SC upholds ruling vs. husband who inflicted psychological violence on wife

The Supreme Court has upheld a ruling finding a man guilty of inflicting psychological violence on his wife through marital infidelity.

In a decision promulgated on March 1, the SC First Division affirmed the January 2019 decision and the October 2019 resolution of the Court of Appeals.

The CA affirmed the November 2017 decision of a regional trial court, which found the petitioner guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violating Section 5(i) of Republic Act 9262, or the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004.

The law penalizes acts that cause "mental or emotional anguish, public ridicule, or humiliation to the woman or her child, including, but not limited to, repeated verbal and emotional abuse and denial of financial support or custody of minor children of access to the woman's child/children."

"Marital infidelity is one of the forms of psychological violence. The prosecution in this case was able to satisfactorily establish petitioner’s marital infidelity, his cohabitation with CCC, who even bore him a child, and his abandonment of AAA," the SC said.

According to the Court, the petitioner and AAA were married in December 2006. They later had a daughter, BBB.

Due to financial difficulties, AAA left the country in 2008 to work in Singapore.

In May 2015, AAA found out that the petitioner was in a romantic relationship with CCC. The Court said CCC told AAA to no longer communicate with her husband.

CCC would also taunt AAA via text messages, telling her that CCC was impregnated "out of love" while AAA was impregnated "out of lust." 

Another excerpt showed CCC telling AAA that the man said they were only married on paper and not in his heart and soul.

Meanwhile, the Court said that the nine-year-old daughter of the married couple had a hard time narrating her testimony as she had to stop and cry multiple times.

"BBB’s psychological trauma was evident when she wept in open court upon being asked to narrate the petitioner’s infidelity. In particular, BBB explained that she was deeply hurt because her father had another family and loved another woman other than her mother," it said.

The SC affirmed the CA’s modified penalty of two to eight years imprisonment for the petitioner. The petitioner was also ordered to pay a fine of P100,000 and to undergo psychological counseling.

The decision was penned by Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando. —VBL, GMA Integrated News