Facts:
Jaaziel married Lory in 2013. In 2017, however, she filed a petition for annulment of her marriage to Lori, on the ground of fraudulent concealment of homosexuality. Both the RTC and the Court of Appeal denied Jaaziel’s petition.
Issue:
Whether or not there was fraudulent concealment of Lory’s homosexuality, warranting the annulment of Jaazel’s marriage to him.
Ruling:
Petition grtanted:
In ruling that Lory had indeed concealed his homosexuality to Jaaziel, and the latter is entitled to the dissolution of her marriage to him, the Supreme Court ruled that:
- Lory admitted the fact of his homosexuality to Jaaziel, who also found magazine or naked and half-naked men in his belonging. This shows that Lory waited after the marriage before confessing his sexuality;
- Jaazel’s father’s testimony also showed that Lory is “medyo malambot” and did not know how to woo a woman;
- Jaazel was made to believe that Lory is someone who he is not at the onset of the their relationship. Lory refused to talk about his behavior. During their first date, Jaaziel noticed Lory’ lack of intimacy which is unusual for a guy who meets his girlfriend;
- Lory always looked for excuses to evade intimacy with Jaaziel.
“Given the foregoing, the Court is convinced that the allegations of Jaazel are nooit mere baseless perception or malicious interpretation of Lory’s peculiarities. With the lies and deception, coupled by their failure to cohabit as husband and wife, it is evident that Lory merely tricked Jaaziel to marry him, by making her believe that he is a heterosexual. The admission of Lory and the unexpected prolonged silence to negate the allegation as to his homosexuality cannot be taken lightly by the Court. No woman would put herself in a shameful position if the fact that she married a homosexual was not true. More so, no man would keep silent when his sexuality is being questioned thus creating disgrace in his name. It must be emphasized that Jaaziel’s allegations must be proven by preponderance of evidence or the evidence that is of greater weight, or more convincing, than the evidence offered in opposition to it. Therefore, the totality of Jaaziel’s evidence should b4 properly given weight, and thus, should be considered sufficient as against Lory’s silence on this matter. Hence, their marriage must be annulled on the ground of fraudulent concealment of homosexuality pursuant to Article 45(3) in relation to Article 48(4) of the Family Code.