Mercado v. Tan

Summary

Vincent Mercado was convicted of bigamy for marrying Consuelo Tan in 1991 while still married to Thelma Oliva since 1976. Though Mercado obtained a judicial declaration of nullity of his first marriage in 1993, the Supreme Court affirmed his conviction, ruling that Article 40 of the Family Code requires judicial declaration of nullity before remarriage, even for void marriages. The Court resolved conflicting jurisprudence by overturning People v. Mendoza and People v. Aragon, establishing that one cannot assume a marriage is void but must secure judicial declaration before remarrying. The decision emphasized that bigamy is consummated upon contracting the second marriage without prior judicial declaration, regardless of subsequent nullity declarations. The Court also denied damages to the complainant, finding she was aware of the first marriage.