CASE BRIEF G.R. No.

70082, August 19, 1991

SPOUSES RICKY WONG AND ANITA CHAN, ET AL.

vs HON. IMMEDIATE APPELATE COURT AND ROMARICO ROSAL

FACTS

Romarico and Katrina are married, have 3 children. Romarico and Katrina have been living separate from each other most of the
time. During the marriage, Romarico acquired a lot consisting of almost 1,787 square meters. In 1972, while Katrina entered into a
contract with Anita Wong, whereby she consigned her pieces of jewelry worth Php321,830.95.

When Katrina failed to return the pieces of jewelry, Anita demanded payment where Katrina issued a check for Php55,000. When it
bounced, she was sued criminally but since the obligation was purely civil in nature, a suit for collection of sum of money was filed
against her. Judgment was rendered against Katrina.

When judgment became final and executory, the parcel of land bought by Romarico was levied upon and sold at an auction.

ISSUES

1. Whether or not the property is conjugal.

2. Whether or not the property is liable for the indebtedness of Katrina.

HELD

1. Having been acquired during marriage, the property is presumed to belong to the conjugal partnership, even though
Romarico and Katrina had been living separately. While there is proof that Romarico acquired the properties with money he
had borrowed from an officemate, it is unclear where he obtained the money to pay the loan. If he paid it out of his salaries,
then the money is part of the conjugal assets and not exclusively his.

2. The conjugal nature of the properties notwithstanding, Katrina’s indebtedness may not be paid for with the same since her
obligation was not shown by the petitioners to be one of the charges against the conjugal partnership. In addition to the fact
that her rights over the properties are merely inchoate prior to the liquidation of the conjugal partnership, the consent of
her husband and her authority to incur such indebtedness had not been alleged in the complaint and proven at the trial.
REASON

1. The presumption of the conjugal nature of properties subsists in the absence of clear, satisfactory, and convincing evidence
to overcome said presumption or prove that the properties are exclusively owned by Romarico. In the determination of the
nature of a property acquired by a person during coverture, the controlling factor is the source of the money utilized in the
purchase.

2. Under the Civil Code (before the effectivity of the Family Code on August 3, 1988), a wife may bind the conjugal partnership
only when she purchases things necessary for the support of the family or when she borrows money for the purpose of
purchasing things necessary for the support of the family if the husband fails to deliver the proper sum; when the
administration of the conjugal partnership is transferred to the wife by the courts or by the husband, and when the wife
gives moderate donations for charity.

Digested by Nina K.D. Araneta