Republic of the Philippines

REGIONAL TRIAL COURT

FIRST JUDICIAL REGION
Candon City, Ilocos Sur
Branch 71

A,
Petitioner,

-versus- Civil Case No.1396-C

For: Declaration of Absolute
Nullity of Marriage

B,
Respondent.
x-------------------------------------------------x

JUDICIAL AFFIDAVIT

I, A, of legal age, Filipino, an OFW in Macau, China, and

a resident of Brgy. Mambug, Sta. Cruz, Ilocos Sur, in response
to the questions propounded by Atty. Jemarose G. Gomintong
in her law office located at Cor. Alvaro St., Mc Arthur Highway,
San Jose, Candon City, Ilocos Sur, fully conscious that I am
under oath to tell the truth and that I may face criminal
liability for false testimony or perjury, hereby depose and state
that;

Q: Are you the same Armie Chanda Romero-De Leon who is

the Petitioner in the instant case?
A: Yes, Ma’am.

Q: Have you filed a written Petition in relation to this case?

A: Yes, Ma’am.

Q: I’m showing you a copy of a Petition dated April 12, 2016,

consisting of eight (8) pages including its attachments, are you
referring to this?
A: Yes, Ma’am.

Q: At the 7th page thereof is a signature above the name Armie

Chanda Romero-De Leon, whose signature is that?
A: That is my signature, Ma’am.
Q: I mark this as Exhibit “A” up to “A-6” according to the order
of its pages excluding its attachment, and your signature as
Exhibit “A-7”, and I attach it in your affidavit, do you agree?
A: Yes, Ma’am.

Q: How did you meet the Respondent?

A: I met him in Macau, China sometime in 1996. He was
working as a food server in the hotel where I was working part
time, Ma’am.

Q: What happened next?

A: We would just often hang out after work and would engage
in drinking sprees together with our other friends and co-
workers, Ma’am. After one month of knowing each other and
drinking sprees, I coaxed him to bring me to his place as I was
then afraid of my father if I should go home intoxicated again
despite his previous warnings.

Q: What did your father do?

A: He threw a violent rant and later on demanded for Jon Jon
to marry me ma’am.

Q: What did Jon Jon do?

A: He readily obliged to my father’s demand, Ma’am.

Q: And how did you feel about the marriage?

A: For me, I was more than willing to marry Jon Jon as I
always planned in order to escape from the strict rules of my
parents, ma’am.

Q: What happened next?

A: From then on, I lived with Jon Jon without the benefit of
marriage, ma’am and I loved my newfound freedom away from
the clutch of my parents. While together, we openly indulged
ourselves to our vices of alcohol and cigarettes. Subsequently
however, violent fights started to emerge whenever I discover
his infidelities especially when I learned that Jon Jon is still
seeing his former girlfriend even after our engagement.

Q: What do you mean infidelities?

A: He would flirt with his female work-mates and he would go
out with them after his work, ma’am. He would likewise
randomly go out with his former girlfriend, ma’am.

Q: What did you do about this?

A: I was bent to make him choose me over his former girlfriend
so that I did my part to provide him with carnal satisfaction,
and I succeeded in convincing him to marry me in the
Philippines while we were on a vacation, ma’am.
Q: What happened next?
A: We went back to Macau and stayed with Jon Jon’s parents
while we were both working as hotels staffs, ma’am.

Q: How was your relationship at that time?

A: It was more of me trying to please Jon Jon, ma’am. I
willingly obliged to shoulder most of our living expenses and
became a dutiful wife for fear that Jon Jon would get tired of
me and would revive his relationship with his former
girlfriend, Ma’am.

Q: How was Jon Jon as a husband at that time?

A: He was very self-centered and insensitive to my needs as a
wife, ma’am. He would expect me to pamper him all the time
and to serve him all his domestic needs even if he knew that
we were both tired from work. He would snap at me whenever
I fail to prepare his meal on time and he would always impress
on me that he should not have married me were it not because
of my father’s threats. Worse, it became a set up that his own
salary was for his own consumption and it would only be
optional on his part whether to share it with me with the
household expenses or not, ma’am. It was me who was
expected to provide food and allowances for the both of us. My
consolation however was that, whenever I can provide all our
financial needs, Jon Jon will be very sweet to me, ma’am. He
was likewise irresponsible as he spends most of his earnings
to gambling and liquor with his friends.

Q: What would you do then?

A: I just accepted our set-up ma’am as long as he was mine.

Q: Why so?
A: Because I love Jon Jon very much at that time and I was
willing to put up with him no matter what.

Q: What happened next?

A: I learned that Jon Jon was often seen with his former
girlfriend, ma’am.

Q: What did you do then?

A: I confronted him right away ma’am.

Q: What did Jon Jon say?

A: He denied that they were still maintaining their
relationship, ma’am. He would tell me that I was just paranoid
and suspicious.

Q: What were your thoughts during those times?

A: I was afraid of being left by my husband, ma’am so that I
started tailing him. I became paranoid of his whereabouts and
my fears would engender me to nag him most of the time. I
would always plead to him not to leave me, ma’am.

Q: What would Jon Jon do?

A: He was trivializing my fears and he would just dismiss me
telling me that I was so over dramatic; but he never assured
me that he would never leave me, ma’am which was making
me more dissatisfied and suspicious, ma’am. He would
likewise shove and hit me during our fights.

Q: What else has happened?

A: When Jon Jon was fed up of my incessant suspicions, he
resigned from his job and became totally dependent to me.
Later on, we decided to go home to the Philippines for good to
start anew. I wanted him to be away from his former girl
friend, ma’am.

Q: Where did you stay in the Philippines then?

A: We lived with Jon Jon’s grandmother in Bulacan, ma’am.

Q: How was your relationship at that time?

A: Initially, it was fine as we started our piggery business,
ma’am. But we started fighting again when Jon Jon would
spend our earnings to gambling and liquor until our business
went bankrupt. Our fights were escalating every day and he
was becoming more violent as he would instantly hit me
whenever I whine about our present situation, ma’am. It was
so suffocating especially when Jon Jon started to use
prohibited drugs in my presence, ma’am and he was teaching
me how to do it.

Q: What did you do then?

A: I agreed to do drugs with him ma’am.

Q: Why?
A: As a way to please him and to escape from the harsh reality
that my life was going nowhere, ma’am. It was easier to
cooperate with him than to suffer from his beatings ma’am.

Q: What else has happened?

A: When Jon Jon’s uncle stole my jewelleries, I filed a criminal
Complaint against him but Jon Jon never supported me,
ma’am. Worse, my mother-in-law persuaded me not to attend
the conferences set by the public prosecutor as according to
her, it would not affect the case. The prosecutor then cited me
for contempt and I was put in jail for several days, ma’am.
Q: What did Jon Jon do this time?
A: He never visited me ma’am and he did not show any
concern to me, ma’am.

Q: Why do you say so?

A: Because he never tried to confront his uncle and his mother
for what they did to me ma’am. I returned from jail as if
nothing happened, ma’am.

Q: What happened next?

A: When we ran out of money to support his vices, we decided
to go back to Macau sometime in 2001. I was able to find a job
and was solely supporting our needs because Jon Jon
continuously failed to find a job. Since he was under a visitor’s
visa, he needed to exit from Macau every other month I also
supported his expenses in his every other month vacation in
the Philippines, Ma’am.

Q: How was your relationship at that time?

A: It was almost unbearable, Ma’am.

Q: Why did you say so?

A: Because fights are a constant picture in our family home,
ma’am, mostly because of Jon Jon’s irresponsibility and
indifferent behaviours, Ma’am;

Q: What happened next?

A: I could have silently endured all our financial burdens and
his lack of sense of responsibility if I did not learn that Jon
Jon was looking for his two children from previous
relationships, Ma’am.

Q: What did you do about it?

A: I confronted him again about it ma’am but he never
admitted and acted nonchalantly on the matter, Ma’am.

Q: What else happened?

A: When Jon Jon finally found a job, he started not to come
home for days until such time that he was no longer
communicating to me despite my efforts to reach out to him,
Ma’am.

Q: What did you do then?

A: In order to buy peace of mind and to give Jon Jon time and
space, I went home in the Philippines and stayed in Manila for
three months, ma’am.

Q: During the time that you are here in the Philippines and
Jon Jon was in Macau, didn’t you have any communication?
A: None ma’am, because as I’ve said, I want to give him time
and space hoping that he will realize his mistakes and my
worth to him. Besides, he also did not make ways to keep in
touch with me, Ma’am.

Q: What else has happened while you are here in the

Philippines?
A: Later on, I’ve learned from some concerned friends that Jon
Jon have impregnated another woman in Macau, Ma’am.

Q: What did you do next?

A: I immediately flew back to Macau and talked to Jon Jon
ma’am. I pleaded to him for us to work on our marriage again.
I was ready to forgive him and to start anew with him, Ma’am.

Q: And what did he tell you?

A: He blatantly told me that he was no longer interested on
me, Ma’am.

Q: What happened next?

A: I still waited for Jon Jon to change his mind, ma’am but he
never did.

Q: What did you do then?

A: After several years of waiting, ma’am, I have learned to
forget him and found another love, Ma’am.

Q: Do you have anything to add in your statement?

A: None, Ma’am.

Q: Do you confirm and affirm the truthfulness of the contents

of your affidavit?
A: Yes, Ma’am.

A
Petitioner/Affiant

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this

_____________ at Candon City, Ilocos Sur.

Doc #:____;
Page #:___;
Book # ___;
Series of 2017.
 Attestation

The undersigned counsel hereby attest to the truth that

she personally conducted the above examination on the
witness/affiant; that she faithfully recorded the questions she
asked and the corresponding answers that the witness gave
and neither she nor any other person then present or assisting
her coached the witness regarding the latter’s answer

JEMAROSE G. GOMINTONG

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this

_____________ at Candon City, Ilocos Sur.

Doc No.____;
Page No.___;
Book No.___;
Series of 2017.