In a two-page decision signed on February 26, 2019, the Quezon City Regional Trial Court Branch 106 denied the Motion for Reconsideration submitted by the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) to reverse the court's ruling of nullifying the marriage of Sunshine Cruz at Cesar Montano.
Sunshine celebrated the official closing of this chapter in her life with a Facebook post dated April 4:
“April 4, 2014 (5 years ago) I filed for the annulment of my marriage," she said. “September 17, 2018 QC court granted it pero hindi pa natapos dun dahil nag-motion for reconsideration (MR) ang associate solicitor ng OSG (Office of the Solicitor General).
“Yesterday April 3, 2019, I received a good news. I learned that the MR filed by OSG was DENIED. Thank you Lord! Finally! Totoo na talaga! It was not easy and it took us 5 years but I finally got what I wanted and what I deserve.”
According to the law, the OSG has the right to come into cases such as Sunshine's and Cesars. As stated on the Philippine e-Legal Forum: “The Solicitor General is authorized to intervene and take part in the proceedings for annulment and declaration of nullity of marriages before the RTC and on appeal to higher courts.
"The Solicitor General is the principal law officer and legal defender of the land.
"His intervention in the proceedings ensures that the interest of the State is represented and protected in proceedings for annulment and declaration of nullity of marriages by preventing collusion between the parties, or the fabrication or suppression of evidence.
"This is the express pronouncement of the Supreme Court.
"The SolGen may or may not appeal an annulment decision, and such decision is within its authority. In other words, it’s not true, and unfair to say, that the SolGen is the cause of delay.”
Speaking with PEP.ph on April 11, Sunshine shared how she felt about what she went through the past few years.
“Grabe lang din yung naging journey ko bago ko nakuha ito. Abot kamay na nung September 2018 pero may naging balakid lang ulit. Kaya ang sarap sa pakiramdam na may finality na. Natapos na din finally!”
Sunshine has three daughters with Cesar that are all in her custody—Angelina Isabelle, Samantha Angeline, and Angel Franchesca.
This story was translated from Filipino and originally appeared on Pep.ph.
* Minor edits have been made by the Femalenetwork.com editors.
