October 8, 1985 | G.R. No. L-68470
Alice Reyes Van Dorn, petitioner
Hon. Manuel V. Romillo Jr., as Presiding Judge of Branch CX, RTC of Pasay City, and Richard Upton, respondents
FACTS:
Alice Reyes, a Filipino, and Richard Upton, an American, married in Hong Kong in 1972. Following their marriage, they moved to the Philippines where they had two children. In 1982, the spouses were divorced in Nevada, US. Subsequently, Alice remarried to Theodore Van Dorn.
In 1983, Richard filed a case against Alice before RTC Pasay, claiming that Alice's business in Ermita, Manila (the Galleon Shop), is conjugal property of the parties. In other words, he wanted the RTC to declare that he has a right to manage the conjugal property.
Alice filed a Motion to Dismiss, contending that Richard's cause of action is barred by previous judgment in the divorce proceedings in Nevada, where Richard acknowledged that he and Alice had "no community property" as of 1982.
RTC Pasay: Denied the Motion to Dismiss on the ground that the property involved (Galeon Shop) is located in the Philippines so that the Divorce Decree has no bearing in the case.
Hence, the instant petition.
ISSUE:
Whether a divorce decree validly issued by a competent court overseas is also valid in the Philippines? -- YES.
HELD:
1. Richard cannot have his cake and eat it, too. His claim that the divorce decree applies only in the US and not in the Philippines due to the standing policy in the Philippines that divorce is not allowed, creates an absurd situation where Alice is validly divorced from Richard in the US but remains married to him in the Philippines. This cannot be countenanced as this would result in Alice being discriminated against in her own country.
2. The divorce decree issued in Nevada released Richard from the marriage from the standards of American law, under which divorce dissolves the marriage. Thus, pursuant to his national law, Richard is no longer the husband of Alice. Therefore, he would have no standing to sue in the instant case and claim that he is still the husband.
3. The SC held that the RTC's denial of the Motion to Dismiss is overturned. As such, the Supreme Court ordered RTC Pasay to dismiss the case filed by Richard against Alice.