A husband was sentenced to up to eight years in prison by the Supreme Court (SC) for psychological violence under Republic Act No. 9262 after the Court found that his extramarital affair caused severe mental and emotional suffering to his wife, leading her to attempt suicide.

In a 16-page decision penned by Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier and dated 13 January 2026, the SC's Second Division found the husband guilty of violating Section 5(i) of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act.

The victim married the accused in 1999, and they had two children. However, their marital problems began in October 2009 when the wife noticed that her husband was frequently coming home late at night.

In 2010, the wife received a text message from her husband informing her that he would no longer return home and wanted to start a new life alone. He also told her not to contact him anymore.

She later received another message stating that he intended to file a petition for the declaration of nullity of their marriage to formalize their separation.

The wife pleaded with him to return and try to rebuild their family, but he ignored her request. Instead, he sent a message saying he wanted to see their children but that they should only be accompanied by their house helpers. She agreed, and he was eventually allowed to visit the children.

Upon returning home, one of the house helpers told the wife that her husband had another woman and that she should stop hoping he would come back.

As a result, her suspicions grew. To verify them, she sought assistance from her brother and hired a private detective to conduct surveillance on her husband.

The surveillance confirmed that the accused was frequently seen with another woman, a salesperson at their convenience store.

The wife then filed a criminal complaint for psychological violence, claiming that the emotional and mental anguish caused by her husband's actions drove her into depression and led her to attempt suicide.

The accused denied abandoning his family and claimed that the wife prevented him from seeing their children. He also denied having an extramarital affair, citing his acquittal, along with the alleged paramour, in a separate concubinage case filed by his wife.

The Regional Trial Court convicted the accused, finding that the prosecution had sufficiently established marital infidelity and its harmful effects on the complainant. The Court of Appeals later affirmed the ruling, prompting the accused to elevate the case to the Supreme Court.

In upholding the conviction, the SC ruled that marital infidelity constitutes a form of psychological violence punishable under Republic Act No. 9262.

The Court said marital infidelity not only violates the vows of faithfulness and commitment in marriage but also inflicts severe psychological and emotional harm on the aggrieved spouse and their children.

The SC emphasized that marital infidelity, particularly when it causes mental and emotional suffering to the innocent spouse, cannot be condoned because it runs contrary to the constitutional principle of the inviolability of marriage and public policy.

Aside from imposing a prison term of up to eight years, the Court ordered the accused to pay a fine of P100,000 and P30,000 in moral damages to the victim.