Source: https://www.chanrobles.com/cralaw/2015julydecisions.php?id=964
Timestamp: 2020-07-07 19:21:40
Document Index: 730024911

Matched Legal Cases: ['Art. 66', 'Art. 349', 'ART. 350', 'art. 7', 'Art. 2', 'Art. 3', 'Art. 7', 'Art. 35']

A.M. No. RTJ-15-2417 [Formerly known as OCA IPI No. 10-3466-RTJ], July 22, 2015 - ELADIO D. PERFECTO, Complainant, v. JUDGE ALMA CONSUELO D. ESIDERA, Respondent. : July 2015 - Philipppine Supreme Court Decisions
Philippine Supreme Court Jurisprudence > Year 2015 > July 2015 Decisions > A.M. No. RTJ-15-2417 [Formerly known as OCA IPI No. 10-3466-RTJ], July 22, 2015 - ELADIO D. PERFECTO, Complainant, v. JUDGE ALMA CONSUELO D. ESIDERA, Respondent.:
A.M. No. RTJ-15-2417 [Formerly known as OCA IPI No. 10-3466-RTJ], July 22, 2015
ELADIO D. PERFECTO, Complainant, v. JUDGE ALMA CONSUELO D. ESIDERA, Respondent.
Perfecto further alleged that Judge Desales-Esidera falsified her daughter's birth certificate to make it appear that she and Renato Verano Esidera were married on March 18, 1990 and that their daughter was a legitimate child.6 No marriage took place on that date based on a certification of no marriage issued by the Office of the City Civil Registrar of Parañaque City.7 Judge Desales-Esidera did not take any step to rectify the error on her daughter's birth certificate.8
Perfecto prays for Judge Desales-Esidera's dismissal from office for her alleged dishonesty.9
Judge Desales-Esidera filed her Comment with Motion to Dismiss on December 30, 2010.10 She argued that Perfecto did not comply with the requirement of personal knowledge under Rule 140, Section 1.11 He should have supported his Complaint "with affidavits of persons who knew her personally or with authenticated copies of documents that supported his allegations."12 Otherwise, Perfecto's allegations were nothing more than "tsismis" or hearsay.13 Perfecto perjured himself when he subscribed to facts that were not based on his personal knowledge.14
Judge Desales-Esidera brought this court's attention to the allegedly malicious means by which Perfecto obtained the documents supporting his allegations.15 According to her, the documents were secured in connivance with persons involved in or were related to parties in other administrative cases. Perfecto also connived with court employees who violated either the law or Supreme Court circulars by bringing court records outside the court without the judge's knowledge or consent.16 Judge Desales-Esidera claimed that this affects Perfecto's credibility and integrity.17
Moreover, Judge Desales-Esidera claimed that the persons involved in obtaining the documents "desperately want[ed] [her] out of the judiciary so that they could continue their illegal activities in the office[,] like temporary borrowing of funds in the Office of the Clerk of Court . . . and the abuse of the accreditation of [Perfecto] [,] whose newspaper [was] not printed and circulated generally and regularly in Northern Samar."18
Judge Desales-Esidera further argued that the charges against her were personal and not judicial.19 She did not participate in the accomplishment of the birth certificate.20 She had planned to correct her daughter's birth certificate, but she and her husband decided against it for the best interest of her daughter.21
Renato and I are both religious. We both wanted to correct what we have started wrongly. I consulted at least two priests who were knowledgeable on Canon Law, a certain Fr. Albarico from San Sebastian Church and Rev. Fr. David J. Tither, C.SS.R of the Redemptorist Church in Baclaran. I also made my own research on Catholic annulment and got a copy of the deliberations on "psychological incapacity" as a ground for annulment under the Family Code. I need not over emphasize that in view of the separation of the Church and the State, civil marriages are not recognized by the Catholic Church. Couples who are civilly married are considered living in state of sin, and may be ex-communicated. They cannot receive the sacraments. Thus, my marriage to Richard Tang was not recognized by the Catholic Church. Moreover, in my research I found this digest in Vol. 1, Civil Code Annotated. Ambrosio Padilla, p. 454, 1975 edition:
"People vs. Whipkey, (CA) 69, O.G. 9678. - Pursuant to Art. 66 of the Civil Code, before a marriage license can be obtained by a citizen or subject of a foreign country, he must first present a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage to be issued by the diplomatic or consular official of his own country. The law stresses the mandatory character of this requirement by the use of the word "necessary", so that marriage license secured in violation of Article 66 of the Civil Code is a void license."
The date of marriage which my husband supplied in the birth certificate of our daughter, Mary Joyce, is the date we received the Sacrament of Holy Matrimony on March 18, 1990. Fr. David Tither had no license to solemnize marriage from the National Archives or from the civil government. It was a purely sacramental marriage rite, without legal effect but definitely valid and recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. It is called "matrimona de conciencia". All he could give us was a blank certificate of marriage but signed by him and the two priest witnesses, a certification and a covering letter (Annex E, F and G). The need referred to in the covering letter did not arrive because our second marriage (June 3, 1992) came before Mary Joyce attended the pre-school, so the form remained blank up to this date. If I were as scheming as my accusers, I should have filled it up a long time ago. But I am too honest and honorable to do that.
According to the Order to comment, I am also accused of immorality. The basis of morality is generally the do's and don'ts set by the Church of whatever religion. As Catholics, we have the Ten Commandments. I have sinned against one but I took advantage of the Sacrament of Reconciliation and the Sacrament of Matrimony. I did not, and do not live with anybody not my husband as defined by my Catholic faith. Chastity is a virtue. Even if one is civilly married but if there is no religious ratification, in the eyes of my God, the spouses are living in sin and cannot take the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.
From the day I saw the certified copy of the birth certificate of our daughter, I already planned to correct it. But, being married, anything that would affect our family must be a conjugal decision. We decided against it, not because I am a lawbreaker, dishonest or immoral, but because not to disturb her birth record will serve her best interest and welfare. It will save her the embarrassment of being different in some way from her sisters; and the repercussion of being branded an "illegitimate" by her teachers and peers. As a mother, I have to protect her from, everything detrimental to her well-being. More than a judge, I am a mother and a wife. As a lawyer, I agreed because it can always be corrected when the time or need comes. This case has already affected my daughter emotionally, especially when she learned that somebody secured her birth certificate and pretended to be "Mary Joyce." She could not understand why she should be dragged in this controversy using her birth certificate which is supposed to be confidential. Neither do I. If the Xerox copies appended to the Complaint were perused carefully, my children, especially Mary Joyce, would have been saved from emotional shock and trauma. Being appointed to the Judiciary is not a license to pry on our personal life before I became a judge and criticize our wisdom.
We all have our stories to tell. Nobody's perfect. What is important is we learn from our mistakes, amend our lives and avoid further wrongdoings. If the Honorable Court Administrator, through the Legal Office, would only conduct discreet investigation on the life of my accusers and their lifestyles, the Office would realize who among us is leading an immoral life.24 (Emphasis in the original)
On September 29, 2014, the Office of the Court Administrator recommended that Judge Desales-Esidera be found guilty of disgraceful, immoral, or dishonest conduct and that she be suspended from judicial service for 15 days with the warning that a repetition of a similar offense would be dealt with more severely.25cralawred
The Office of the Court Administrator found that Judge Desales-Esidera condoned the misrepresentation made on her child's birth certificate.26
We find that Judge Desales-Esidera's omission to correct her child's birth certificate is not sufficient to render her administratively liable under the circumstances. The error in the birth certificate cannot be attributed to her. She did not participate in filling in the required details in the document. The birth certificate shows that it was her husband who signed it as informant.30
Judge Desales-Esidera is also not guilty of disgraceful and immoral conduct under the Code of Professional Responsibility.
Morality refers to what is good or right conduct at a given circumstance. In Estrada v. Escritor,31 this court described morality as "how we ought to live and why."32
Otherwise, if government relies upon religious beliefs in formulating public policies and morals, the resulting policies and morals would require conformity to what some might regard as religious programs or agenda. The non-believers would therefore be compelled to conform to a standard of conduct buttressed by a religious belief, i.e., to a "compelled religion" anathema to religious freedom. Likewise, if government based its actions upon religious beliefs, it would tacitly approve or endorse that belief and thereby also tacitly disapprove contrary religious or non-religious views that would not support the policy. As a result, government will not provide full religious freedom for all its citizens, or even make it appear that those whose beliefs are disapproved are second-class citizens. Expansive religious freedom therefore requires that government be neutral in matters of religion; governmental reliance upon religious justification is inconsistent with this policy of neutrality.40ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
Therefore, we cannot properly conclude that respondent judge's acts of contracting a second marriage during the subsistence of her alleged first marriage and having an alleged "illicit" affair are "immoral" based on her Catholic faith. This court is not a judge of religious morality.
We also do not find that respondent judge's acts constitute immorality for purposes of administrative liability. Under the circumstances, respondent judge's second marriage and her alleged affair with her second husband were not of such depravity as to reduce confidence in the Rule of Law. Respondent judge and her first husband never really lived together as husband and wife. She claimed that her first husband did not want to have a church wedding. She and her husband did not have a child. She claimed that this marriage was not recognized by her church. Eventually, their marriage was declared void,41 and she was wed civilly to her second husband, with whom respondent judge allegedly had an affair.
Moreover, respondent judge's acts were not intrinsically harmful. When respondent judge married her second husband, no harm was inflicted upon any one, not even the complainant. There was no evidence on the records that the first husband, who was the most interested person in the issue, even objected to the second marriage.
Art. 349. Bigamy. - The penalty of prision mayor shall be imposed upon any person who shall contract a second or subsequent marriage before the former marriage has been legally dissolved, or before the absent spouse has been declared presumptively dead by means of a judgment rendered in the proper proceedings.
Respondent judge's act of participating in the marriage ceremony as governed only by the rules of her religion is not inconsistent with our law against bigamy. What the law prohibits is not second marriage during a subsisting marriage per se. What the law prohibits is a second marriage that would have been valid had it not been for the subsisting marriage. Under our law, respondent judge's marriage in 1990 was invalid because of the solemnizing officer's lack of authority.
The lack of authority of the officer that solemnized respondent judge's marriage in 1990 renders such marriage invalid. It is not recognized in our law. Hence, no second marriage can be imputed against respondent judge while her first marriage subsisted.
ART. 350. Marriage contracted against provisions of laws. - The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods shall be imposed upon any person who, without being included in the provisions of the next preceding article, shall contract marriage knowing that the requirements of the law have not been complied with or that the marriage is in disregard of a legal impediment. (Emphasis supplied)
Respondent judge knew that the solemnizing officer during her and her husband's marriage in 1990 had no civil authority to solemnize marriages. It is clear from her Comment that she and her husband's only consideration for their 1990 marriage was the recognition from the Roman Catholic Church. She stated that:
Fr. David Tither had no license to solemnize marriage from the National Archives or from the civil government. Hence, he was not under obligation to register our marriage. It was a purely sacramental marriage rite, without legal effect but definitely valid and recognized by the Roman Catholic Church. It is called "matrimona de conciencia."46ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
Thus, unless respondent judge's act of participating in a marriage ceremony according to her religious beliefs violates other peoples' rights or poses grave and imminent danger to the society,48 we cannot rule that respondent judge is administratively liable for her participation in her religious marriage ceremony.49
We find that there is no compelling state interest that may limit respondent judge's right to participate in religious and merely ceremonial acts that are non-violative of other people's rights and with no legally binding effect. The institution of marriage is not threatened when we accommodate respondent judge's freedom to participate in such ceremonies even if they have secular counterparts under our laws.
Respondent judge cannot claim that engaging in sexual relations with another person during the subsistence of a marriage is an exercise of her religious expression. Legal implications and obligations attach to any person who chooses to enter civil marriages. This is regardless of how civil marriages are treated in that person's religion.
Court employees, from the highest magistrate to the lowliest clerk, are expected to abide scrupulously with the law. They are held to a higher standard since they are part of the judicial machinery that dispenses justice. [T]here exists a compelling state interest to hold Escritor to the same standards required of every court employee. If unsanctioned, Escritor's unlawful conduct would certainly impair the integrity and credibility of the judiciary.52ChanRoblesVirtualawlibrary
Lawyers are not and should not be expected to be saints. What they do as citizens of their faiths are beyond this court's power to judge. Lawyers, however, are officers of court. They are expected to care about and sustain the law. This court's jurisdiction over their actions is limited to their acts that may affect public confidence in the Rule of Law. Our state has secular interests to protect. This court cannot be expected to condone misconduct done knowingly on account of religious freedom or expression.
Finally, the Office of the Court Administrator and the Administrators of lower courts should look into the motives of persons who file complaints against our judges and officers of court when allegations point to possible administrative violations. This is not to say that complainants' motives are relevant to their causes of actions. However, complainants who come to court with unclean hands should not be spared from liability just because they were the first to submit their accusations.
3 Id. at 1 and 5. Attached to the Complaint as Annex "B" is a photocopy of a birth certificate of one Mary Joyce Desales Esidera. The copy indicates that Mary Joyce Desales Esidera was born on October 3, 1990 to parents Alma Consuelo Balitbit Desales and Renato Verano Esidera, who were married on March 18, 1990 in Parañaque. The birth certificate appears to have been prepared by the Medical Records Clerk per information given by Renato V. Esidera who signed as informant.
7 Id. at 2 and 15. Attached to the Complaint as Annex "D" is a photocopy of a certificate that appears to have been issued by the Office of the City Civil Registrar upon request of Mary Joyce D. Esidera. It states that there was no record of marriage between Renato V. Esidera and Alrna Consuelo B. Desales on March 18, 1990.
Rule 140, Section 1 of the Rules of Court, as amended by Administrative Matter No. 01-8-10-SC effective October 1, 2001, provides:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
12Rollo, p. 27.
24 Id. at 29-34.
25 Id. at 51-52
30 Id. at 29-34
37See Estrada v. Escritor, 455 Phil. 411 (2003) [Per J. Puno, En Banc].
38Estrada v. Escritor, 455 Phil. 411, 589 (2003) [Per J. Puno, En Banc].
40 Id. at 588-589.
41 Pertinent portions of the dispositive portion of the Regional Trial Court's Decision in Sp. Civil Case No. 148 reads: "WHEREFORE, judgment is hereby rendered declaring the marriage contracted by Richard Tang Tepace alias Richard T. Tang and Alma Consuelo B. Desales on May 7, 1987, solemnized by Judge Antonio de Castro of Metropolitan Trial Court, Branch 29, Manila NULL and VOID by reason of defendant's psychological incapacity to comply with the essential obligations of marriage, with all the legal effects and consequences and subject to the provisions of existing laws[.]"
43 Family CODE, art. 7. Marriage may be solemnized by:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
(3) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in the case mentioned in Article 31 [.]
44Montanez v. Cipriano, G.R. No. 181089, October 22, 2012, 684 SCRA 315, 322 [Per J. Peralta, Third Division].
45 FAMILY CODE, Art. 2. No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
Art. 3. The formal requisites of marriage are:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
Art. 7. Marriage may be solemnized by:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized by his church or religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within the limits of the written authority granted him by his church or religious sect and provided that at least one of the contracting parties belongs to the solemnizing officer's church or religious sect.
Art. 35. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:chanRoblesvirtualLawlibrary
Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so[.]
46Rollo, p. 30.
47See Estrada v. Escritor, 455 Phil. 411, 597 (2003) [Per J. Puno, En Banc].
48See Ebralinag v. Superintendent, G.R. No. 95770, March 1, 1993, 219 SCRA 256, 271 [Per J. Grino-Aquino, En Banc].
49 CONST., art. Ill, sec. 5. No law shall be made respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof. The free exercise and enjoyment of religious profession and worship, without discrimination or preference, shall forever be allowed. No religious test shall be required for the exercise of civil or political rights.
52J. Carpio, Dissenting Opinion in Estrada v. Escritor, 455 Phil. 411, 651 (2003) [Per J. Puno, En Banc].