Dear Atty. Peachy,

I met Chris, an American citizen, when I was in Dubai for a business trip about three years ago. He is an engineer working for one of the companies in Dubai. We continued communicating with each other and it did not take too long for us to enter into a committed relationship.

During our relationship, Chris would send me gifts, including monetary gifts. He would tell me to buy whatever I wanted with his monetary gifts. Last year, during his Christmas vacation in the Philippines, he proposed marriage to me and I, being so much in love with him then, blissfully accepted his marriage proposal.

We have not set a date yet but we have started talking about the other details of the wedding such as the church, the reception and where we will stay after our wedding.

Two weeks ago, however, I learned from a common friend of ours that Chris was not yet legally divorced from his first wife. He lied about his marital status and told me that he was a divorced man even if he was still married to his first wife.

I felt so betrayed and, thus, broke off our engagement. Chris tried to explain and win me back but when I did not budge, he threatened to sue me for breach of promise to marry. He said he would get back every cent he sent me.

Does he have a cause of action against me? My cousin who is a paralegal in a law firm told me that the Supreme Court has previously awarded damages in a case involving a breach of promise to marry.

Ana

Dear Ana,

I am sorry that you had to endure his threats amidst the pain that you are already suffering from his apparent betrayal. Do not worry. Chris does not have a cause of action against you. A mere breach of a promise to marry is not an actionable wrong, as long as it is not of such extent as would palpably and unjustifiably contradict good customs. In any case, the party seeking to recover damages must have acted in good faith.

Your cousin is probably referring to the 1964 case of Wassmer v. Velez (120 Phil 1440) wherein the Supreme Court allowed the recovery of damages as a result of a canceled marriage. In that case, preparations for the wedding had already been made --- a marriage license had been secured, wedding invitations had been printed and distributed and dresses for the entourage had been purchased.

The Supreme Court ruled that, while a breach of promise to marry was not actionable, walking out of a wedding two days prior after all had been prepared, was quite different. The Court held that the defendant’s act was deemed “palpably and unjustifiably contrary to good customs,” for which the award of damages was proper.

Please note, however, that the Supreme Court stressed in the more recent case of Jhonna Guevarra vs Jan Banach, (G.R. No. 214016 24 November 2021) that the party seeking to recover damages must have acted in good faith. Finding out that one’s fiancé is still married to another person is enough reason to justify breaking off an engagement.

In this case, the Supreme Court, through Associate Justice Marvic Leonen, said that “[C]hoosing a person to marry is intimately connected to a person’s autonomy. Any State interest in the institution of marriage must not lead to an unjustified intrusion into one’s individual autonomy and human dignity. It must only be done when the public interest is imperiled. It is not within the courts’ competence to reach too far into intimate relations. Courts, through litigation, should not dictate or even pressure a person into accepting a life of marriage with a person they reject. Courts must, as much as possible, refrain from meddling in these personal affairs.”

Atty. Peachy Selda-Gregorio