Capili v. People
REITERATIONFacts
The Antecedents: Petitioner James Walter P. Capili was charged with bigamy for allegedly contracting a second marriage with Shirley Tismo on December 8, 1999, while his first marriage to Karla Y. Medina-Capili, solemnized on September 3, 1999, was still subsisting and had not been legally dissolved. Procedural History: Petitioner filed a motion to suspend proceedings, alleging a pending civil case for declaration of nullity of the second marriage and that its resolution would serve as a prejudicial question. The Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Antipolo City subsequently declared the second marriage void. Based on this, the RTC of Pasig City granted petitioner's motion to dismiss the bigamy case, opining that there was no more bigamy to speak of. The Court of Appeals (CA) reversed the RTC's dismissal order and remanded the case for further proceedings. Petitioner's motion for reconsideration was denied. The Petition: Petitioner seeks the reversal of the CA's decision, arguing that the declaration of nullity of the second marriage should have served as a ground for dismissal, citing jurisprudence and distinguishing the case from Tenebro v. Court of Appeals.
Issue(s)
Whether the subsequent declaration of nullity of the second marriage is a ground for dismissal of the criminal case for bigamy. Whether the RTC of Pasig City erred in dismissing the bigamy case based on the declaration of nullity of the second marriage by the RTC of Antipolo City.
Ruling
The petition is denied. The Decision of the Court of Appeals is affirmed.
Ratio Decidendi
On whether the subsequent declaration of nullity of the second marriage is a ground for dismissal of the criminal case for bigamy: The Court ruled in the negative. The elements of bigamy are: (1) the offender has been legally married; (2) the marriage has not been legally dissolved or the absent spouse cannot be presumed dead; (3) the offender contracts a second or subsequent marriage; and (4) the second or subsequent marriage has all the essential requisites for validity. In this case, all elements were present when the Information was filed, as the second marriage was contracted during the subsistence of the first marriage. The subsequent declaration of nullity of the second marriage does not negate the fact that it was contracted while the first marriage was still valid and subsisting. The crime of bigamy is consummated upon the celebration of the second marriage without the previous one having been legally dissolved. The subsequent judicial declaration of nullity of the second marriage does not bar the prosecution for bigamy. Jurisprudence holds that the accused may still be charged with bigamy even if there is a subsequent declaration of nullity of the second marriage, as long as the first marriage was subsisting when the second marriage was celebrated. The Court cannot allow an accused to simply file a petition to declare a previous marriage void and invoke its pendency as a prejudicial question to delay the prosecution of bigamy cases. The criminal culpability attaches to the offender upon the commission of the offense, which in this case was the celebration of the second marriage. Therefore, the finality of the judicial declaration of nullity of the second marriage does not impede the filing of a criminal charge for bigamy. On whether the RTC of Pasig City erred in dismissing the bigamy case based on the declaration of nullity of the second marriage by the RTC of Antipolo City: The Court ruled that the RTC of Pasig City erred in dismissing the bigamy case. The subsequent declaration of nullity of the second marriage does not negate the fact that it was contracted while the first marriage was still valid and subsisting. The crime of bigamy is consummated upon the celebration of the second marriage without the previous one having been legally dissolved. The subsequent judicial declaration of nullity of the second marriage does not bar the prosecution for bigamy.
Main Doctrine
A subsequent judicial declaration of nullity of a second marriage does not bar the prosecution for bigamy if the first marriage was subsisting at the time the second marriage was contracted. The crime of bigamy is consummated upon the celebration of the second marriage.