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CEBU CITY, Philippines - Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.
A bride has sued her groom for ditching her at the altar and walking out of the church with another woman in December last year.
Lilibeth Gaviola, a 29-year-old resident of Sambag II in Cebu City, filed a damage suit for breach of promise to marry.
The groom Ryan Sesante of B. Rodriguez Street was sued before the Regional Trial Court.
?(Sesante) breached his promise to marry. The marriage ceremony had formally started but was not finished because (he) left Gaviola inside the church and ran away from the wedding ceremony,? the complaint said.
What Sesante did brought shame to her and her family's reputation, she added.
Gaviola demanded P400,000 in moral damages from Sesante for wounding her feelings and causing her sleepless nights, and P50,000 in exemplary damages ?to set an example to the public similarly inclined.?
She also asked the court that she be awarded P54,630 in actual damages to reimburse expenses for the wedding. She asked P45,000 for attorney's fees and litigation expenses.
The complaint was filed by lawyer Marlon Baruc on Feb. 13, a day before Valentine's Day. It was raffled to the courtroom of Regional Trial Court Judge Geraldine Faith Econg of Branch 9.
In her complaint, Gaviola said she and Sesante were classmates in college in 1998.
They met again in December 2005 inside a church in Sambag II. They became sweethearts in February 2006.
After more than a year, the couple decided to get married. Sesante met her parents on June 17, 2007 to ask her hand in marriage. The wedding date was set on Dec. 22, 2007 at the Our Lady of Sacred Heart Parish at barangay Capitol Site in Cebu City.
Invitation were sent to 100 guests. The principal and secondary sponsors were selected. The reception was to be held at Royal Concourse on Gorordo Avenue.
Gaviola said that in the morning of her wedding day, she stayed at the Golden Peak Hotel together with her make-up artist to prepare for her ?big day.?
She left the hotel for the Our Lady of Sacred Heart Parish at Capitol Site, a distance of about 500 meters, at 3:10 p.m. since her wedding was scheduled at 3:30 p.m.
The bride waited inside the bridal car. It was already 3:40 p.m. but the ceremony could not start because the groom had yet to arrive.
The groom's mother went to the bridal car to ask Gaviola where her son was. Gaviola told her she did not know.
About five minutes after, the groom arrived and came in from the side of the church's fence. He appeared in a hurry.
His mother then made him wear his barong but he looked teary-eyed. The wedding ceremony immediately started.
?When it was (Gaviola?s) turn to walk down the aisle, she felt very happy, and considered the event as one of her memorable and significant days of her life. She walked with dignity and pride and as she looked at her relatives and friends, she was all smiles. The people in attendance smiled back at her conveying that they joined her in that special moment,? the complaint said.
During the Mass, Gaviola noticed that her groom was fiddling with his cellular phone ? either to open a text message or to send a text message.
Then the part came where the couple exchanged vows.
The officiating priest asked the groom first if he would take Gaviola as his lawful wedded wife and he replied: ?I do.?
Gaviola was then asked if she agreed to take him as her husband and she said ?I do.?
When the priest turned to Sesante to ask him a question, a woman in eyeglasses and skirt suddenly appeared in the aisle near the entrance door of the church. The woman shouted: ?Father, please stop the wedding.? She then turned to Sesante and called his name twice.
Upon hearing her voice, Sesante was not able to say ?I do.? He turned around and walked fast toward the woman. They hugged and left the church together.
The officiating priest, using the microphone, called Sesante thrice. ?Ryan, balik diri kay ato ni i-settle (Ryan, come back. Let?s settle this),? the priest said.
But the two kept on walking.
The priest ran after Sesante and the unidentified woman but the two disappeared.
Gaviola said she was filled with mixed emotions over what happened.
?She wanted to cry but she couldn?t,? said the complaint.
?She was angry, felt betrayed and wanted to shout. All but nothing came out because plaintiff was in great shock and great shame of what had happened on her wedding day. ?
But Gaviola managed to go with her parents and about 20 of her relatives, friends and members of her entourage to the Royal Concourse to eat the food prepared for the wedding because it had been fully paid. The parents and relatives of the groom were not there.
After eating, Gaviola said she went home with her parents feeling depressed.
That night, she said, she could not sleep.
The complaint said ? she was trembling with anger and fury. She did not know what to do. Her reputation was besmirched; her feelings wounded. She felt downgraded and could not look straight in the eyes of her parents, family, relatives and friends because of (Sesante's) betrayal.?
