the ground for the petition, and respondent opposing the same;   Court may exclude all persons from the courtroom, including press, and all who do not have a direct interest in the case.
Decision	Court/Judge	Same Court	After trial proper	By the Judge/court rendering a decision (not yet, and different from, the decree of annulment) whether granting or dismissing the petition. The same becomes final after a lapse of 15 days from notice to parties.   Parties and Sol gen/public pros are furnished personally or by registered mail.   If respondent is Summoned by publication, and failed to appear, the dispositive portion of the decision shall be published once in a NGC.
Appeal	Aggrieved party/Sol Gen	Same/appe-llate  Court	w/in 15 days fr notice, or denial of MR/NT	By the aggrieved party or Sol Gen filing an appeal from the decision of the trial court, only if and after a denial of MR/NT.   By appellant serving copies on adverse parties.
Liquidation partition & Distribution	Court	Same court	Upon entry of judgment	By proceeding with or determining the liquidation, partition, distribution of properties of spouses, including custody, support of common children, and delivery of presumptive legitimes.
Issuance of Decree	Court	Same court	After registration / delivery	By issuing the Decree AFTER: Registration of entry of judgment declaring the nullity or annulment of marriage in the Civil Registry where marriage was celebrated & where Family Court is located;   Registration of approved partition and distribution of properties in the proper Registry of Deeds where properties are located;   Delivery of presumptive legitimes in cash, or sound securities;   Note: Except for petitions under Articles 36 and 53 of the Family Code, the court shall order the Local Civil Registrar to issue an amended birth certificate indicating the new civil status  (illegitimate) of the children affected.
Registration of Decree	Court	Same court	After issuance of Decree	By ordering the registration of the Decree in the Civil Registry where the marriage was celebrated & where the court is located, and in the National Census and Statistics Office.