SC: Void Marriage May Be Raised as Defense in Bigamy Case Even Without Prior Judicial Declaration

Article by Ms. Angelica S. Garcia

The Supreme Court, in Ma. Fe Imelda Lapira vs. Jimmy Fariscal and People (G.R. No. 233512, February 26, 2026), has clarified that a prior marriage that was void from the beginning (void ab initio) may be raised as a defense in a bigamy case even without a prior judicial declaration of nullity.

In a Decision penned by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, the Supreme Court’s Third Division reversed the ruling of the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of Pampanga and the Court of Appeals (CA), which had found Ma. Fe Imelda Lapira(Lapira) guilty of bigamy.

Lapira faced a bigamy charge under Article 349 of the Revised Penal Code for marrying Jimmy Fariscal while still married to Japanese national Takahiko Sato, the latter evidenced by a marriage certificate from the Office of the Civil Registrar General.

During trial, Lapira argued that her marriage to Sato was void because no ceremony took place and no marriage license was issued, both required for validity. The Local Civil Registrar confirmed that there was no record of the application for a marriage license for Lapira and Sato.

Nevertheless, both the RTC and the CA convicted Lapira, ruling that she remained criminally liable for bigamy since her first marriage was not judicially declared void prior to her second marriage.

The Supreme Court disagreed.

It applied its ruling in Pulido v. People, which held that an accused in a bigamy case may directly argue that a previous marriage is void as a defense, even without a prior court declaration. It explained that one of the essential elements of bigamy is the existence of a valid prior marriage. If the first marriage was void from the beginning, that element is absent.

In this case, the certification from the Local Civil Registrar sufficiently proved that no marriage license was issued to Lapira and Sato. This certification was enough to counter the presumption of the marriage certificate’s validity.

Because the prosecution failed to provide additional evidence confirming the validity of the first marriage, the Supreme Court found reasonable doubt as to an essential element of bigamy and acquitted Lapira.

The Supreme Court clarified that the absence of a prior judicial declaration of nullity does not prevent an accused from raising the void ab initio status of a previous marriage as a defense in a bigamy case.

The Court concluded that since the prosecution failed to provide additional evidence confirming the validity of Lapira’s first marriage, there was reasonable doubt as to an essential element of bigamy. As a result, the Court acquitted Lapira.