ARTURIO TRINIDAD V CA, 289 SCRA 188

QUERY: In the absence of a marriage contract and a birth certificate, how may marriage and filiation be proven?

FACTS: Petitioner Arturio Trinidad is claiming that he was the son of the late Inocentes Trinidad, and demanded the partition of the land by the defendants but it was unheeded. Petitioner filed a complaint for partition and damages against Felix and Lourdes Trinidad. Defendants denied that plaintiff was the son of the late Inocentes Trinidad. Defendants contended that Inocentes was single when he died in 1941, before plaintiffs birth. Defendants also denied that plaintiff had lived with them, and claimed that the parcels of land described in the complaint had been in their possession since the death of their father in 1940 and that they had not given plaintiff a share in the produce of the land.

These are the Arturio's evidences1. Testimony of Gerardo that Inocentes and his wife cohabited and had a child;2. Testimony of Meren that she was present in the marriage of Arturio's parents;3. His own baptismal certificate (his birth certificate had been destroyed); and4. Family pictures and his own testimony that he lived with Lourdes, until he got married.

Felix died, and was not substituted. TC rendered decisions in favor of petitioner. It was held that the petitioner is the legitimate son of Inocentes Trinidad, and therefore he is entitled to inherit the property left by the deceased father which is 1/3 of 4 parcels of land, although the plaintiff testified that he had been receiving his share from said land before, the same was stopped but he failed to adduce evidence as to what year the stoppage of giving of his shares and its amount. CA reversed the decision on the ground that Petitioner failed to adduce sufficient evidence to prove that his parents were legally married to each other and that acquisitive prescription against him had set in. Hence, this petition.

ISSUE: Did petitioner present sufficient evidence of his parents marriage and of his filiation?

RULING: The merits of this petition are patent. The partition of the late Patricios real properties requires preponderant proof that petitioner is a co-owner or co-heir of the decedents estate. This Court holds that such burden was successfully discharged by petitioner and, thus, the reversal of the assailed Decision and Resolution is inevitable.

Yes. In the absence of a marriage certificate, any of the four can be sufficient proof of marriage:

1. Fact of marriage ceremony; 2. Open cohabitation of the parties;3. Birth certificate of the child; and4. Other documents.

Arturio presented the first 3. For filiation, when the birth certificate can’t be produced, other evidence like the baptismal certificate, is admissible. Use of surname without objection is also presumptive evidence of legitimacy.