Legal separation on the basis of abandonment is not as simple as it sounds, according to the Public Attorneys’ Office (PAO).
PAO Chief Persida Acosta said while the Family Code does include abandonment of a spouse as grounds for separation, a subsequent Supreme Court ruling carried some specifics.
A 1968 ruling (GR L-19565) tackles the issue: “There must be real abandonment, and not mere separation. The abandonment must not only be physical estrangement but also amount to financial and moral desertion.”
“Applying the foregoing, abandonment as a ground for legal separation, does not refer to transient absence, and more so, departure for valid causes such as employment, or any other lawful causes,” Acosta pointed out. “To repeat, abandonment means the absolute cessation of marital relations, duties, and rights, with the intention of perpetual separation.”
“It implies a departure by one spouse with the avowed intent to never return, followed by prolonged absence without just cause, and without, in the meantime, providing the least for one’s family, although able to do so.”
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