FACTS:
Complainants (Juvy Cosca et al.,) are employees of the Municipal Trial Court of Tinambac, Camarines Sur. Respondent Judge Lucio P. Palaypayon Jr., is the Presiding Judge of the same Court while Nelia Esmeralda-Baroy is the Clerk of Court. An administrative complaint
was field with the Office of the Court Administrator charging respondents , among others, illegal solemnization of marriage. Complainants alleged that respondent Judge solemnized 6 marriages even without the requisite marriage license. As a consequence, their marriage contracts did not reflect any marriage license number. The respondent Judge did not sign their marriage contracts and did not indicate the date of solemnization, the reason being that he allegedly had to wait for the marriage license to be submitted by the parties which was usually several days after the ceremony.
Indubitably, the marriage contracts were not filed with the local civil registrar.
ISSUE:
Whether or not the action of respondent Judge proper.
HELD:
[i]The Family Code pertinently proves that the formal requisites of marriage are, inter alia, a valid marriage license except in the cases provided for therein. Complementarily, it declares that the absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall generally render the marriage void ab initio and that , while an irregularity in the formal requisites shall not affect the validity of the marriage, the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly , criminally and administratively liable.
* The civil aspect is addressed to the contracting parties and those affected by the illegal marriage, and what we are providing for herein pertains to the administrative liability of respondents, all without prejudice to their criminal responsible. The Revised Penal Code provides that “priests or ministers of any religious denomination or sect, or civil authorities who shall perform or authorize any illegal marriage ceremony shall be punished in accordance with the provisions of the Marriage Law.” This is of course, within the province of the prosecutorial agencies of the Government.
RESPONDENT JUDGE LUCIO P. PALAYPAYON, JR. IMPOSED A FINE WITH STERN WARNING xxx