By: Atty. Donn Marie Isabelle M. Balina on June 12,2025

IT is a basic human reaction to take action against someone who wrongs you. This is the whole premise of filing complaints or petitions. Thus, actions to claim a form of relief from the courts are appropriately called “attacks.”

There are two kinds of attacks discussed under Philippine law. The first is a direct attack, wherein the filed action’s main objective is to seek the specific relief sought by the wronged party. In land cases, for example, a direct action is one whose main purpose is to annul, set aside or enjoin the enforcement of a judgment affecting a land’s registration.

A collateral attack, meanwhile, is when a wronged party files a case with a specific relief, but as an aside, seeks another relief for a different purpose than that filed. It is when the attack is made incidental to a main action with a different relief. Collateral attacks are generally prohibited when the case concerns a Torrens title over land. Section 48 of Presidential Decree 1529 (the Property Registration Decree) prohibits collateral attacks of certificates of title issued under the said law.

The Supreme Court consistently rules that cases where a party seeks to invalidate a Torrens title, but only collaterally, must be dismissed. In the case of Garcia v. Esclito, GR 207210, respondents filed a petition for the annulment/declaration of nullity of a deed of sale involving a piece of land that was duly registered under the Torrens system. The court stated that the petition constituted an impermissible collateral attack on the landowners’ Torrens title and thus dismissed the case. It should be noted that in Firaza Sr. v. Spouses Ugay, GR 165838, the Court ruled that when the attack on the validity of a Torrens title is in a counterclaim, it is not considered a collateral attack, but a direct attack which is valid.

Collateral attacks are allowed in the actions to void marriages. Void marriages under the Family Code can be due to the absence of an essential requisite of marriage (Article 35), bigamy or polygamy (Article 35 [4]), incest (Article 37), psychological incapacity (Article 36), and those that are void for being against public policy (Article 38). Void marriages produce no legal effect.

In Niñal v. Bayadog, GR 133778, the respondents filed a petition to declare null and void the second marriage of their deceased father. The court found that the second marriage was void due to the absence of a marriage license. In discussing the propriety of declaring null and void the marriage of a person after their death, the court stated that the invalidity can be maintained directly or collaterally in a proceeding where the marriage is material upon mere proof of the facts rendering such marriage void. The court may pass upon the validity of marriage in actions to determine heirship, legitimacy or illegitimacy of a child, settlement of estate, dissolution of property regime or a criminal case where the fact of marriage is essential to determine.

Finally, collateral attacks may also be used to question a void judgment. Void judgments are hose rendered by a court without jurisdiction, or those obtained by fraud or collusion. For example, a void judgment may arise from a quasi-judicial body’s act constituting grave abuse of discretion, such as in Imperial v. Armes, GR 178842 and 195509, where a ​SEC decision was at issue. In Mercury Drug Corp. v. Spouses Huang, GR 197654, the court stated that a void judgment does not produce legal effect, and never becomes final and executory. It may be attacked through a petition for annulment of judgment or a petition for certiorari. It may also be attacked collaterally by assailing its validity in another action where it is invoked. It is important to know when a person can make a direct or collateral attack so that they do not waste time in crafting a petition that may be dismissed on the ground of a prohibited collateral attack.

Donn Marie Isabelle M. Balina is an associate of Mata-Perez, Tamayo & Francisco (MTF Counsel). This article is for general information only and is not a substitute for professional advice where the facts and circumstances warrant. If you have any question or comment regarding this article, you may email the author at info@mtfcounsel.com or visit MTF website at www.mtfcounsel.com.

https://www.manilatimes.net/2025/06/12/business/top-business/what-is-a-collateral-attack/2131677