REPRODUCTION 3.
Executrix Paz Neri San Jose and designated universal heir in the will of the deceased
G.R. No. L-1967 – Menciano v. San Jose
Jugo, J.
In the settlement of the estate of deceased Faustino Neri San Jose, his wife, Matilde
Menciano and their sons Carlo Magno Neri and Faustino Neri, Jr. (both minors) filed a motion
for declaration of heirs alleging that Matilde is the widow of San Jose. It was alleged that
Matilde and the decedent cohabited without any legal impediment and had Carlo. Thus Carlo
is a natural child legitimized by their subsequent matrimony. On the other hand Faustino Jr.
was a legitimate child out of their subsequent marriage. The respondents, executrix Paz Neri
San Jose and universal heir Rodolfo Pelaez opposed this, claiming that Matilde procured
the wedding with the decedent through taking advantage of the decedent's age, sickness
and the confusion caused by the bombardment by American planes of San Jose's province
Misamis Oriental, and by threatening to leave him if not wedded. The respondents also claim
that decedent was sterile and impotent like his brothers and sister who had no kids. The
Court here ruled in favor of the alleged spouse and children. Since San Jose's being senile
and old did not rob him of capacity to enter into the contract of marriage. Moreover, the
children were born within the timeframe provided by the ROC and CC (conclusively
presumed to be legitimate if born after the 180 days after marriage or before the end of 300
days following the dissolution of such marriage). Also, being able to provide a specimen of
semen, San Jose was obviously not impotent. Lastly, respondents, on top of being sorely
lacking in substantiating their rebuttals, were inconsistent in their testimonies.
DOCTRINE
CONCLUSIVE PRESUMPTION:
Legitimate if born after the one hundred and eighty (180) days immediately succeeding the
marriage OR born before the expiration of three hundred (300) days following the dissolution
of the marriage
Impotency being an abnormal condition should NOT be presumed. Presumption is in favor
of potency. Impotency is not synonymous with sterility. Impotency is the INABILITY to have
sexual intercourse. Sterility is the inability to have offspring. The mere fact that Faustino Neri
was able to produce specimen using a condom and a woman (it was not specified in the
case whether this was consensual nor did it specify the activity that they performed) shows
CONCLUSIVELY that he was potent.
Impotence, in Medical Jurisprudence. — Inability on the part of the male organ of copulation
to perform its proper function. Impotence applies only to disorders affecting the function of
the organ of copulation, while sterility applies only to lack of fertility in the reproductive
elements of either sex. (Dennis, System of Surgery; Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Rawle's Third
Revision.
FACTS
1. Decedent Fausto Neri San Jose ("San Jose") died and hence proceedings for the
settlement of his estate were begun in Misamis Oriental.
2. His alleged widow, Matilde Menciano ("Matilde") and in behalf of the minors Carlo
Magno Neri ("Carlo") and Faustino Neri, Jr. ("JR") filed a motion for declaration of heirs
alleging that she is the widow and married San Jose in September 1944 according to
the rites of the Roman Catholic Church. She also claimed that before the marriage was
celebrated, they cohabited without any impediment and had Carlo. After they we, they
subsequently hadl JR.
filed an answer with permission of the court in which they denied the allegations of the
widow and the natural children.
4. They alleged that due to senile dementia and age and sickness, as well as the
bombardment of American planes of his hometown Misamis Oriental, he was robbed
of his free will when Matilde, by intreague and threat of abandoning him, forced the
decedent to marry her.
5. They also alleged that San Jose was impotent and congenitally sterile in the same
manner as his brothers and sister, who had no children.
6. Defendants also filed a counterclaim for Php 286 in cash and for jewelries and certain
properties, allegedly retained and illegally disposed of by Matilde
ISSUE with HOLDING
1. WON the children are legitimate children by San Jose and Matilde? ONLY NERI JR.
a. Neri Jr. was born two hundred eight days, or more than one hundred eighty
days, after the marriage, but less than three hundred days after the death of
Faustino Neri San Jose which is within the timeline prescribed by the Civil
Code and the Rules of Court.
b. Rule 123, section 68(c), reads as follows: "SEC. 68. Conclusive
presumptions. — The following are instances of conclusive presumptions:
xxx xxx xxx
"(c) The issue of a wife cohabiting with her husband, who is not impotent, is
indisputably presumed to be legitimate, if not born within the one hundred and
eighty days immediately succeeding the marriage, or after the expiration of
three hundred days following its dissolution;
c. Also, the requisite of POTENCY also existed (see discussion below)
d. For Carlo: He was born before the marriage of his parents. However, the
lower court declared that he was not legitimized by such marriage. But this
issue was not raised in the appeal to the SC hence the SC cannot rule on the
same.
e. It was also debunked that the decedent was impotent when he was able to
produce specimen by the aid of a condom and a woman. This is the best
evidence presented as well as the attending physician then, Dr. Antonio
Garcia (interestingly, Dr. Garcia is for the DEFENDANTS – they presented
him to prove that the decedent was sterile – i.e. he did not have spermatozoa
in his ejaculation).
i. Impotency being an abnormal condition should NOT be presumed.
Presumption is in favor of potency. Impotency is not synonymous
with sterility. Impotency is the INABILITY to have sexual intercourse.
Sterility is the inability to have offspring. The mere fact that Faustino
Neri was able to produce specimen using a condom and a woman
(it was not specified in the case whether this was consensual nor
did it specify the activity that they performed) shows
CONCLUSIVELY that he was potent.
ii. Impotence, in Medical Jurisprudence. — Inability on the part of the
male organ of copulation to perform its proper function. Impotence
applies only to disorders affecting the function of the organ of
copulation, while sterility applies only to lack of fertility in the
reproductive elements of either sex. (Dennis, System of Surgery;
Bouvier's Law Dictionary, Rawle's Third Revision.
iii. Even supposing that said doctor made such examination and said
that the decedent was sterile due to the lack of spermatozoa, the
result is INCONCLUSIVE as to the decedent's sterility since
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 according to medical jurisprudence, a man may not have
spermatozoa at a certain time but he may have previously or
subsequently to the examination. This cannot in anyway
overthrow the conclusive presumption.

DISPOSITIVE PORTION
The appellees contend that the court erred in not completely annulling the institution of
universal heir, without considering Rodolfo Pelaez as a legatee. Inasmuch as the plaintiffs
did not appeal, they are bound by the decision of the trial court.

In view of the foregoing, the judgment appealed from is affirmed in all its parts, with costs
against the appellants. It is so ordered.

OTHER NOTES

AS TO THE VALIDITY OF THE MARRIAGE:

 The witnesses for the defendants testified in substance that the deceased Faustino
Neri was so weak and sick that he could not even talk coherently and intelligibly
and based on this concluded that he was robbed of his mental faculties and was
not able to properly give consent to the marriage.
 Their testimony is too sweeping, because they refer to a general period of
time. There must have been times when the deceased may have been unable to
attend to business or even to converse on account of his sickness, but he still had
a clear mind according to Father Edralin.
 Fr. Edralin's testimony is strongly corroborated by the form of the signatures of
Faustino Neri - a mere glance at those signatures will convince anyone that they
could not have been written by a man who is almost unconscious and physically
and intellectually incapacitated, as the defendants' witnesses represent him to
have been.
 Court used the definition of "capacity" as used in Succession (in making a will) and
held that although the doctrine relates to testamentary capacity, there is no reason
why it should not be applied to the capacity to contract marriage, which requires
the same mental condition.

AS TO THE ALLEGED ILLEGAL DISPOSAL BY MATILDE OF THE DECEDENT'S

POSSESSIONS:
 The principal witness Rodolfo Pelaez's testimony is hearsay. He did not actually
see the alleged stolen possessions in the aparador of Matilde but he was just told
by his uncle.
 Moreover, Rodolfo's testimony is contradicted by his mother, Paz Neri San Jose.
 The testimony of Paz Neri would show that the deceased Neri was distrustful of
relatives and friends when his funds were concerned. P250,000 in 1939 was quite
a fortune in itself and, consisting of cash, could have been easily disposed of.
o In 1939 nobody believed for certain that there would be war. Why then
should the deceased have wanted to change the money for bigger
denominations when he could have deposited it in a nearby branch of
the Philippine National Bank where the deceased could have gone, for,
as alleged by the defendants, he even went to Cebu in 1940 for
examination of his seminal fluid?

DIGESTER:
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