REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
NATIONAL CAPITAL JUDICIAL REGION
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
Branch 260 - Paranaque City

RENZ XAVIER V. LEGASPI Petitioner,

-versus- Civil Case No. _____________ For: Declaration of Nullity of Marriage

LISETTE BANCOSTA-LEGASPI Respondent.
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PETITION COMES NOW, Petitioner, RENZ XAVIER V. LEGASPI, by counsel and unto this Honorable Court, respectfully states and alleges THAT – I.
THE PARTIES (1) Petitioner RENZ XAVIER LEGASPI is of legal age, married to the respondent, and with residence and postal address at 056 Loma, Amadeo, Cavite 4119. For purposes of this Petition, he may be served with pleadings and other court processes at her counsel’s law office at Suite 104 Helfenstein Holding Corp. (HHC) Building, Victoria corner Basco Sts., Intramuros, Manila. (2) Respondent is likewise of legal age, Filipino citizen, married to the Petitioner and with residence and postal address at Blk 4 lot 17 Phase E Windward Hills Subdivision Dasmariñas, Cavite she may be served with summons, pleadings and other court processes. II.
THE FACTS and CAUSE OF ACTION (3) The respondent and petitioner met last 2008 on his first year of work at General Emilio Aguinaldo Memorial Hospital-Korean Philippines Friendship Project Trece Martires City Cavite as a Nurse. They were assigned to be on duty at Pedia-Medical Ward. At first, the petitioner was not interested to her since he was with a long time girlfriend Ms. Grazier Salvador. The respondent at that time was in an eight year relationship with her boyfriend named Rommel . Since the two were always on the same duty roster, the respondent became close to the petitioner and eventually got attracted. Both parties disclosed that their relationship was not serious since they both have respective partners. Many people told him to stop their set-up because he might get into unforeseen situation since the respondent looked desperate that moment because she was already thirty-four. The petitioner’s official girlfriend caught him that he has another woman and eventually broke up with him. The respondent decided to end the eight-year relationship with her boyfriend. The petitioner continued visiting her ex-girlfriend who was residing in Batangas City to resolve the problem. Until one day, the respondent confronted him of her pregnancy. At that time, the petitioner was unsure of tying the knot with respondent since he was not ready for a marital commitment. He still hoped for her ex-girlfriend to forgive him and grant a second chance. Too many people around both parties pushed the petitioner to take the responsibility of a father and marry the respondent. (4) December 2008, petitioner and respondent got married civil since her due to pregnancy. The petitioner took the responsibility for the financial aspect of the whole wedding ceremony and reception. After the marriage both of them stayed at the petitioner's residence, Loma, Amadeo, Cavite. After one month, the respondent got a miscarriage. It was an depressing situation for the petitioner. He was having a remorse after the marriage since the child is the only reason of him marrying the respondent. (5) The respondent decided to live at her residence in Dasmariñas, Cavite with her mother. The respondent stated having traumatic experience with her miscarriage. The petitioner lived with them. He was having a difficult time getting along with his mother-in law. A lot of misunderstandings came along their married life. Several occasions during their fight she even physically maltreated and abused her husband. Physical abuse sustained by the petitioner includes slapping of the face, kicking of the body even reaping my clothes. Petitioner never fought back because he still respected her. (6) Year 2009, a problem arisen on the petitioner's employment. From casual nurse , he was demoted to job order nurse. The monthly salary of a job order nurse is a minimum of P7000 pesos . Petitioner decided to quit the job and applied for an employment in Saudi Arabia. During this time, he was a househusband. He took the responsibility of washing and ironing the family's clothes. Numerous arguments and fights came along their relationship these include financial issues and petitioner's social life being bragged by the respondent most of the time. Respondent mocked him of being irresponsible and useless husband. There was a time when a respondent's close relative stayed in their house for quite sometime, petitioner was asked by the mother-in-law and by the respondent to stay meanwhile at his residence in Loma, Amadeo, Cavite due to the shame he brought to the family of being jobless. Respondent lied and told the relative that the petitioner's absence was due to his working demand/schedule. (7) Respondent conceived our second child last July 2009. Since she was a high risk mother, she resigned from her current job to get enough rest for the sake of the baby. Petitioner then went back to his previous job as a job order nurse with a seven thousand pesos salary per month. He again stayed in the respondent's residence. The petitioner’s father gave them a ten-thousand pesos allowance monthly for their needs. But still it wasn’t enough because the respondent is too costly. Many times, the petitioner suggested visiting his mother in Amadeo, Cavite. And each time she refused with different reasons. The petitioner visited his mother by himself all the time. (8) March 9, 2010 she gave birth to a son named Jacob Kenzo Legaspi. At that time he thought it would be a way for them to finally live a harmonious life, but it was all fake. August 2010 they decided to baptize their son. It was the petitioner's family who prepared and arranged the event to be held in the petitioner's residence. His mother-in-law got disappointed and angry because she was not informed nor asked for her opinion of the christening. They wanted a grand celebration eventhough the petitioner would not be able to afford the cost. This started a misunderstanding in both parties. Another round of fight came along their marriage life. The respondent always blamed him for being unaffectionate of the child even without considering the tiring demand of his work. Petitioner made up for the responsibility of parenting during his off-duty time. (9) September 2010, when he met a student nurse and became an acquaintance. An alliance of her inside the hospital told the situation and it became a very huge fight and came to a point to end their marriage life but the petitioner persuade her and she accepted him again. But last September 2010 after the petitioner accompanied his father to the airport, he went home seeing his clothes were all in a garbage bag outside the house, his mother-in-law and respondent were both angry still because of the other woman issue. Petitioner told to himself it was over. He kept the issue and humiliation with himself. He waited for night to come and was embarrassed to bring his clothes to the car inside the trash bag. (10) From that moment they became estranged to each other. He lived in Amadeo while her at Dasmariñas. The petitioner was given a chance to just visit their son weekly along with the financial support with a ten-thousand monthly from his father abroad. She even got his ATM card. He was the one who asked for one thousand five hundred pesos weekly his allowance. (11) Christmas and New years went by and the petitioner asked if he could celebrate it with the son but she refused. His mother-in-law decided to celebrate the holidays with their relatives at Manila and he was alone during the season. That moment the petitioner was having a difficult time in their situation and begged the respondent to fix what was broken for the sake of the child. She insisted that the petitioner cannot live with them due to the order of her mother. Petitioner offered his residence but declined due to difficulty getting along with his mother and other relatives. The petitioner continued with his life living with her mother. He decided to date different girls since the respondent was avoiding him. (12) March 9, 2011, was the first birthday celebration of their son; again it was the petitioner’s side arranged the celebration. They became civil to each other for the sake of their son and for the public to stop asking of what happened to their marriage life. After the celebration, they came back to the usual set-up; live separately and go on with their usual life. At one time, they brought their child for a pediatric consultation they decided to completely move on with each other living separate lives. Petitioner still managed to take the responsibility of the father by providing the son's need financially and helping out in medical needs of the child. (13) The respondent got her work as a call center agent. She became busy with her work. She gave him back the ATM and he still provided support to their son's monthly needs with diapers, milk and other necessities along with the ten thousand from his father. Petitioner asked her one time if she could give at least two thousand pesos to his mother from the support from his father. Respondent said she will not be able to do that and claimed the money as their own. (14) September 26, 2011 came the petitioner’s birthday; he spent it in Loma, Amadeo with his relatives without his estranged wife and son. It was also that time that he met Ms. Leidi-Dyan Tahimic his co-worker and became his girlfriend; she accepted his whole life. He introduced her to his family and became close to them and he always brings her to different family occasions, and she was accepted by his family. She was different among others because she easily got along with his family. (15) December 2011, the petitioner got his year end and cash gift bonus, all in all it was twenty-eight thousand five hundred. The petitioner gave her five thousand five hundred first, second were paid for their son’s pediatrician and the remaining were divided into two (son and petitioner). About the same time their son’s crib base got broken. The petitioner bought a substitute for the base of the crib. After several days, their son developed rashes and was admitted in the Korean-Philippine Trece Martirez City hospital. Respondent’s parties blamed it all on him and the situation just got worst. Whenever a visitor/s came to asked what had happened, respondent always pointed, humiliated and blamed it all on him, right in his face and in front of all the visitors present. This incident deeply offended the petitioner and lost his self respect. Some of the witnesses in this event were his co-workers at his own workplace, he lost his self-esteem because of the humiliation and verbal abuse from the respondent's side. Still, petitioner was the one who paid for all the hospitalization and he wasn’t able to attend to his work because he took care of their son. On the other hand she still went to work but doesn’t give any financial aid for their son’s hospitalization. His mother-in-law still carries the resentment on him. One time he came back after searching for a medicine outside the hospital. He was shocked that he was scolded by his mother-in-law for the time that he was away. Petitioner's relatives visited the baby and they got into an argument after witnessing the scolding. (16) It was December 21, 2011 (Hospital Christmas Party) that the petitioner and his new girlfriend became open to public. It was their knowledge that the respondent fully accepted their situation and had an agreement that they will live their lives on their own. One night of December, the respondent texted the present girlfriend and asked about the real status of their relationship. They had a good conversation that ended with the respondents blessing of his new found love. (17) It was Christmas of the same year, 2011 that the petitioner brought her new girlfriend to their family reunion and introduced her formally to them. Several pictures were taken that day and the petitioner asked his girlfriend to upload it on one social networking site. A day after, the petitioner delivered the five-thousand pesos monthly support, the respondent demand for a six-thousand monthly, he then pleaded for just five-thousand since his salary was just seven-thousand monthly and asked her if she could provide the one-thousand for their son; the respondent approved the deal. Days went by and it was first week of January 2012 when the petitioner got a text message from the respondent that she was asking for the one-thousand balance, he was shocked about what he received because he thought they already agreed on that matter, the respondent went mad and threat him that if he does not gave her the one-thousand support, he will not be able to visit their child and that she would do something that he would not like. It was also that week that his new relationship became a big issue at the hospital. The respondent’s alliances confabulated that Ms. Leidi Tahimic was the reason behind their failed marriage when in fact they met a year after they physically separated, but a respondent’s friend unintentionally talked to someone close to the petitioner side that they should be aware that there’s something big will explode. (18) January 8, 2012 the petitioner borrowed two-thousand pesos from his mother that he gave that day to the respondent. A day after the petitioner was shocked because a case was filed at the Civil Service Commission about extra marital affair of the petitioner and Ms. Tahimic. The petitioner went to the respondent house and talked to them outside the respondent’s house regarding the filed complaint. His mother-in-law shouted at him and started bragging and mocking him. The respondent kept on screaming and announced to the public that he was a womanizer and their life was ruined by the petitioner. His mother showed up and the respondent use abusive words towards her. The respondent swear at her. The petitioner couldn’t take the humiliation and verbal abuse and accusation of the respondent. Petitioner and his mother left the scene without retaliation.

(19) The petitioner consulted Atty. Agdon to seek professional advice.