MANILA – The Supreme Court of the Philippines has upheld the conviction of a husband for psychological violence under Republic Act No. 9262 after finding that his extramarital affair caused severe mental and emotional suffering to his wife, who later attempted to take her own life.

In a 16-page decision written by Associate Justice Amy Lazaro-Javier, the Supreme Court’s Second Division sentenced the husband to an imprisonment term of up to eight years for violating Section 5(i) of the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act.

Court records showed that the couple married in 1999 and had two children. Their relationship began to deteriorate in 2009 after the wife noticed that her husband had been coming home late at night.

In 2010, the husband sent text messages informing his wife that he would no longer return home, wanted to start a new life on his own, and planned to file a petition to declare their marriage null and void.

The wife later asked him to reconcile, but he refused. The husband later requested to see their children, provided they were accompanied only by their household helpers.

After the visit, one of the helpers informed the wife that the husband had allegedly started living with another woman.

The wife then sought the assistance of her brother and a private investigator to monitor her husband’s activities. The surveillance allegedly showed that he was frequently seen with a saleswoman employed at their convenience store.

She subsequently filed a criminal complaint for psychological violence, alleging that the husband’s actions caused her severe emotional distress, depression and an attempt to take her own life.

The husband denied abandoning his family and rejected the allegations of infidelity. He also argued that he and the woman accused of being his mistress had previously been acquitted in a separate concubinage case filed by his wife.

Both the Regional Trial Court and the Court of Appeals found him guilty, ruling that the prosecution had established that his marital infidelity caused psychological suffering to his wife.

Affirming the conviction, the Supreme Court ruled that while marital infidelity alone is not punishable under Republic Act No. 9262, it becomes criminal when it results in psychological violence that causes mental or emotional suffering to a wife or her children.

The high court said the prosecution was able to establish all the elements required to prove a violation of Section 5(i) of the law, giving significant weight to the psychological assessment showing that the complainant suffered depression and engaged in self-harm.

In addition to the prison sentence, the court ordered the husband to pay a fine of PHP100,000 and PHP30,000 in moral damages to the victim.