Republic of the Philippines Ninth Judicial Region REGIONAL TRIAL COURT Dipolog City, Branch 7

MARIA NAGMAHAY-KHO Petitioner,

Civil Case No.: 12-345678 For: Declaration of Nullity of Marriage under Art. 36 of the Family Code of the Philippines

- versus -

JUAN TOM KHO, Respondent.

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PRE-TRIAL BRIEF OF THE PETITIONER

The Petitioner, represented by the undersigned counsels as her attorneys-in-law, respectfully submits to this Honorable Court this Pre-Trial Brief, to wit:

I. POSSIBILITY OF AMICABLE SETTLEMENT OR ALTERNATIVE MODES OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION

The Petitioner is not willing to consider any amicable settlement or undergo alternative modes of dispute resolution with respect to the primary prayer of this petition. However, the Petitioner is open to the possibility of amicable settlement in relation to the partition and accounting of the conjugal properties and assets of her union with the Respondent.

II. PROPOSED STIPULATION OF FACTS

The Petitioner proposes the following stipulation of facts: 1. Petitioner met Respondent sometime in December 2002 at Jollibee, Dipolog City, where she worked part-time as a Cashier. Respondent was one of the customers of said fastfood chain whom she served and who took an immediate attraction to her.

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2. Respondent relentlessly wooed Petitioner for six (6) months by showering her with flowers and gifts, visiting her frequently at the fastfood chain and in her school, Saint Vincents College, and bringing her home. 3. During the courtship, Petitioner often asked Respondent where he worked and what his job was, but Respondent always replied that he was still looking for a suitable job that his mother would approve of. 4. Petitioner also asked Respondent where he gets his money whenever they went out on dates since the latter was unemployed while he was courting Petitioner. Respondent replied that his parents always gave him an allowance for gimmicks, dates, and out-of-town trips. 5. During their dates, Petitioner observed that Respondents mother would call him every two hours and ask him where he was. Petitioner also observed that every time she went out on a date with the Respondent, he always bought his mother a bouquet of flowers before heading home. 6. Petitioner eventually committed to a relationship with Respondent after about six (6) months of courtship when Respondent told her that he would stop courting her if she would not commit to a relationship with him. 7. About a month into the relationship, Petitioner attempted to break up with Respondent because she found out that the Respondent lied to her about looking for a job. Petitioner discovered that Respondent, since graduating from college, never sought employment. 8. Respondent later found employment in LFD Corporation, a company owned by his family where his mother was the Chief Executive Officer, as an Sales Officer. 9. Later, Respondent pleaded with the Petitioner to prove her love to him by asking her to have pre-marital sex with him and when she refused, Respondent attempted to commit suicide. 10. Fearing that Respondent would again attempt suicide, Petitioner engaged in premarital sex with him, resulting in her feelings of guilt and remorse.

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11.

Soon after this, Respondent proposed marriage to Petitioner because he sensed the feelings of constant guilt and remorse exhibited by Petitioner.

12.

Petitioner and Respondent were married to each other at the Holy Rosary Cathedral, Dipolog City on 8 June 2004 before a certain Rev. Makadiyos, as evidenced by their Certificate of Marriage dated 8 June 2004. The wedding ceremony and reception at the Top Plaza Hotel was attended by both parties' friends and family.

13.

After the marriage ceremony, the spouses returned to their respective parents' homes and lived separately since they had not yet established a conjugal home.

14.

Respondent visited Petitioner in her house in Victoria Country Homes daily. However, Respondents mother would always call him up and ask him to go home. Respondents mother would ask their family driver to drive her to Victoria Country Homes to pick up her son in the wee hours of the morning.

15.

In 2004, as a result of Respondent's request, Petitioner moved in to the house of Respondents' parents believing it would only be temporary until the couple has enough money of their own to rent or purchase their own residence.

16.

In the same year, the couple established an internet caf business along Bonifacio Street, Dipolog City which was mostly funded by Respondents parents with the exception of the funds invested by the Petitioner.

17.

The Internet caf business closed down about after a year due to the fact that it was not earning enough profit with Petitioner promising the Respondents' parents that they would reimburse them for the capital they gave to start the business. Respondents' mother on the other hand told her reimbursement was not necessary because she never expected the same.

18.

Sometime in 2004, since the couples savings were still insufficient to purchase a house and lot, Petitioner applied for and was employed as a Management Trainee at Equitable PCI Bank.

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19.

While working at Equitable PCI Bank, there were times that Petitioner would come home late from work only to discover that Respondent was out of the house or with his friends.

20.

Also, there were a few occasions when Respondent was unable to fetch Petitioner from Equitable PCI Bank as a result of the prohibition of the formers mother. In addition to this, there were several times where Respondent would fetch Petitioner from the office with his mother.

21.

In February 2005, Petitioner and Respondent were finally able to move out of Respondents' parents home. They moved to a house purchased by Respondents' mother on No. 123 Martinez Village, Turno, Dipolog City, which was a block away from Respondents' parents home.

22.

Respondents mother visited them every day, brought them food for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Respondents mother also volunteered to pay for the house utilities.

23.

Sometime in April 2005, Respondent was relieved of his position at LFD Corporation when it was dissolved. Respondent did not seek employment elsewhere.

24.

Respondents mother began giving her son allowances to defray his personal and familial expenses. Respondents mother asked Petitioner what expenses were not being covered by her salary and even volunteered to subsidize their other household expenses.

25.

During this period of unemployment, Respondent consistently tried to convince Petitioner to move back into the home of Respondents parents, because he stayed there anyway almost the entire day since he had no work.

26.

The couple moved back to Respondent's parents' house after Petitioner lost her position at Equitable PCI Bank when the bank experienced a bank run.

27.

When the couple returned to the home of Respondents parents, Respondent constantly reminded the Petitioner that they can live off his parents who can

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afford to support them anyway and that Petitioner should just abandon the idea of moving into their own family home. 28. In a last ditch effort to save her marriage, the Petitioner convinced the Respondent to undergo marriage counseling sometime during the month of December 2005. 29. Petitioner brought him to Dr. Ama Shrink, a psychologist, who not only counseled the couple until June of 2006 but also made a psychological evaluation and assessment of the Respondent at the request of the Petitioner and with the knowledge and consent of the former that his wife would receive a copy of the doctors findings. 30. The psychological evaluation and assessment issued by Dr. Shrink on 25 July 2006, revealed that the Respondent is suffering from a dependent personality disorder which is serious, incurable and existing prior to the union between the two, rendering him incapable of performing the essential marital obligations, the features of which are (1) difficulty making everyday decisions without an excessive amount of advice and reassurance from others, especially Respondents mother, (2) needs others to assume responsibility for the major areas of his life (3) has difficulty initiating work or doing things on his or her own, (4) feels uncomfortable or helpless when alone because of exaggerated fears of being unable to care for himself or herself, (5) is unrealistically preoccupied with fears of being left to take care of himself or herself, and (6) an overwhelming lack of interest to take responsibility for his actions and his life. 31. As Petitioner could no longer bear the emotional and psychological stress brought about by Respondents mentality and behavior, she left the home of her parentsin-law to live on her own sometime in October 2006. 32. As found even by the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal of the Catholic Church in a decision they released concerning the so-called union between the Petitioner and the Respondent on 27 April 2008 penned by a Fr. Pedro Pagampo, S.J., the Respondent manifested a simple but deep-seated aversion to performing his marital obligations as he failed to provide the Petitioner with the
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companionship, respect, mutual help, support, and care required by law as he decided to provide the same to his mother. The said decision goes on to state that the inability of the Respondent to discharge the essential obligations of marriage is grave and incurable, as the acts constituting the same are habitual, persistent, unchanging and of enduring nature.

III. ISSUES TO BE TRIED AND RESOLVED

The Petitioner proposes the following issues to be tried and resolved by this Honorable Court: 1. Whether or not the Respondent has failed to comply with the essential marital obligations stated in Article 68 of the Family Code; 2. If the Respondent has failed to comply with the essential marital obligations stated in Article 68 of the Family Code, whether or not such failure was due to psychological incapacity which is grave, serious and incurable and existing at the time of the marriage, though only manifesting itself during the marriage.

IV. DOCUMENTS TO BE PRESENTED

The Petitioner will present the following documents 1. Marriage Certificate between Maria Nagmahay-Kho and Juan Tom Kho made on 8 June 2004. 2. Certificate of Employment of Juan Tom Kho from LFD Corporation issued on 3 November 2003. 3. Certificate of Employment of Maria Nagmahay-Kho from Equitable PCI Bank issued in 2004. 4. Deed of Sale over No. 123 Martinez Village, Turno, Dipolog City purchased by Juan Tom Kho's mother on 2 February 2005.

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5. Psychological Evaluation and Assessment of Juan Tom Kho made by Dr. Ama Shrink on 25 July 2006. 6. Decision of National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal penned by Fr. Pedro Pagampo, S.J. on 27 April 2008. 7. Other documents as may be determined to be relevant to the case during the course of trial.

V. WITNESSES TO BE PRESENTED
The Petitioner will present the following witnesses:

1. Maria Nagmahay-Kho will testify as to truthfulness of her allegations in the petition, particularly the breakdown of her union with Juan Tom Kho because of the latter's psychological incapacity. 2. Dr. Ama Shrink will testify as to the truthfulness of his Psychological Evaluation and Assessment of Juan Tom Kho made on 25 July 2006. He will also testify as to how serious Juan Tom Kho 's psychological condition is, what he believes is the root cause of such condition and how it has manifested itself in the union between Juan Tom Kho and Maria Nagmahay-Kho. 3. Mudra Kho, mother of Respondent, will testify as to the methods, schemes, and ways in which she helped her son before and during the marriage. She will also testify as to the nature of her relationship with her son and how the latter was brought up in order to show the root cause of Respondents psychological condition. 4. Other witnesses as may be determined to be relevant to the case during the course of trial.

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VI. AVAILABLE DATES FOR TRIAL

The Petitioner respectfully requests that the trial dates be agreed upon in open court at such dates and time convenient to the parties and the calendar of this Honorable Court.

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed unto this Honorable Court that the foregoing Pre-Trial Brief be duly noted.

Dipolog City, 20 September 2013.

INES H. JUNIO Counsel for Petitioner Address: 001 Leonor Rivera St., Banonong, Dapitan City Contact Nos.: 0908 891 4006; 0927 382 2585 Roll No. 98765 PTR No. 012345; 4/10/12; Dipolog City IBP No. 067891; 1/20/13; Dipolog Chapter

ALMA ADRIAS Counsel for Petitioner Address: Circumferential Road, Barra, Dipolog City Contact Nos.: 0932 000 0000 Roll No. 43210 PTR No. 067891; 4/10/12; Dipolog City IBP No. 012345; 1/20/13; Dipolog Chapter

Copy furnished: INES HAMOY JUNIO & ASSOCIATES Counsel for Respondent Address: FSA Building, ABC Complex, Central Barangay, Dipolog City Contact Nos.: (065) 212-1234 to 8
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EXPLANATION Service of this petition is by registered mail instead of personal service because of lack of messengerial aide to make personal service.

INES H. JUNIO Counsel for Petitioner

AFFIDAVIT OF SERVICE BY REGISTERED MAIL I, Jose Rivero, of legal age and having been duly sworn depose and say: That I am the messenger of Atty. Junio, counsel for petitioner in the case entitled Nagmahay-Kho vs. Kho, Civil Case No. 123456, and as such messenger I served upon the counsels of the adverse party, the petition filed in said case: By depositing the copy in the post office in sealed envelope, plainly addressed to the counsels at their office, with postage fully prepaid, and with instruction to the postmaster to return the mail to the sender after ten days if undelivered, this 20th day of September 2013, as shown by Registry No. 12345 dated 20 September 2013 of the post office of Dipolog City. IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have signed this affidavit this 20th day of September 2013 at Dipolog City.

JOSE RIVERO Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me on this 20th day of September 2013 at Dipolog City, affiant exhibiting to me her Driver's License No. 12345678900 which will expire on December 10, 2014.

FLORDELIZ FLORIDA Notary Public Dipolog City

Doc. No. _______; Page No. _______; Book No. _______; Series of 2013.
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