TOMAS EUGENIO, SR., petitioner, vs. HON. ALEJANDRO M. VELEZ, respondent.
G.R. No. 85140 May 17, 1990.
Facts:
On Sept. 27, 1988, respondent-brothers Vargas(es) filed a petition for habeas corpus against Eugenio for forcibly taking Vitaliana (respondents’ sister)from her residence in 1987 and confined by the former in his palacial residence in Misamis Oriental. The respondent-brothers, however, were not knowledgeable of Vitaliana’s death on August 28, 1988 due to heart failure, prior to their filing of the writ of habeas corpus. Hence, Eugenio did not release the body of Vitaliana claiming that the writ of habeas corpus is invalid because it was filed after the death of Vitaliana. the respondent-brothers claimed that there was no existing marital relationship between Eugenio and Vitaliana and therefore they have the custody over the body of the latter. The RTC said that since there was no surviving spouse or children of Vitaliana and that petitioner was merely a common law spouse , her brothers and sisters have the custody. Also, it was held that Eugenio was legally married to another woman.
Issue:
Whether the custody of the dead body of Vitaliana be given to her full blood brothers and sisters or her common law spouse.
Ruling:
The Philippines do not recognize common law marriages. And even if it was recognized, the co-ownership requires that the man and the woman must not in any way be incapacitated to contract marriage. In this case, Eugenio was legally married to another woman, which bars him from being legally capacitated to contract marriages. Thye Civil Code of the Philippines defines “spouse” as a lawfully wedded spouse not including common law spouses. Hence, the custody of Vitaliana’s body is given to her brothers and sisters.
