REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES

MUNICIPAL TRIAL COURT

________________

PEOPLE OF THE PHILIPPINES,

Plaintiff,

-versus- Criminal Case No. __________

______________________,
Accused.
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MOTION FOR SUSPENSION OF PROCEEDINGS

NOW COMES the accused ___________________, by counsel, most

respectfully avers that:

1. The accused in the present case is being charged with

Concubinage;

2. Before the filing of the present case, accused _________________

filed before the Regional Trial Court, Branch ____,
_______________ a complaint for declaration of nullity of marriage
against the complainant herein, xerox copy of the complaint is
hereto attached as annex “A”;

3. The pendency of the said civil case is a prejudicial question that

must be resolved first before the present case could be acted upon
by this Honorable Court;

4. The fact that the pendency of the civil case for declaration of nullity
of marriage is a prejudicial question to the crime of concubinage or
bigamy is very clear from the ruling of the Honorable Supreme
Court in the case of Lucio Morigo y Cacho versus People of the
Philippines, G.R. NO. 145226, February 6, 2004, where the
Supreme Court ruled as follows:

“The first element of bigamy as a crime requires that the

accused must have been legally married. But in this case,
legally speaking, the petitioner was never married to Lucia
Barrete. Thus, there is no first marriage to speak of. Under the
principle of retroactivity of a marriage declared null and void a
initio, the two were never married from the beginning. The
contract of marriage is null; it bears no legal effect. Taking this
argument to its logical conclusion, for legal purposes,
 petitioner was not married to ___________ at the time he
contracted marriage with _______________, The existence and
validity of the first marriage being an essential element of the
crime of bigamy, it is but logical that a conviction for said
offense cannot be sustained where there is no marriage to
speak of. The petitioner, must, perforce be acquitted of the
instant case”.

5. The above-cited case can be applied by analogy in the present

case considering the fact that the first element of the crime of
concubinage, which is, that the man must be married, is the same
as the first element of the crime of bigamy;

6. Based on the foregoing, it necessary that the proceedings in this

case be held in abeyance or be suspended pending the resolution
of the complaint for declaration of nullity of marriage filed by the
accused before the Regional Trial Court, Branch ___________,
____________________.

WHEREFORE, premises considered, it is respectfully prayed unto the

Honorable Court that the proceedings in this case be suspended pending the
resolution of the complaint for declaration of the nullity of marriage filed before
the Regional Trial Court,.

Other reliefs just and equitable are likewise prayed for.

, 4 April 2005.

Counsel for Accused ________________

BY:

NOTICE OF HEARING
 Counsel

Copy furnished: