love and law.

So, how does the Philippine Supreme Court see love?

1. "If the two eventually fell in love, despite the disparity in their ages and academic levels, this only lends substance to the truism that the heart has reasons of its own which reason does not know." - Chua-Qua vs Clave 189 SCRA 117

2. "Statistics never lie, but lovers often do, quipped a sage. This sad truth has unsettled many a love transformed into matrimony. Any sort of deception between spouses, no matter the gravity, is always disquieting." - Antonio v. Reyes, G.R. No. 155800

3. Marital union is a two-way process. An expressive interest in each other's feelings at a time it is needed by the other can go a long way in deepening the marital relationship. Marriage is definitely not for children but for two consenting adults who view the relationship with love amor gignit amorem, respect, sacrifice and a continuing commitment to compromise, conscious of its value as a sublime social institution. - Chi Ming Tsoi v. Court of Appeals and Gina Lao- Tsoi, GR No. 119190

4. Love happens to everyone. It is dubbed to be boundless as it goes beyond the expectations people tagged with it. In love, “age does matter.” People love in order to be secure that one will share his/her life with another and that he/she will not die alone. Individuals who are in love had the power to let love grow or let love die – it is a choice one had to face when love is not the love he/she expected. - Padilla-Rumbaua v. Rumbaua, G.R. No. 166738

5. We cannot castigate a man for seeking out the partner of his dreams, for marriage is a sacred and perpetual bond which should be entered into because of love, not for any other reason. - Figueroa v. Barranco, Jr., SBC Case No. 519

6. “The nuptial vows which solemnly intone the matrimonial promise of love ‘(f)or better or for worse, for richer or for poorer, in sickness and in health, till death do us part,’ are sometimes easier said than done, for many a marital union figuratively ends on the reefs of matrimonial shoals. In the case now before us for appellate review, the marriage literally ended under circumstances which the criminal law, disdainful of romanticism, bluntly calls the felony of parricide.” (People of the Philippines vs. Ruben Takbobo, GR No. 102984, 30 June 1993)

7. “The Court, like all well-meaning persons, has no desire to dash romantic fancies, yet in the exercise of its duty, is all too willing when necessary to raise the wall that tears Pyramus and Thisbe asunder.” (Concerned Employee vs. Glenda Espiritu Mayor, AM No. P-02-1564, 23 November 2004)