Divorce and Annulment in the Philippines

Some Filipinos want and do get married outside the Philippines. There’s nothing really strange with this, except when they say that the reason is for convenience in getting a divorce abroad. This is strange for two main reasons:

1. Divorce is not recognized under Philippine laws. If you’re a Filipino, it doesn’t matter where you get a divorce – such divorce is invalid/void in the Philippines. This is because under the nationality principle (Art. 15, Civil Code), all Filipinos – where they may be in the world - are bound by Philippine laws on family rights and duties, status, condition, and legal capacity. Yes, folks, you can run, but you can’t hide.Nevertheless, divorce decrees secured outside the Philippines are recognized in certain instances. This is provided in Article 26 (Paragraph 2) of the Family Code, which reads in full:

ART. 26. All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under Articles 35(1), (4), (5) and (6), 36, 37 and 38.

Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law.

The twin elements for the application of this provision are:

1. There is a valid marriage that has been celebrated between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner; and

2. A valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry.

At first glance, Article 26 seems to apply only to a marriage between a Filipino and a foreigner. This was raised by a respected commentator in family law, Justice Sempio-Diy, who noted that Art. 26 does not apply:

…to a divorce obtained by a former Filipino who had been naturalized in another country after his naturalization, as it might open the door to rich Filipinos’ obtaining naturalization abroad for no other reason than to be able to divorce their Filipino spouse (Handbook on the Family Code of the Philippines, 1995 Ed., p. 30).

However, this provision was later interpreted by the Supreme Court to include cases involving parties who, at the time of the celebration of the marriage were Filipino citizens, but later on, one of them becomes naturalized as a foreign citizen and obtains a divorce decree. The reckoning point is not the citizenship of the parties at the time of marriage, but their citizenship at the time a valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating the latter to remarry. (Philippines vs. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, 5 October 2005).

2. Marriage is supposed to be forever. From an idealistic non-legal standpoint, the sole reason for marriage should be love; the kind of love that transcends time and withstands any impediments that life throws our way. From a legal perspective, on the other hand, no less than the Philippine Constitution (Art. XV, Sec. 2) and the Family Code (Art. 1) expressly characterize marriage as the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution. The law states that it is a special contract of a permanent union between a man and a woman (sorry, same sex marriage is not yet recognized in the Philippines). It is inviolable. It is permanent. In short, you don’t think of divorce when you get married.

You may also want to read these related posts:

Legal Dynamics: Citizenship and Divorce by Atty. Fred on August 22nd, 2006

Rule on Legal Separation by Atty. Fred on April 19th, 2007

Steps and Procedure in Annulment and Declaration of Nullity of Marriage by Atty. Fred on September 30th, 2006

81 Responses to “Divorce and Annulment in the Philippines”


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  1. 40 melissa Apr 2nd, 2007 at 5:08 am

    hi im melissa im an american citizen… im half filipino half american.. im 21 yrs.old…i was married wen i was 18 to a filipino citezen.. we got married in the philippines… and im here in the states.. i dont want to petition him cause i found out he was using me to come here in america…what’s sad is we have a child together.. i want to divorce him??but how? cause we got married in the philippines.. and he’s in the philippines… would they consider divorce or annulment???plz help me! salamat

  2. 39 keysey Mar 29th, 2007 at 8:23 am

    Hi i am a UK citizen that got married in the Philippines to a Filipino but it was a huge mistake so is there anyway i can get divorced via the UK and sometime in the future get Married again to another Filipino?

  3. 38 Atty.Fred Mar 28th, 2007 at 1:34 am

    Magdalena, yes, there’s a chance that it will be opposed by the OSG, and there are many cases opposed by OSG. Just pray your case is not one of them =)

  4. 37 magdalena_katorse Mar 28th, 2007 at 1:05 am

    hi attrny fred
    i found out wala pa pala finallity ung decision ko so dadalin palang pala nila ung decision sa osg… is there any chance po ba na ma oppose ung decision? marami po bang ganong case from osg?

  5. 36 Atty. Fred Mar 23rd, 2007 at 1:32 am

    Magdalena, congrats. There’s a “waiting” period. I trust that you will find the answers in another post in this blog - Steps and Procedure on Annulment and Declaration of Nullity of Marriage (click here).

    There may be related posts. Please use the “Search Function” or the “Related Posts” portion, both at the right sidebar. Happy hunting.

  6. 35 magdalena_katorse Mar 23rd, 2007 at 12:27 am

    hi attrny fred atlast my decision finally came out,but i dont know what steps i have to do coz i only have the decision.my lawyer told me its up to me to decide if gusto ko pa ituloy sa kanila,i was shocked coz ano un? kesyo need pa daw sa solgen etc,so it means nde pa ba iyon ang final decision? need to wait daw bago ko i pa register where i get married and sa nso,pls help me again attrny.thanks

  7. 34 Atty. Fred Mar 20th, 2007 at 5:32 am

    Lara, please read this article on “Annulment, Divorce and Legal Separation in the Philippnes: Questions and Answers“. Good luck.

  8. 33 lara espadero Mar 19th, 2007 at 10:12 am

    I am in search of information of annulmant. I have received a letter back from the NSO in Manila that states no marriage can be found between myself and my husband.I also checked with my local LCRO with same results..no marriage can be found. Next I checked with the Church I was married in and the records had been removed by my mother in law and never returned..Can and should I continue too persue an annulment if there is no proff of marriage. What should I do..
    Lara

  9. 32 Atty. Fred Mar 19th, 2007 at 10:11 am

    You’re always entitled to change your lawyer. I can’t, however, comment on whether you can recover whatever you paid. You may or you may not, depending on the circumstances.

  10. 31 magdalena_katorse Mar 14th, 2007 at 7:27 am

    gusto ko na po sana i withdraw ung case ko sa kanya kc wala naman po sya ginagawa 1 year na po ung case ko still wala pang decision…is there any possibilities na i widrow ko ung case at makabawi man lang ako sa pera na nabayad ko? na sa kanya na lahat ang pera fully paid pero dapat sa contract na pinirmahan namin makuha nya rest na pera after the decision

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