MARRIAGE LAWS IN THE PHILIPPINES

1
MARRIAGE LAWS IN THE PHILIPPINES

• By
• Atty. Gaby Concepcion

2
SEMPER PRAESUMITUR PRO MATRIMONIO(The
presumption is always in favor of the validity of
marriage)
3
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  or rescinded by the parties upon mutual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.

4
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.

5
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)

6
Examples of void marriages arising from an
absence of an essential requisiteAbsence 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?

7
Examples of void marriages arising from an
absence of an essential requisiteAbsence 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

8
Absence of consent

• A marriage in jest
• A theatrical marriage

9
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)

10
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)

11
The following marriages are considered valid

• Between brother-in-law and sister-in-law
• Between stepbrother and stepsister
• Between the adopted child and the illegitimate
  child of the adopter
• Between the adopted child of the husband and
  adopted child of the wife.)

12
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

13
Formal requisites of marriage under the Family
Code

• Authority of the solemnizing officer
• 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

14
Under Art. 7 of the Family code, the following
are the persons authorized to solemnize
marriages

• 1. 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

15
Under Art. 7 of the Family code, the following
are the persons authorized to solemnize
marriages

• 4. 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)
• 5. Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul
  (only for marriages abroad between Filipinos)
• 6. A mayor (pursuant to the Local Government Code)

16
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.

17
MARRIAGE CEREMONY

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

18
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) -

19
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)

20
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)

21
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)

22
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

23
Sample Administrative Cases of the Supreme Court

• Aranes vs. Judge Occiano (A.M . No. MTS-02-1390,
  11 April 2002)
• Moreno v. Judge Bernabe (A.M. No. MTJ-94-963, 14
  July 1995)
• Cosca et al. vs. Palaypayon (A.M. No. MTJ-92-721,
  30 September 1994)
• NAVARRO VS. DOMOGTOY (A.M. No. MTJ-96-1088, 19
  July 1996)

24
VOID AND VOIDABLE MARRIAGES/ ANNULMENT VERSUS
DECLARATION OF NULLITY.
25
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)

26
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

27
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.

28
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.

29
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. AIDS).

30
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.

31
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 co-ownership.

32
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.

33
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.

34
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

35
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

36
CONCLUSION

• SEMPER PREAESUMITUR PRO MATRIMONIO
• Thank you very much.