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MARRIAGE LAWS IN THE

PHILIPPINES

By:
Atty. Gaby Concepcion

SEMPER PRAESUMITUR PRO


MATRIMONIO

(The presumption is always in favor of


the validity of marriage)

Marriage is a very special contract in that:

The parties must be male and female. Actually , the


Supreme Court has already stated that in a marriage
contract, there are, in fact, 3 parties: the man, the woman
and the State, considering that the State provides for the
duties, privileges and restrictions which are deemed written
into every marriage contract.
Unlike ordinary contracts which may be terminated or
rescinded by the parties upon mutual agreement, the marital
bonds can only be severed by death, or upon a court
declaration of nullity or annulment;
The rights and obligation of the parties are not subject to
stipulation by the parties and are fixed by law; and
Breach of the marital contract does not give rise to an action
for damages.

Article 1 of the Family Code (the Code) lays down


the basic premise of our laws on marriage

Marriage is a special contract of permanent


union between a man and a woman entered
into in accordance with law for the
establishment of conjugal and family life. It is
the foundation of the family and an inviolable
social
institution
whose
nature,
consequences, and incidents are governed
by law and not subject to stipulation, except
that marriage settlements may fix the
property relations during the marriage within
the limits provided by this Code.

ESSENTIAL REQUISITES

Legal capacity of the contracting


parties who MUST be at least 18
years old, male and female, and not
under any impediment to marry.

Consent freely given in the presence


of the solemnizing officer. (Art. 2,
Family Code)

Examples of void marriages arising from


an absence of an essential requisite:
Absence of legal capacity

A marriage between an 18 year old boy and a


16 year old girl.
A marriage between 2 girls or between 2 boys.
The Family Code has settled the debate as to
whether or not same-sex marriages may be
performed in the Philippines. An interesting
legal question has arisen, however. What
about those who have opted to have a sex
change operation?

Examples of void marriages arising from


an absence of an essential requisite:
Absence of legal capacity

This question has been answered and


settled by the Supreme Court in the case
of Silverio vs. Republic of the
Philippines

Republic of the Philippines vs.


Cagandahan

Absence of consent

A marriage in jest

A theatrical marriage

Other legal impediments that may affect


the legal capacity of a person to contract
marriage:

Prior subsisting marriages (i.e. bigamous


marriages);
Incestuous marriages (i.e., those between
ascendants and descendants/ brothers and
sisters, whether of the full or half blood,
legitimate or illegitimate) (Art. 37, Family Code)

Other legal impediments that may affect the


legal capacity of a person to contract marriage:

Marriages that are void for reasons of public policy (Art. 38,
Family Code), as follows
Between blood relatives up to the 4th civil degree
Between step-parents and step-children
Between parents-in-law and children-in-law
Between the adopter and the adopted
Between the surviving spouse of the adopter and the adopted
Between the adopted child and the legitimate child of the
adopter
Between adopted children of the same adopter
Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the
other, killed that other persons spouse or his or her own
spouse (Art. 38, Family Code)

The following marriages are considered valid:


a)
b)

Between brother-in-law and sister-in-law;


Between stepbrother and stepsister;

c)

Between the adopted child and the


illegitimate child of the adopter;

d)

Between the adopted child of the husband


and adopted child of the wife.)

Examples of a Defect in any of the


Essential Requisites which Renders the
Marriage Voidable.

When either party is between 18 and 21


years of age and the marriage is performed
without parental consent

When consent is vitiated by fraud, violence,


intimidation or undue influence

Formal requisites of marriage under


the Family Code
Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2) A valid marriage license, save for marriages of
exceptional character
(3) A marriage ceremony which takes place with the
appearance of the contracting parties before the
solemnizing
officer
and
their
personal
declaration that they take each other as
husband and wife, in the presence of not less
than two witnesses of legal age
(1)

Under Art. 7 of the Family code, the following are the


persons authorized to solemnize marriages

1.

2.

3.

Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court's jurisdiction;


-members of the Supreme Court, Court of Appeals, Sandigangbayan
and Court of Tax Appeals have jurisdiction to solemnize marriages
nationally
-members of the RTC and the MTC have jurisdiction within their
territorial jurisdiction
Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly
authorized by his church or religious sect and registered with the civil
registrar general, acting within the limits of the written authority granted
by his church or religious sect and provided that at least one of the
contracting parties belongs to the solemnizing officer's church or
religious sect;
Any ship captain or airplane chief (only in marriages in articulo mortis
between passengers and/or crew members) in the cases mentioned in
Article 31;

Under Art. 7 of the Family code, the


following are the persons authorized to
solemnize marriages
4.

5.
6.

Any military commander of a unit to which a


chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the latter,
during a military operation (only in marriages in
articulo mortis);
Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul (only
for marriages abroad between Filipinos);
A mayor (pursuant to the Local Government
Code)

Marriage License Requirements

Under Art. 9 of the Family code, a marriage


license shall be issued by the local civil registrar
where either contracting party resides. The
application for the marriage license shall be
posted for ten (10) consecutive days outside
the office of the civil registrar. A license shall
be valid in any part of the Philippines for a
period of 120 days and shall be automatically
cancelled at the end of said period.
No valid marriage license, no valid marriage.

MARRIAGE CEREMONY
No particular form of the ceremony is
required. However, the personal appearance of
the parties before the solemnizing officer shall
be necessary

Example of Void Marriages Due to the


Absence of a Formal Requisite

Marriages solemnized by the Chief of Police (i.e.,


total absence of authority of the solemnizing
officer)
A marriage with no valid marriage license because
the marriage was solemnized after the expiry date
of said license
A marriage with no valid marriage license as the
marriage was solemnized one year prior to the
issuance of the marriage license
Sy vs. Court of Appeals and Sy (G.R.
No. 127263, 12 April 2000) -

Example of Void Marriages Due to


the Absence of a Formal Requisite

Absence of a marriage ceremony


Cacho vs. People of the Philippines (G.R. No.
1452261, 6 Feb. 2004)

A marriage solemnized without a license, as


certified by the local civil registrar.
Republic of the Philippines vs. The Court of Appeals
Carino vs. Carino (G.R. No. 132529, 2 Feb. 2001)
Alcantara vs. Alcantara and the Court of Appeals
(G.R. No. 167746, 28 Aug. 2007)

Example of Void Marriages Due to the


Absence of a Formal Requisite

A marriage solemnized with a false affidavit of


cohabitation in violation of Art. 34
Ninal vs. Bayadog (G.R. No. 13378, 14 March
2000)
De Castro vs. De Castro (G.R. No. 160172, 13
Feb. 2008)
Republic of the Philippines vs. Dayot (G.R. No.
175581, 28 March 2008)

Effect of Irregularity in any Formal


Requisites

The marriage shall be valid but the party or


parties responsible for the irregularity shall be
civilly, criminally and administratively liable. (Art.
4, Family Code)

Examples of Irregularities in the Formal


Requisites of a Marriage.

Marriage license obtained in a place other than


the residence of either party
Absence of witnesses
10 days posting requirement of application for
marriage license not complied with
Non-compliance with the requirements of parental
advice, marriage counseling or family planning
services
Failure of the solemnizing officer to execute the
affidavit required in marriages of exceptional
character

Sample Administrative Cases of the


Supreme Court

Aranes vs. Judge Occiano (A.M . No. MTS-021390, 11 April 2002)


Moreno v. Judge Bernabe (A.M. No. MTJ-94963, 14 July 1995)
Cosca et al. vs. Palaypayon (A.M. No. MTJ-92721, 30 September 1994)
NAVARRO VS. DOMOGTOY (A.M. No. MTJ-961088, 19 July 1996)

VOID AND VOIDABLE MARRIAGES/


ANNULMENT VERSUS
DECLARATION OF NULLITY.

VOID MARRIAGES
Under the Family Code, the bases for determining
what constitute void marriages are as follows

Lack of one or more of the essential and formal


requisites of marriage
Reasons of public policy and
Special cases and situations
(e.g. psychological incapacity)

VOID MARRIAGES
Under the Art. 35 of Family Code, the following are
marriages that are void from the beginning:

Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of


the age even with the consent of parents or guardians;
Those solemnized by any person not legally
authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages
were contracted with either or both parties believing in
good faith that the solemnizing officer that the legal
authority to do so;
Those solemnized without a license, except marriages
of exceptional character;

VOID MARRIAGES

Under the Art. 35 of Family Code, the following are


marriages that are void from the beginning:

Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not


falling under Article 41;
Those contracted through mistake of one
contracting party as to the identity of the other;
Those subsequent marriages that are void under
Article 53.

VOIDABLE MARRIAGES
In accordance with Art. 45 of the Family code, the
following are the voidable marriages:

Either party is between 18 to 21 years of age and no


parental consent was obtained, unless the such party
freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife
after reaching the age of 21.
Either party was of unsound mind unless such party
freely cohabited with the other after coming to reason,
That the consent of either party was obtained through
fraud, unless such party, with full knowledge of the
facts constituting fraud, freely cohabited with the other
as husband and wife.

VOIDABLE MARRIAGES
In accordance with Art. 45 of the Family code, the
following are the voidable marriages:

That the consent of either party was obtained through


force, intimidation or undue influence, unless the same
having disappeared, such party freely cohabited with
the other as husband and wife.
That either party was incapable of consummating the
marriage (i.e., impotent) and such incapacity appears to
be incurable
That either party was afflicted with a sexually
transmissible disease that is serious and incurable (e.g.

The following shall constitute fraud as


shall give rise to an action for annulment

Non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final


judgment of the other party of a crime involving
moral turpitude;
Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the
time of the marriage, she was pregnant by a man
other than her husband;
Concealment of a sexually-transmissible disease,
regardless of its nature, existing at the time of the
marriage; or
Concealment of drug addiction, habitual
alcoholism, homosexuality or lesbianism existing
at the time of the marriage.

Differences Between Void and Voidable


Marriages

As to legal effect, void marriages are


inexistent from the beginning and thus
produce no legal effects. They are not
capable of ratification and children born
thereof as illegitimate. Upon a declaration
of nullity, the properties of the parties are
settled in accordance with the rules on coownership.

Differences Between Void and


Voidable Marriages

Voidable marriages, on the other hand, are valid until


annulled and may be ratified and cleansed of its defects by
cohabitation. The remedy of annulment, however, may be
barred by prescription. Thus, in case of fraud; force,
violence, intimidation or undue influence; impotence; and
affliction of a serious, incurable sexually transmitted disease,
the action for annulment must be brought within 5 years by
the injured spouse from discovery of the fraud, or from the
cessation of the force, violence, intimidation or undue
influence or from date of the marriage, in case of impotence
and affliction with serious, incurable STD, as the case may
be. Ratification of a voidable marriage shall bar an action
for annulment even if the prescription period has not yet
expired.

ART. 36. DECLARATION OF NULLITY

As some people may have had the chance to


comment, the closest thing to a divorce in the
Philippines would be a declaration of nullity under
Art. 36 of the Family Code which is premised on the
psychological incapacity of one of the parties to
comply with the essential marital obligations of
marriage, even if such incapacity becomes manifest
only after the marriage. It is referred to as a
declaration of nullity as the law presumes that the
marriage is void from the beginning and thus needs
a formal declaration that it is indeed void.

ART. 36. DECLARATION OF NULLITY

This concept of psychological incapacity is


not new to us as it is based on canon law. It
does not relate to a persons mental capacity
or physical condition, but relates rather to
some psychological disorder that renders the
person unable to comply with the essential
obligations if marriage for example, the
conjugal act, the community of life and love,
mutual help, procreation, rearing and
education of children, and does not refer to
isolated idiosyncrasies

Under the precedentsetting case of


Republic of the Philippines vs. Molina
This incapacity must be, among others:

Grave enough to bring about an inability to


assume the essential obligations of marriage
Incurable or permanent
Present at the time of the marriage even if its
effects became manifest after the marriage
Medically or clinically identified and proven by
experts

CONCLUSION
SEMPER PREAESUMITUR PRO
MATRIMONIO

Thank you very much.

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