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Question 3
3. In 1981, JR married then 16-year-old Inka in a civil ceremony solemnized by the
Mayor in their hometown. The couple lived together until 2007 when JR
confessed to having an affair with Elena. Inka later discovered that JR and Elena
got married in 1995. Inka thus filed a criminal complaint against JR for Bigamy.
In his defense, JR insisted that he could not be held criminally liable for Bigamy
because his marriage with Inka in 1981 is void for lack of a valid marriage
license, while his marriage with Elena is void for lack of a marriage ceremony.
Meanwhile, Elena claimed that even prior to the Bigamy case, she already filed
a petition for nullity of marriage before the Regional Trial Court (RTC) of
Quezon City sometime in 2007 after learning about the marriage between JR and
Inka. The RTC later declared the marriage of JR and Elena as void for being
bigamous, and the ruling attained finality due to lack of appeal. Does JR have a
valid defense in the Bigamy case? Decide with reasons.
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