Marital infidelity violates VAWC law, SC rules

MANILA, Philippines — In a ruling that defines marital infidelity as a form of psychological violence, the Supreme Court (SC) has upheld the conviction of a man who cheated on his wife for violating the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004 (Anti-VAWC Act).

The decision came as part of a case involving a man who co-habited with another woman and impregnated her while his wife was working abroad.

He was charged with violating Section 5(i) of Republic Act 9262 before a Regional Trial Court (RTC) in January 2016.

The accused was found guilty of inflicting psychological violence against his wife and daughter through emotional and psychological abandonment.

The Court of Appeals (CA) affirmed the conviction of the accused by the RTC which found him guilty beyond reasonable doubt of violation of Section 5(i) of the Anti-VAWC Act.

The SC’s First Division denied the petition for review on certiorari of the accused and affirmed the CA’s decision.

Associate Justice Ramon Paul Hernando, who wrote the decision, stated that marital infidelity is one form of psychological violence, and agreed with the CA and the RTC that all the elements to establish a violation of Section 5(i) were present.

These elements include the woman being the wife or former wife of the offender, and the offender causing the woman and/or child mental or emotional anguish through acts of public ridicule or humiliation, repeated verbal and emotional abuse, denial of financial support or custody of minor children, or access to the children or similar acts or omissions.

The high court noted that the accused’s marital infidelity, co-habitation with another woman and abandonment of his family had caused significant psychological trauma to his daughter, who was only nine years old when she took the witness stand in 2015 against her father.

The child wept in open court upon being asked to narrate her father’s infidelity.

The SC ruled that the prosecution in this case was able to satisfactorily establish the accused’s actions and the mental and emotional anguish he had caused his wife and daughter.

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

It also emphasized that there are several forms of abuse, the most visible form of which is physical violence. Others are sexual violence, psychological violence and economic abuse.

The man was sentenced to at least two years in prison and was fined P100,000 in damages, and is also facing court-mandated psychological counseling.