Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

[FAMILY COURT]
8th Judicial Region
Branch 7
Tacloban City

___________________,
Petitioner, CIVIL CASE No. 2004-03-45
For:
-versus- DECLARATION OF NULLITY
OF MARRIAGE
___________________,
Respondent.

x- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - /

ANSWER

RESPONDENT, by counsel, most respectfully alleges: THAT---

1. Respondent repleads, adopts and incorporates the

allegations contained in her Answer with Special Defenses and
Counterclaims, etc. to the complaint filed with this Honorable Court
on ________________ which now forms part of the records of the
case.

2. The allegation in par. 1 of the Complaint that herein

respondent is a British citizen is admitted.

3. The additional allegation in par. 44 of the Complaint that

“respondent is not a British citizen, validly obtained a divorce decree
from the Bradforn (sic) Country Court absolutely dissolving her
marriage with petitioner” is partially incorrect, the truth of the matter is
that respondent is a British citizen (as earlier alleged in par. 1 of the
complaint) who validly obtained a divorce decree from Bradford
Country Court dissolving her marriage with petitioner.

4. The additional allegation in par. 45 of the Complaint is

admitted, as the court should take judicial notice thereof; moreover,
the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code has been
applied in Republic of the Philippines vs. Cipriano Orbecido III,
GR No. 154380 dated 5 October 2005.

5. Respondent vehemently objects to the further relief sought

by petitioner to be awarded the custody of their only child
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________________, as the petitioner is already estopped to change

the arrangement on the custody of the child as earlier agreed by them
in the divorce proceedings at the Bradford Country Court. In the
Notice of Proceedings1, herein petitioner answered in No. 8(c)
thereof the following:

8. c. Do you agree with the proposals in that

Statement of Arrangement?
Notes: YES
If NO you may file a written statement of your views
on the present and the proposed arrangements for
the children. It would help if you sent that statement
to the Court Office with this form. You can get a form
from the Court Office.

6. In the Divorce Petition filed by herein respondent at Bradford

Country Court, herein respondent furnished a copy of the Statement
of Arrangement for Children2 [Family Proceedings Rules, Rule
2.2(2)] where it is asked in No. 4 (e):

(e) Will there be any change in ( ) No (x) Yes (Please give

these arrangement
details)
I would hope that my daughter
will come to live with me in the
U.K. in the near future. She has
not done so already because the
respondent has refused to sign
the necessary forms.

7. For this reason, respondent’s counsel in UK wrote on 5 July

2007 that “(3) the court has already certified that the arrangements
for Denise are satisfactory and therefore do not need to make any
orders with regard to her under the Children 1989.

8. The same is likewise stated in the Divorce Decree (Annex C

of the amended complaint) which states in No. 2 that “xxx unless a
contrary intention is shown in the instrument of appointment, any
appointment under Section 5(3) or 5(4) of the Children Act 1989 by
one spouse of his or her former spouse as guardian is, by virtue of
section 6 of that Act, deemed to have been revoked at the date of the
dissolution of the marriage.”
PRAYER
1
Annex 1- Notice of Proceedings
2
Annex 2 – Statement of Arrangement for Children
 3

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed of

this Honorable Court that after due hearing, judgment issue in favor
of respondent, FINDING the petitioner to be the one suffering from
psychological incapacity that renders him unfit to discharge his
marital and paternal obligations and thus DECLARING that their
marriage is NULL and VOID ab initio, DIRECTING petitioner to
render financial SUPPORT to the respondent and their daughter, and
that the petitioner be condemned to indemnify her the following
amounts:

(1)P500,000.00 for moral damages and P100,000.00 for

exemplary damages;
(2)P88,000.00 for attorney’s fees, plus the additional sum of
P2,000.00 for every appearance in court of counsel in
connection with this case; and
(3)P10,000.00 for litigation expenses.

Further, respondent prays for the custody of their only child

_________________________ as formally agreed by the parties in
the divorce proceedings at Bradford Country Court pursuant to the
Statement of Arrangement for Children [Family Proceedings Rules,
Rule 2.2(2)] in relation to Children’s Act 1989 of U.K.

Respondent likewise prays for such other relief just and

equitable in the premises.

Tacloban City. ______________________.

LEO S. GIRON
Counsel for the Respondent
253 Avenida Veteranos, Tacloban City
Roll No. 37379
IBP Lifetime Member No. 00733
PTR No. 6741797; 1-4-10; Tacloban City
MCLE Compliance No. III-00006315; 11-23-09

COPY FURNISHED: (by personal service)

____________________
Counsel for the Petitioner
BF Bldg., National Road
Marasbaras, Tacloban City

Republic of the Philippines )

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City of Tacloban ) SS

VERIFICATION and
Certification of non-forum shopping

I, ____________________, of legal age and with post office

address at ___________________, V&G Subd., Tacloban City, after
having been first sworn according to law, hereby state:

I am the respondent in the above-entitled case; I have caused

the preparation of the foregoing Answer; I have read it and the
allegations therein are true and correct of my own personal
knowledge, and based on relevant and authentic records.

I have not theretofore commenced any action or filed any claim

or pleading involving the same or similar issues or subject matter in
the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, lower courts or administrative
bodies and quasi-judicial agency and to the best of my knowledge, no
such other action or claim is pending therein; and if there is such
other pending action or claim, a complete statement of the present
status thereof; and, if I should thereafter learn hereafter that the same
or similar action or claim or pleading has been filed or is pending with
the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, lower courts, administrative
bodies or quasi judicial agency; I shall undertake to report that fact
within five (5) days from knowledge thereof to the court wherein this
aforesaid action or initiatory pleading has been filed.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this

__________________at Tacloban City, Philippines.

________________________
Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this

________________ at Tacloban City, ___________________ who
has satisfactorily proven her identity to me through her PhilHealth ID
# 13-000032154-1, that she is the same person who personally
signed the foregoing Verification and Certification of Non-Forum
Shopping before me and acknowledged that she executed the same.

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