The criminal charge against Victoria Soriano Jarillo was filed by her own son, 22-year-old Karl Uy, who discovered evidence that her mother was married to another man more than two decades ago.
Judge Henrick Gingoyon of the Pasay Regional Trial Court ruled in favor of the son after finding the defense of the accused very weak.
Based on the records of the court, the previous marriage of Jarillo was discovered by her husband Emmanuel Ebora Santos Uy last January 12, 1999 and revealed it to Karl.
He found out that Jarillo was married to Rafael Alocillo on May 24, 1974 in Taguig and in a church wedding in San Carlos City, Pangasinan on May 4, 1975.
Four years later on Nov. 26, 1979, the accused married Uy in Pasay City. The municipal treasurer of Taguig, the clerk of the Local Civil Registrar of Pasay, a clerk of the National Statistics Office and the Civil Registration Officer of San Carlos City all testified on the veracity of the two marriages.
After years of hearing rumors about his wife having been married to another man previously, the elder Uy decided to confront Alocillo to seek confirmation.
Alocillo admitted that he was married to Jarillo and presented Uy with the marriage documents. He also revealed that they had a daughter who is now being cared for by his mother in San Carlos City.
The two decided to part ways a couple of years after their marriage due to some undisclosed reason.
Jarillo countered that she decided to marry Uy only because she discovered that her first husband was already married to another woman in California, USA.
Judge Gingoyon refused to accept the defense of Jarillo because she could not produce the necessary documents to support her claim. – Marvin Sy