Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

Second Judicial Region
Branch _____
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan

BASHA CIVIL CASE NO. _____________

Plaintiff,

-versus- For:

“Action for Actual

damages, Moral damages
and Attorney’s Fees”
POPOY,
Defendant.
x-------------------------------------------x

PREFATORY STATEMENT

The Supreme Court’s words quoted the truism in Rumbua v

Rumbua1 that, “Individuals who are in love had the power to let love grow
or let love die – it is a choice one had to face when love is not the love
he/she expected”. If a person truly loves someone, he/she is expected to
accept and also to understand all of the other’s perfections, personality,
character as well as the latter’s flaws and imperfections. Such deeds
manifest and make true love prosper and lead relationships to last a
lifetime. Although it was settled in a case2 that “a mere breach of promise
to marry is not an actionable wrong. . . x x x It must not be overlooked,
however, that the extent to which acts not contrary to law may be
perpetrated with impunity, is not limitless for Article 21 of said Code 3
provides that ‘any person who willfully causes loss or injury to another in
a manner that is contrary to morals, good customs or public policy shall
compensate the latter for the damage. Hence, I find it improper and
unconscionable for a groom-to-be to call off a wedding after all the
preparations, public announcement of the wedding and most especially
the submission of the bride-to-be’s virtue and womanhood on account of

1
G.R. No. 166738, 14 August 2009
2
Wassmer v Velez, 12 SCRA 648 (1964)
3
New Civil Code
the honest and sincere belief that the man would keep his promise to
marry her.

COMPLAINT

PLAINTIFF, to this HONORABLE COURT respectfully state:

1. Plaintiff is of legal age, single, Filipino citizen and residing at

Larion Alto, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan where she may be served
with summons, notices and other legal processes;

2. Defendant is also of legal age, single, Filipino citizen and residing

at Larion Alto, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan where he may be served
with summons, notices and other legal processes;

3. Plaintiff Basha and defendant Popoy were childhood friends

whose friendship ripened into a lovey-dovey relationship for seven
years since 2013 during their college years wherein their affection
with one another was manifested by their constant interactions
through love letters4;

4. Sometime in 2010, defendant, whose religion absolutely prohibits

any kind of surgery, asked for plaintiff’s hand in marriage wherein
she had succumbed due to the former’s promise that he will marry
her in exchange for the latter’s womanhood and virginity;

5. They had their first carnal knowledge sometime in 2010 after the
proposal on account of the promise to marry made by Popoy to
Basha;

6. They chose December 12, 2013 to be the date when they would
swear their love before the church and the community;

7. Thus, in 2012, throughout the preparation, the wedding was

announced publicly, all the invitations were sent out and the
catering services were paid by Basha’s parents in the amount of
Fifty Thousand Pesos (50,000.00)5;

4
Love Letters marked as Annex “A” and series
5
Cannot Be Catering Services Sales Invoice No. 00123433, Dated August 13, 2012 marked as Annex “B”
 8. Before the day of the wedding, at around 11:30 o’clock in the
evening, Basha and Popoy had a fight right after the latter learned
about the former’s plastic surgery to enhance her nose, chin,
breasts, and skin color;

9. Basha had a surgery in 2000 for medical purposes to enhance her

nose for her to breathe easily; her chin for her to be able to chew
easily since she had a birth defect since she was young; surgery
on her breasts, to regain her confidence which was lost when her
breasts were removed due the cancer scare she had in 1999; and
her skin color due to the skin condition which can only be cured
through surgery, all evidenced by medical certificates hereby
marked as Annexes C6, D7, E8 and F9, respectively;

10. At the wedding day, every resident of Barangay of Larion were

invited but Popoy did not show up which led Basha to feel too
down, depressed and traumatized;

11. A day after the supposed wedding, Basha learned that Popoy met
a vehicular accident and suffered head injuries due to the
collision;

12. Dr. Dencio, the brother of Basha was the one who diagnosed
Popoy and showed her the MRI X-Ray10 of Popoy’s brain;

13. Basha loves Popoy so much that she never failed to talk with
Popoy every time she gets the opportunity, to let him remember
their undefying love with each other even though Basha
experienced self-pity and dependence because Popoy still can’t
remember anything;

14. After it came to her knowledge that Popoy regained his memory,
she immediately went back to him and sincerely and even
desperately asked Popoy for a second chance for them to fulfill
their deterred matrimonial promise but Popoy did not heed to

6
Medical Certificate issued by Dr. Joke Noe, dated December 2000, hereby marked as Annex “C”
7
Medical Certificate issued by Dr. Bam Bee, dated March 18, 1997, hereby marked as Annex “D”
8
Medical Certificate issued by Dr. Gutoc Koh, dated November 8, 1999, hereby marked as Annex “E”
9
Medical Certificate issued by Dr. Al Ehano, dated April 28, 2000, hereby marked as Annex “F”
10
Attached herewith is the MRI X-Ray issued by Dr. Dencio of St. Paul Hospital Tuguegarao (SPHT, for brevity),
marked as Annex “G”
 Basha’s plea for he doesn’t like her and not interested to her
anymore;

15. Basha was then constrained to consult a lawyer sometime on

January 2014 about what happened between her and Popoy and
on what must be done by Basha against Popoy;

16. Later, on March 2014, Basha’s brother, Dr. Dencio admitted that
he had a wrong diagnosis about the condition of Popoy and
disclosed that Popoy never had an amnesia as evidenced by the
MRI11 and CT Scan12 issued by Dr. Dencio of Saint Paul Hospital
Tuguegarao (SPHT, for brevity);

17. On the other hand, Popoy believed that he had an amnesia and
according to him, he forgot everything except that he had an
amnesia;

CAUSE OF ACTION

18. Basha consented on having carnal knowledge with Popoy thus,

surrendering her womanhood and virginity after his proposal on
the honest belief that Popoy will fulfill his promise to marry but
Popoy unjustifiably refused to do so after he learned about all the
surgeries which were undertaken by Basha due to her medical
condition even after he eventually recovered from his alleged
amnesia on the accident which he met on the eve of their
supposed wedding;

19. Although the existing rule is that a mere breach of promise to

marry per se is not an actionable wrong, the Supreme Court
certainly held in the case of Baksh v Court of Appeals 13 that
“where a man’s promise to marry is in fact the proximate cause of
the acceptance of his love by a woman and his representation to
fulfill that promise thereafter becomes the proximate cause of the
giving of herself unto him in a sexual congress, proof that he had,
in reality, no intention of marrying her and that the promise was
only a subtle scheme or deceptive device to entice or inveigle her
to accept him and to obtain her consent to the sexual act, could
11
Attached herewith is a Copy of MRI issued by Dr. Dencio of SPHT, marked as Annex “H”
12
Attached herewith is a Copy of the CT Scan issued by Dr. Dencio of SPHT, marked as Annex “I”
13
G.R. No. 97336, February 19, 1993
 justify the award of damages pursuant to Article 2114 not because
of such promise to marry but because of the fraud and deceit
behind and the willful injury to her honor and reputation which
followed thereafter. It is essential, however, that such injury
should have been committed in a manner contrary to morals, good
customs, or public policy”;

20. Article 2115 provides that “any person who willfully causes loss or
injury to another in a manner that is contrary to morals, good
customs, or public policy shall compensate the latter for the
damage”, accordingly, acts which are not contrary to law, cannot
be perpetrated with impunity and may still give rise to a cause of
action if it is in contravention of Article 21 of the Code 16.
Corollary, Article 2219 (10) of the Code17 also provides that “moral
damages may be recovered in acts and actions referred to in
Article 21”;

21. Thus, it is improper for Popoy to call off their supposed wedding
after all the preparations for the wedding were set, invitations
were sent, cater services were paid and their wedding publicly
announced without compensating for the damages paid and
suffered;

22. It was held in the case of Wassmer v Velez18 that, to apply for a
license to contract a marriage, formally set a wedding and go
through all the publicity and preparations of printing out
invitations and eventually distributed it to relatives, friends and
acquaintances, purchasing of trousseau, party dresses and other
apparel for the important occasions, dresses for the maid of honor
and flower girls, bridal showers were given and gifts received, only
to walk out of it when the matrimony is about to be solemnized is
quite actionable and demandable. This is palpably and
unjustifiably contrary to good customs for which defendant must
be held answerable in damages in accordance with Article 2119;

14
New Civil Code
15
New Civil Code
16
New Civil Code
17
New Civil Code
18
12 SCRA 648 (1964)
19
New Civil Code
 23. That Popoy’s act of refusing to fulfill his promise to marry Basha
when he recovered from his alleged amnesia on account of all the
surgeries undergone by Basha despite the absolute prohibition of
his religion against any kinds of surgery is unjustified for he is in
bad faith knowing beforehand that Basha had a breast surgery;

24. If Popoy’s religion absolutely prohibits all kinds of surgery or

simply because he had just a change of heart, he should have told
Basha about it the first time he knew about her breast surgery
but he didn’t, he even let the wedding arrangements for the
marriage reach to the extent of the above-mentioned preparations
and publicity which led more to the social humiliation, mental
anguish, serious anxiety, besmirched reputation, wounded
feelings and moral shock on the part of Basha and her family;

25. Popoy committed fraud and deceit in fraudulently acting as

having an amnesia just to evade his promise to marry Basha
based on the admission of Dr. Dencio who disclosed to Basha that
he had given a wrong diagnosis on the mental condition of Popoy
and told that Popoy never had an amnesia as evidenced by the
MRI and CT Scan hereby marked as Annexes “H” and “I”;

PRAYER

WHEREFORE, it is most respectfully prayed that judgment be

rendered in favor of the plaintiff, as follows:

1. Ordering the defendant to pay to the plaintiff the

sum of Fifty Thousand Pesos (P50,000.00) as
actual/compensatory damages paid for the catering
services;

2. On account of the fraud and bad faith committed

by the defendant in refusing to fulfill his promise to
marry plaintiff despite his alleged recovery from
amnesia without a meritorious reason, plaintiff has
suffered and will continue to suffer from needless
mental anguish, serious anxiety, social
humiliation, besmirched reputation, wounded
feelings and sleepless nights which would justify an
award of moral damages in the amount of Five
Hundred Thousand Pesos (Php500,000.00);
3. Exemplary damages in the sum of Fifty Thousand
Pesos (Php100,000.00) should also be assessed
against the defendant in order to set an example for
public good and in order to firmly denounce the
commission of acts tainted with bad faith and fraud
which are contrary to morals, good customs and
public policy;

4. Due to the unjustified failure/refusal of defendant

to perform his promise, plaintiff was compelled to
engage the services of counsel for an agreed
attorney’s fees of Fifty Thousand Pesos
(Php50,000.00) and per appearance fee of Three
Thousand Five Hundred Pesos (Php3,500.00);

5. Plaintiffs further expect to incur other necessary

litigation expenses inclusive of filing fee and other
legal fees in an amount approximately pegged at
Fifty Thousand Pesos (Php50,000.00); and

6. Grant to plaintiff such other reliefs just and

equitable under the premises.

Tuguegarao City, Cagayan – March 30, 2019

ATTY. MA. JANEVA B. TAGUINOD

Counsel for the Plaintiff
Set B
Door 1, 2nd Floor, Royal Britannica Bldg.
Campos St. Caritan Norte, Carig Sur
Tuguegarao City, Cagayan
Roll of Attorneys No. 78530
IBP No. 946869 – 11/9/15
PTR No. 1780612 – 1/4/16
TIN No. 116-096-541
MCLE Compliance No. V-0014487
janeva.taguinod9630@gmail.com
 VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION
AGAINST NON-FORUM SHOPPING

I, BASHA, of legal age, single, Filipino citizen, and residing at Larion

Alto, Tuguegarao City, Cagayan after first having been duly sworn to in
accordance with law depose and say:

1. I am the plaintiff in the above-entitled case;

2. I have caused the preparation of the foregoing

Complaint by supplying all the facts of the case as
alleged in the complaint;

3. The contents therein are true and correct to the

best of my personal knowledge and based on
authentic document;

4. I hereby certify that I have not commenced any

action or proceeding involving the same issue in
any other tribunal or agency, to the best of my own
knowledge, no such action or proceeding is pending
in any other tribunal or agency and should I
thereafter learn that a similar action or proceeding
has been filed or is pending in Court, I will
undertake to report such fact within five (5) days
therefrom to the court wherein this Complaint and
this Certification have been filed.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this

30th day of March in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines.

BASHA
Affiant
ID No. ____________
 SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this day of ______________
in Tuguegarao City, Cagayan, Philippines.

Doc. No.
Page No.
Book No.
Series of 2019.