I.

Isidro and Irma. Filipinos, both 18 years of age, were passengers of Flight No.
317 of Oriental Airlines. The plane they boarded was of Philippine registry.
While en route from Manila to Greece some passengers hijacked the plane,
held the chief pilot hostage at the cockpit and ordered him to fly instead to
Libya. During the hijacking Isidro suffered a heart attack and was on the
verge of death. Since Irma was already eight months pregnant by Isidro, she
pleaded to the hijackers to allow the assistant pilot to solemnize her marriage
with Isidro. Soon after the marriage, Isidro expired. As the plane landed in
Libya Irma gave birth. However, the baby died a few minutes after complete
delivery. Back in the Philippines Irma immediately filed a claim for
inheritance. The parents of Isidro opposed her claim contending that the
marriage between her and Isidro void ab initio on the following grounds: (a)
they had not given their consent to the marriage of their son; (b) there was no
marriage license: (c) the solemnizing officer had no authority to perform the
marriage: and, (d) the solemnizing officer did not file an affidavit of marriage
with the proper civil registrar.

Resolve each of the contentions ([a] to (d)) raised by the parents of Isidro.
Discuss fully.

II.
Emmanuel and Margarita, American citizens and employees of the U.S. State
Department, got married in the African state of Kenya where sterility is a
ground for annulment of marriage. Thereafter, the spouses were assigned to
the U.S. Embassy in Manila. On the first year of the spouses’ tour of duty in
the Philippines, Margarita filed an annulment case against Emmanuel before
a Philippine court on the ground of her husband’s sterility at the time of the
celebration of the marriage.
[a] Will the suit prosper? Explain your answer.
[b] Assume Emmanuel and Margarita are both Filipinos. After their wedding
in Kenya, they come back and take up residence in the Philippines. Can their
marriage be annulled on the ground of Emmanuel’s sterility? Explain.

III.
[a] If Ligaya, a Filipino citizen residing in the United States, file a petition for
change of name before the District Court of New York, what law shall apply?
Explain.
[b] If Henry, an American citizen residing in the Philippines, files a petition
for change of name before a Philippine court, what law shall apply?
IV.
PH and LV are HK Chinese. Their parents are now Filipino citizens who live
in Manila. While still students in MNS State, they got married although they
are first cousins. It appears that both in HK and in MNS State first cousins
could marry legally.
They plan to reside and set up business in the Philippines. But they have been
informed, however, that the marriage of first cousins here is considered void
from the beginning by reason of public policy. They are in a dilemma. They
don’t want to break Philippine law, much less their marriage vow. They seek
your advice on whether their civil status will be adversely affected by
Philippine domestic law? What is your advice?

V.
BONI and ANNE met while working overseas. They became sweethearts and
got engaged to be married on New Year’s Eve aboard a cruise ship in the
Caribbean. They took the proper license to many in New York City, where
there is a Filipino consulate.

But as planned the wedding ceremony was officiated by the captain of the
Norwegian- registered vessel in a private suite among selected friends.

Back in Manila, Anne discovered that Boni had been married in Bacolod City
5 years earlier but divorced in Oslo only last year. His first wife was also a
Filipina but now based in Sweden. Boni himself is a resident of Norway where
he and Anne plan to live permanently.
Anne retains your services to advise her on whether her marriage to Boni is
valid under Philippine law? Is there anything else she should do under the
circumstances?

VI.
Francis Albert, a citizen and resident of New Jersey. U.S.A., under whose law
he was still a minor, being only 20 years of age, was hired by ABC
Corporation of Manila to serve for two years as its chief computer
programmer. But after serving for only four months, he resigned to join XYZ
Corporation, which enticed him by offering more advantageous terms. His
first employer sues him in Manila for damages arising from the breach of his
contract of employment. He sets up his minority as a defense and asks for
annulment of the contract on that ground. The plaintiff disputes this by
alleging that since the contract was executed in the Philippines under whose
law the age of majority is 18 years, he was no longer a minor at the time of
perfection of the contract.
1. Will the suit prosper?
2. Suppose XYZ Corporation is impleaded as a codefendant, what would be
the basis of its liability, if any?

VII.
Dr. Lopez, a 70-year old widower, and his son Roberto both died in a fire that
gutted their home while they were sleeping in their air-conditioned rooms.
Roberto’s wife, Marilyn, and their two children were spared because they
were in the province at the time. Dr. Lopez left an estate worth P20M and a
life insurance policy in the amount of P1M with his three children --- one of
whom is Roberto --- as beneficiaries. Marilyn is now claiming for herself and
her children her husband’s share in the estate left by Dr. Lopez, and her
husband’s share in the proceeds of Dr. Lopez’s life insurance policy. Rule on
the validity of Marilyn’s claims with reasons.

VIII.
In December 2000, Michael and Anna, after obtaining a valid marriage
license, went to the Office of the Mayor of Urbano, Bulacan, to get married.
The Mayor was not there, but the Mayor’s secretary asked Michael and Anna
and their witnesses to fill up and sign the required marriage contract forms.
The secretary then told them to wait, and went out to look for the Mayor who
was attending a wedding in a neighboring municipality.
When the secretary caught up with the Mayor at the wedding reception, she
showed him the marriage contract forms and told him that the couple and
their witnesses were waiting in his office. The Mayor forthwith signed all the
copies of the marriage contract, gave them to the secretary who returned to
the Mayor’s office.' She then gave copies of the marriage contract to the
parties, and told Michael and Anna that they were already married.
Thereafter, the couple lived together as husband and wife, and had three sons.
Is the marriage of Michael and Anna valid, voidable, or void? Explain your
answer.
 IX.
Harry married Wilma, a very wealthy woman. Barely five (5) years into the
marriage, Wilma fell in love with Joseph. Thus, Wilma went to a small
country in Europe, became a naturalized citizen of that country, divorced j
Harry, and married Joseph. A year thereafter, Wilma and Joseph returned
and established permanent residence in the Philippines.
[a] Is the divorce obtained by Wilma from Harry-recognized in the
Philippines? Explain your answer.
[b] If Harry hires you as his lawyer, what legal recourse would you advise him
to take? Why?

X.
Ana Rivera had a husband, a Filipino citizen like her, who was among the
passengers on board a commercial jet plane which crashed in the Atlantic
Ocean ten (10) years earlier and had never been heard of ever since. Believing
that her husband had died, Ana married Adolf Cruz Staedtler, a divorced
German national born of a German father and a Filipino mother residing in
Stuttgart. To avoid being required to submit the required certificate of
capacity to marry from the German Embassy in Manila, Adolf stated in the
application for marriage license that he was a Filipino citizen. With the
marriage license stating that Adolf was a Filipino, the couple got married in a
ceremony officiated by the Parish Priest of Calamba, Laguna in a beach in
Nasugbu, Batangas, as the local parish priest refused to solemnize marriages
except in his church. Is the marriage valid? Explain fully.

XI.
The day after John and Marsha got married, John told her that he was
impotent. Marsha continued to live with John for 2 years. Is Marsha is now
estopped from filing an annulment case against John. Explain.

XII.
Amor gave birth to Thelma when she was 15 years old. Thereafter, Amor met
David and they got married when she was 20 years old. David had a son,
Julian, with his ex-girlfriend Sandra. Can Julian and Thelma can get married.
Explain

XIV.
Gemma filed a petition for the declaration of nullity of her marriage with
Arnell on the ground of psychological incapacity. She alleged that after 2
months of their marriage, Amell showed signs of disinterest in her, neglected
her and went abroad. He returned to the Philippines after 3 years but did not
even get in touch with her. Worse, they met several times in social functions
but he snubbed her. When she got sick, he did not visit her even if he knew of
her confinement in the hospital. Meanwhile, Amell met an accident which
disabled him from reporting for work and earning a living to support himself.
Will Gemma’s suit prosper? Explain.