YAO KEE v. SY-GONZALES
FACTS:
Sy Kiat, a chines
national died in Caloocan City, leaving behind his real and personal properties
in the Philippines worth P 300,000 more or less. Aida Sy-Gonzales, et. al.
filed a petition for the grant of letters of administration claiming among
other things that they are children of the deceased with Asuncion Gillego, a
Filipina. The petition was opposed by Yao kee who alleged that she is the
lawful wife of the deceased whom he married in China and that one of her
children, Sze Sook Wah, should be the administrator of the deceased. The Court
of First Instance decided in favor of Yao Kee’s petition but was modified and
set aside by the court of appeals.
ISSUE:
Whether or
not Sy Kiat’s marriage to Yao Kee in accordance with Chinese Law and Custom
conclusive.
RULING:
The Supreme
Court ruled that evidence may prove the fact if marriage between Sy Kiat and
Yao Kee is valid, but it is not sufficient to establish the validity of said
marriage in accordance with Chinese law and custom. A custom "a rule of
conduct formed by repetition of acts, uniformly observed (practiced) as a
social rule, legally binding and obligatory and must be proved as a fact
according to the rules of evidence and that a local custom as a source of right
cannot be considered by a court of justice unless such custom is properly
established by competent evidence. In the case at bar, petitioners did not
present any competent evidence relative to the law of China on marriage. In the
absence of proof of the Chinese law on marriage, it should be presumed that it
is the same as that of the Philippines.
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