Antecedent Facts

1. Ace Anthony Corpuz (petitioner) in the year 2008, met

Jacky Montefalcon in the same company named SPF
SEMICONDUCTORS. Being in the same company, they
grew closer and soon ended up together. During the
period that he and Jacky got to know each other
intimately, he had a girlfriend named Jade who was an
Overseas Filipino Worker (OFW) working in Italy. Soon, he
begot a child with Jacky – her being older and wanting to
start a family. They lived in the house that was rented by
Jacky even before that is situated in Calamba.
2. On March 12, 2009 their son, Charles Corpuz was born;
being born out of wedlock their son was considered
illegitimate. Their time was soon devoted to taking care of
the child and their wedding to be done in the same year.
On September 12, 2009 they celebrated their marriage at
MOA Shrine. They experienced the challenges that comes
with the marriage and later on moved to Silang, Cavite on
2011.
3. With the changes that occurred, Ace experienced the
trials and tribulations that goes with marriage – they
barely have time for each other. Being the father of the
family, he was obligated to provide for the family, but he
felt that his roles and obligations ceased to exist due to
the dominant character of his wife. He attributes such
dominance to her age being more mature and
experienced in life.
4. Ace recounts that everything changed when his wife went
to Singapore for better opportunities under the same
company in order to make ends meet. His wife left for
Singapore towards the latter part of 2011; he was left
with their son and his in-laws. In 2012, Ace had the
opportunity to go abroad – on May 2012, together with
his son they left for Singapore and stayed there with
Jacky. They experienced difficulties because of the
changing environments and the increasing needs that
their family is going through. They left Charles with the
day care for the day and get him at night – they managed
with that routine. In the same year his wife was pregnant
with their second child.
5. On March 12, 2013, their second son named Kianne
Corpuz was born in the Philippines. After their son was
born, they went back to Singapore and shortly thereafter
they asked Jacky’s mother to come to Singapore and take
 care of Kianne. In the next year, 2014 they were able to
employ a helper in Singapore. Lately, Ace states that their
communication was lacking, he feels that the wife is
nagging too much that he is left with no choice but to
follow her.
6. Their marriage soon faced difficulties, they were not
feeling the same passion that they had years ago; their
intimacy was also decreasing. Later on, fights would
ensue due to Ace not being able to contribute to the
chores in the house. Jacky would often go out with her
friends that leaves Ace alone with the children. Shortly,
his wife admitted that she was not feeling the same
feelings anymore that she was out of love for Ace.
7. Ace soon felt jealous of Jacky’s officemate that got too
close to her. He confronted the issue and asked that they
talked it out, but she replied that they should only focus
on their children and that she should be left alone. In
2015, during the birthday of their children they went to
Malaysia and he saw a text saying ‘I love you’ from her
officemate and Jacky said that it was not meant for her.
8. He tried to fix and reconcile their differences, but nothing
changed. On December 2015 he met a woman during his
stay in the Philippines and Jacky questioned that he had
relations with another woman while in the Philippines, but
he denied such claims. This issue made their situation go
downhill, since instead of focusing their time on resolving
their problems he was focusing his time with the other
woman. His relationship with the other woman lasted for
six (6) months but in secrecy. It was with her that Ace
discloses his problems.
9. In their house, they started to sleep in different rooms
until they reached a decision that Ace would leave. In the
middle of 2016, Ace left their conjugal dwelling since their
situation cannot be fixed. After a few months he was no
longer in a relationship with his other woman – he was
alone. In his aloneness he found peace of mind and
learned to love himself.
10. The issue that he faced was the financial support
demanded by Jacky; there was a threat that if such
amount was not provided by Ace, he would not get to see
the child. He had no choice but to agree with the amount
set by Jacky with the fear that he might not get to see
their child. They opted for a mediator to finalize the
financial support for their children. In 2017, the amount
was settled by Maintenance Order Concerning Financial
Support which was executed in Singapore where in both
parties will provide support for the spouse and their
children. They did not encounter any problems but in
2018, Jacky protested that the amount was not enough
for their needs. Ace stated that everything was finalized
by the court order, but Jacky was not willing to let the
issue go. She threatened Ace that he would not see the
children if such amount was not satisfied. Hence, Ace
decides to file a case for legal separation with regard to
his rights as a father.