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Inheritance Dispute: Balogbog Case

This case involves a dispute over inheritance rights between the petitioners Leoncia and Gaudioso Balogbog and the private respondents Ramonito and Generoso Balogbog. The private respondents claim they are the legitimate children of the petitioners' deceased brother Gavino and are thus entitled to inherit part of the estate of Gavino's parents. The petitioners deny knowing the private respondents and claim Gavino died single without children. The court found that the private respondents presented witnesses who testified to Gavino and Catalina Ubas' marriage and the private respondents' filiation as their children. Additionally, petitioner Gaudioso previously admitted Ramonito was his nephew in another case. Therefore, the court

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162 views2 pages

Inheritance Dispute: Balogbog Case

This case involves a dispute over inheritance rights between the petitioners Leoncia and Gaudioso Balogbog and the private respondents Ramonito and Generoso Balogbog. The private respondents claim they are the legitimate children of the petitioners' deceased brother Gavino and are thus entitled to inherit part of the estate of Gavino's parents. The petitioners deny knowing the private respondents and claim Gavino died single without children. The court found that the private respondents presented witnesses who testified to Gavino and Catalina Ubas' marriage and the private respondents' filiation as their children. Additionally, petitioner Gaudioso previously admitted Ramonito was his nephew in another case. Therefore, the court

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denver41
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Leoncia Balogbog and Gaudioso Balogbog, petitioners, versus Honorable

Court of Appeals, Ramonito Balogbog and Generoso Balogbog,


respondents.
G.R. No. 83958 March 7, 1997
Facts:
Petitioners Leoncia and Gaudioso Balogbog are the children of Basilio Balogbog and
Genoveva Arnibal who died inestate in 1951 and 1961, respectively. They had an
older brother, Gavino, but he died predeceasing their parents. In 1968, private
respondents brought an action for partition and accounting against petitioners,
claiming that they were the legitimate children of Gavino by Catalina Ubas and that
they were entitled to the one-third share of Gavino in the estate of their
grandparents. In their answer, petitioners denied knowing private respondents.
They alleged that their brother Gavino died single and without issue in their parents
residence at Tag-amakan, Asturias, Cebu.
Respondents presented witnesses. One testified that he knew Gavino and Catalina
to be husband and wife and Ramonito to be their first child because they performed
at his campaign rallies. The witness also contended that he attended their wedding
in which Rev. Father Emiliano Jomao-as officiated and Egmidio Manuel, then a
councilor, acted as one of the witnesses. The second witness testified that private
respondents are the children of Gavino and Catalina. He likewise attended the
wedding and was in fact accompanied Catalina and carry her wedding dress. He
also said that he was a carpenter and he was the one who had made the coffin of
Gavino. He also made the coffin of the couples son, Petronilo, who died when he
was six. Catalina Ubas likewise testified that after the wedding, she was handed a
receipt, presumably a wedding certificate by Fr. Jomao-as and was burned during
the war. She said that she and Gavino lived together in Obogon and begot three
children. She stated that after the death of Gavino, she lived in common law relation
with a man for a year and then they separated. Private respondents presented
certificates from the Local Civil Registrar and by the Parish Priest of Asturias.
On the other hand, petitioner testified that Gavino died single. She denied that her
brother had any legitimate children and stated that she did not know private
respondents. The petitioner likewise presented a witness stating that Gavino died
single and that Catalina lived with a certain Eleuterio Keriado after the war. He
added that Catalina had children by a man she married before the war.
Issue:
Whether or not private respondents are legitimate children of the deceased Gavino
Balogbog.
Held:
Under the Rules of Court, the presumption is that a man and a woman conducting
themselves as husband and wife are legally married. This presumption may be
rebutted only by cogent proof to the contrary. In this case, petitioners claim that the
certification presented by private respondents was belied by the production of the

Book of Marriages by the assistant municipal treasurer of Asturias. Petitioners argue


that this book does not contain an entry pertaining to the alleged marriage of
private respondents parents. This contention has no merit. Private respondents
proved, through testimonial evidence. The law favors the validity of marriage,
because the State is interested in the preservation of the family and the sanctity of
the family s a matter of constitutional concern. What is in issue, however, is not the
marriage of Gavino and Catalina but the filiations of private respondents as their
children. Moreover, the evidence in the record shows that petitioner Gaudioso
Balogbog admitted that Ramonito is his nephew. This admission of relationship is
admissible against Gaudioso although made in another case. It is considered as a
reliable declaration against interest.

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