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.
After complying with the procedure in having the foreign decree of divorce judicially recognized (through a court action) here in the Philippines, the Filipino spouse may validly 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.
History of Article 26, Family Code:
6 July 1987: President Corazon Aquino signed Executive Order No. 209, otherwise known as the “Family Code.” The law, which took effect on 3 August 1988, reads:
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, 37, and 38.
17 July 1987: Executive Order No. 227 was signed into law, amending Article 26 of the Family Code, among others. Article 26 now reads:
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.
i’d like to ask if filing for an annulment case will be of help after a couple has been charged of bigamy? what will be the sentence or decision of the ombudsman and the sandigan bayan if the one accused of bigamy is a public official?
your question is quite vague. kindly provide more details.
Jean,
There’s a prohibition (sub judice rule) against making comments on the merits of pending cases. I assume that the case you are referring to is pending, so it’s better to take the safer side and refrain from discussing its finer details. There’s really a fine distinction, but, as mentioned, it’s better to be safe.
Nevertheless, I’d like to refer you the article “Effect of Annulment in a Criminal Case for Bigamy”.
thank you very much for giving time to make a reply sir fred… God bless.
You’re welcome, Jean.
i want to ask about marriage and annilment and this is the case:
A man who is previously married to a woman in the Phils but their marriage seems to be void because the woman was also married before but then filed and was granted a divorse in US. The man was denied in the US embassy and cannot be petition by his wife and so after sometime they parted ways.
Now the man wants to marry his current girl but is confused if he was legally married in the Phils. Does he still have to file an annulment first to the former marriage before contracting second marriage? If yes, what are the procedures and how long will it take?
Jennifer,
There are further questions that must be asked before your query can be properly answered, and it is strongly suggested that you secure this from a retained counsel, as legal advice is not dispensed here.
That being said, in general, a previous marriage, even if null and void, must be declared as such by the courts BEFORE either parties could validly contract a subsequent marriage. You may find the following articles relevant to your concerns:
1. Citizenship and Divorce (click here).
2. Steps for annulment (click here).
3. Effect of Annulment in a Criminal Case for Bigamy (click here).
Hope the foregoing helps.
hi,
I’m filipina married to a french national and we are living in HK. My husband wants to file a divorce..his reason is incompatibility. We were married both in France(civil) and in Phils(church). My question is if my husband initiate the divorce will it be recognized in Phils.? As soon as we have the final decision, do i need to send copy to NSO or to Phil. Consulate here in HK so the divorce will take effect? Please enlighten me on this. Thank you.
Cbuana,
Kindly revisit the Orbecido case (click the link provided in the article above). In said case, the Supreme Court noted that before a foreign divorce decree can be recognized by our own courts, the party pleading it must prove, among others, the divorce as a fact and demonstrate its conformity to the foreign law allowing it. Such foreign law must also be proved as our courts cannot take judicial notice of foreign laws. Otherwise, according to the Supreme Court, there would be no evidence sufficient to declare that he is capacitated to enter into another marriage.
The Supreme Court also noted that the petition for authority to remarry filed before the trial court actually constituted a petition for declaratory relief.
I hope this helps.
thank you so much for the fast reply.
how can i file an annulment to my wife? we have no kids and we are separated almost a year now. i need some answers and i need your advice.she always reminds me to file an annulment,we usually argue on financial matters. thanx
hi,
im a filipina, and but separated for more than 8 yrs now.but with no communication eventhough we have a daughter, 13 yrs old now. we didn’t get any financial support from the day he left..in short, it’s life he has abandoned us. we never change address and telephone no.i have a bf now, a us citizen but filipino . we want to make our relationship legal. is it possible for me to declare my ex husband as dead or presumed dead? so that i won’t be needing to file an annulment and get married soon?? pls give me an advice..thanks in advance..
Ian Boy/Venus,
Please read the “Terms” – no legal advice is given in this site.
Nevertheless, the fact of separation or abandonment – no matter how long – is not a gound for annulment. At most, abandonment may only be a ground for legal separation. When you talk to your lawyer, he/she will be better able to discuss the grounds for annulment and decide on the ground/s to invoke based on the facts you tell him/her (or if there’s no basis).
As to presumtive death, this topic will be discussed in a new post.
ei, i would like to inquire how a divorce decree can be recognized here in the Phils. what steps do i have to take for the divorce to be recognized? is filing with the NSO enough or do i have to file for a declaratory relief? do i still have to retain the services of the attorney abroad who fixed the divorce or can everything be done here? as a non-bar person, what can i do? i’m sorry for all the questions but your help will be very much appreciated… thank you so much…
A declaratory relief is needed. You don’t have to retain the services of your foreigner-attorney, but you have to discuss the requirements with your lawyer here in the Philippines. He can tell you what documents are needed to be presented in court.
hi atty fred,
i have an ongoing annulment case. i cane across the comelec list of voters in the internet and found out that the other woman is now using my husband’s surname. i am trying to find out if they were officially married.
my husband converted to islam when he decided to have another woman. we were both catholics when we got married. granting that he is now a muslim and should i find out that they got married, can i file for bigamy?
In my case, I am a filipino citizen leaving in US, I filed for a divorce here in US. My husband is a Filipino but naturalized as a US citizen since 1970 or so. He is still a US citizen. He went back to the Phils in 1999 and I filed for a divorce in 2004, does that mean that we are not legally divorce? or we are still married per say to each other even though my divorce was final and was sent to him.
After the divorce decree, he remarried. Am i still a married woman? and he is still my husband legally? I am confused. what is the status of both of us after the divorce decree since divorce is not valid in the Phils.
Blu2luv, if you’ve gone through this article, as well as the related topics in this site, you’ll note that Article 26 of the Family Code is clear that the exception applies only when the foreigner-spouse (or the former Filipino spouse) secures the divorce. Still, this is not a legal advice; we’re not allowed to give any in this Forum. Good luck.
Atty. Fred,
i was just so confused cause i was married to a filipino before i married to a US citizen. i was married to filipino with a different spelling of my name and the middle initial. then i was married to a US citizen in my real birth name. i didnt get any papers from NSO that i was married before so when i filed a Proof of singleness, i got one that says that I was never been married. so me and the US citizen got married in the philippines with the judge. so now my american husband he lied to everybody he used my past as his ground for filing a divorce cause he just said that i was just used him he told everybody that im still married in the Philippines he said i have a secret to him its very hurting but i know he can do everything what he want cause he said hes gonna use all his power and now he got the paper that saying that i was married in the philippines before him i just wondering how he got it cause i went to NSO so many times to get my own papers but i never got one. Yes, he got one but its just different spelling of my name. so i just wanted to know if this is still acceptable or just the same when it comes to legal matters cause i have all my original papers that we’r married and the original proof of singleness and i also got the receipts of all the papers i got from NSO cause he said all are coin jobs. plsss help me. thank you
eiruj03, here’s my dilemma. In order to effectively address your concerns, I have to ask some questions. However, I can’t go analyzing your problem, asking more questions and giving an opinion – we’re prohibited from doing so. I really hope you understand.
Atty. Fred,
Yes, I really understood. But i just really need answers for that questions. i was just really confused, i hope i could find answers for that. hoping to hear from you soon. have a good day
Eiruj, I also hope that you’ll find your answers. Anyway, I also know someone who has two set of records (birth certificate) with the NSO; the only difference is the spelling of her name (well, plus the date when the registration docs were prepared and the name of the person who caused the registration). There’s a no-fault divorce in the U.S., so it may not be necessary to dig deeper into the previous status of a person. In other words, I guess your concern is not really limited to divorce, and that’s precisely why we can’t go further.
Sir i am married under the civil law here in the philippines but my husband is a muslim convert after we got married and now he petition for divorce and it’s already granted by the shari’a law and when i asked a copy of our marriage contract at the NSO office there is annotation already that it severed terminated is it mean i am single?
debbie
Atty. Fred,
Thanks for your reply i appreciate that and hopefully you wont get tired to reply all my messages and questions, you really help me a lot. Anyway, my ex-husband went to the court and annulled our marriage but i wasn’t there cause i have no idea that i have a court hearing so my bono attorney didnt inform me about it. so is there any chance that i could contest it to the court? cause all my papers are really original from NSO and still got the original receipt for it? thanks for your effort for helping me. God bless you.
Debbieh, as a rule, a record of the divorce with the NSO means that the parties are no longer married. However, please don’t take this as automatically applicable to your case. I’m not really too familiar with Muslim laws, although I understand that the Code of “Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines”, as far as marriage and divorce are concerned, applies where both parties are Muslim (or the male is Muslim) and the marriage is solemnized in accordance with Muslim law. Even for marriages solemnized under the Family Code, and not under Muslim laws, an annulment or declaration of nullity requires, among others, the partition and distribution of the properties (in case of non-compliance, the subsequent marriage is null and void). Maybe we’ll have subsequent articles on this matter.
Eiruj, kindly consult first with the lawyer (even if pro bono) who handled your case. Ask him/her what happened. Good luck.
i filed my annulment last feb 2006 my lawyer asked me for 150 thousand pesos and he said he need half of the price to manage everything but since i work in china he asked for 100 thou as initial deposit and he signed the contract that he get 100 thou from me…and in that contract he says im going to pay the remaining balance when the i get the decision of the court but starting nov 2006 he asked for the rest of the money which in the contract he can only get it when i have the decision but he said he need it to facilitate my case….i dont have choice i still give him the money and he said the 150 thou is not really enough is that true? i gave the rest of the money last jan 2007 and he the decision will be end of feb but upto now i still dont have it they his a lier!and now he still keep on telling me lies is the any chance i can sue my lawyer?
Magdalena, I’m sorry to hear about your predicament. This is something that you should be discussing with him pursuant to the high level of trust that’s required in the attorney-client relationship. I strongly recommend that you talk to him first and ask for an explanation for the delay and the need for additional funds. Settle this matter among yourselves before even thinking of bringing in others into the picture. Good luck and God bless.
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
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.
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
Lara, please read this article on “Annulment, Divorce and Legal Separation in the Philippnes: Questions and Answers“. Good luck.
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
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.
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?
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 =)
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?
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
you have to file a petition here in P.I…
Is being an alcoholism a ground for legal separation.
Alcoholism means when he cannot stop drinking until he fall asleep in the chair where he is drinking and he sometimes exhibit maliciously when he is drunk
Atty Fred,
Thank you so much for your reply on my March 1st email blog to you. Now I know that after reading all the articles, I am still considered a married woman under Philippines Law since I am a Filipino citizen, and I was the one who filed for a divorce here in US. He remarried there after he got the divorce decree that was mailed to him by my lawyer here in US. After that I was told by his woman that he got a legal capacity from the US embassy to get married, does that mean that his marriage is not valid? “void” after all? if so, it means that whatever property he had accumulated during our 23 years of married life , my adult children are also heirs and I have rights on everything. Sadly, but my husband died in July 2006. The problem is that the other woman he married is trying to claim what she wants and is asking us to accept what she wants to give us as a settlement per her text via cell phone. I am still confuse. Should I get my own lawyer there in the Philippines or here…i know that legal advise is not allowed. I just want a little knowledge on when and where to start if I pursue. thank you again!
Melissa, what exactly is half-Fil, half American?
Leo, yes, habitual alcoholism is a ground for legal separation. Read the related article (in the future, please use search function at the right side bar…the answers might just be in related posts). Or just click here.
blu2luv, I strongly suggest you hire a lawyer. If the properties are here in the Phils., you hire a Filipino lawyer.
Good luck to everyone.
I’m planning to file an annulment case against my wife for reason of insanity (extreme jealousy/OTHELLO SYNDROME. I have the pshychological evaluation from a doctor to prove my case. The problem is that I dont want this case to hinder my wifes future plan to migrate to the U.S.A as a nurse. Will this case in any way affect her immigration application? what other option do i have?
my husband stayed in other country with another woman who refused to be seperated from him tried to kill herself then recently she came home here in the philippines and is now 7 months pregnant,she is sending me threats and making messages to disturb me even pictures ,is there a case i can file agaisnt her..since she told me that i cant do anything and i saved all her text messages and all the pictures and letters she sentme.can this be enough as evidence?and she wants to go back to where my husband is,can i file a hold departure order also ?where?is NBI can assist me?thanks
Atty. Fred,
I am just waiting for the decree of our annuled marriage, the entry of judgment was even registered with NSO and with certification that my marriage was declared absolute nullity. Can i get a marriage lisence at this time for my civil wedding with my fiance?
Josie, an entry of judgment is done after the period to file an appeal had lapsed (but there are steps that should still be done after this…as you may have read from the related post that I pointed to). If the decree of annulment is already registered with the Civil Registry where the marriage was registered, the Civil Registry of the place where the court is situated, and in the National Census and Statistics Office, then you should be no problem in securing the marriage license.
Atty. Fred , as I had read and what i understand in that article 26 in Family code , is that upon a foreign obtained a divorce decree in his country and proven that he is not a filipino citizen at the time the divorce decree obtained , me here in the philippines has the capacity of remarry too. I have gone to NSO and they asking me to go the lower court to apply for the ” RECOGNITION AND ENFORCEMENT OF FOREIGN JUDGEMENT ” my question is why we have the law in the family code where we dont apply it here in the philippines ? and If my divorce dated on SEPTEMBER 27,2006 is not yet recognized here in the philippines and I got married last JANUARY 30,2007 and im working now in the recognition of my divorce here does it mean my marriage last January is not valid ? PLs help Im really confused with this conflict of law. tnx .
It makes me extremely sad reading some of the posts on this site. I am a foreigner (a UK citizen) and have a fiancée who is a Filipina, I had thought that our problems might be quite rare but it seems that there is a great deal of pain and misery being caused by the requirements of your legal system to all and sundry.
Having been bought up in the Catholic faith I do understand the “marriage is forever” issue in the Philippines however from a practical point of view it just seems to create a great deal of unhappiness and pain to the parties involved.
My situation is that my partner was married, aged 21, 12 years ago in Manila in a civil ceremony to a Korean citizen. She went to live in Korea with her husband whereupon she found herself treated as a housemaid by her new family. The man was a gambler and the marriage fell apart within 2 months.
Through Nakakahiya my partner did not want to let anyone at home know how badly wrong things had gone so she kept it to herself but in short order she managed to find work in Korea and spent the next four years sending money home to her family in Manila.
The husband sought a divorce after about 6 months and my partner agreed on the grounds that she mistakenly thought that he could get her Korean citizenship.
To cut a long story short, he got the divorce he wanted, my partner ended up losing her Filipino citizenship, basically she is stateless now.
She illegally overstayed on her Korean visa and the one year work permit that he helped her, get however she returned to the Philippines after 4 years on an amnesty for overstays.
While abroad she was a good girl who sent lots of money back to help her family but much of the help was squandered by the people back home and all her investments came to nothing (she did not really have enough capital or enough experience to manage it)
So here we are 12 years later and my partner has been back in Manila for the last 8 years. She is now stateless; trying to fix that has been a nightmare for us. She is divorced and has Korean divorce papers but reading this forum it looks like we will have loads of extra work to do before we can be sure it is safe to marry.
Our lawyer has turned out to be useless; he has gone back on the terms of our agreed contract and made us pay extra for the citizenship case. (I doubt that he knew how to deal with our case in the first place).
On reading this forum I can now see that even if we eventually get my partners citizenship and passport back and I marry her in the UK (because I cannot currently get her out of the Philippines due to her being stateless) that we will still have long term problems having the new marriage recognised in the Philippines.
So although we will be a married couple, I will still required to go through all the visa regulations every x number of months to allow me to stay in the Philippines as our UK marriage will not be recognised by your judicial system and my partner will still be considered married to the Korean that she has not seen for 11 years in spite of her divorce.
I love my partner and I will do anything to fix her life, she has had so many bad things happen in her life and she deserves a chance of some happiness as she is a good person at heart.
I also love your country and I love the people but I get so depressed trying to deal with your legal system.
We are both naturalised citizen of uk, my partner is married to a filipino citizen (that’s before his naturalised citizenzhip) and have been separated for 5 years now.Just wondering, now that were both citizens of a different country does it mean that he can remarry here?!
hi atty. fred! i’m a fil. citizen, got married here in the philippines to a filipino who is an american citizen since birth. after 2 years of marriage he filed for divorce in the US (i am here in the phils). last year, i received a notice of entry of judgement. does this mean the divorce was already granted? if so, is this recognized here in the country since he is an american citizen? or do i have to file for an annulment? i hope you could reply. would greatly appreciate it. thanks so much!
This is the situtation:
Woman A and Man A had a daughter even before they got married. Within their two years of marriage Woman A had an affair with Man B and decided to leave her husband (Man A), and took their daughter. Finally both parties sorted to separate physically. Until now Woman A is still with Man B.
The question is:
Man A wants to file for annulment. What would be the possible grounds for this case?
Jim, I’m sorry to hear about your experience, as well as that of your partner. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I sense that you still believe in doing something about your “situation” and that something could still be done to make it right. The Philippine legal system is far from perfect, but I’m confident there are remedies to your predicament. Good luck.
Juliet, my problem is the fact that you said he is Filipino. Anyway, I believe that your question, just like the question of Jane, is addressed in the article.
Juliet/Irene/Jane, I think your concerns are sufficiently addressed in the article. You could also read the related article: “Questions and Answers” (click here).
Sweetest, if you read the other posts, sexual infidelity, by itself, is only a ground for legal separation – not annulment. Perhaps you could discuss with your lawyer, because he/she could ask you questions that may relate to other grounds.
Atty, Fred, thanks for your reply, yes I do still believe it can be fixed and I will keep going until it is one way or another.
The first step will be to fire the current lawyer, my fault for agreeing to use him in the first place as it was pretty clear that he had no expertise in this area but my partner trusted him and I had little experience with your legal system at the time.
Actually there has been a recent development as our petition to the court was put in abeyance until such times as we could prove that my partner definitley did not hold Korean citizenship. My heart sank when I heard that as proving a negative is not that easy
, however my partner has now been to the Korean embassy and low and behold they have her registered as a Korean citizen 
would have been nice if our laywer had been smart enough to check this out a couple of years ago 
So now she is effectivley an illegal alien in the Philippines…
We really need GOOD advice from somewhere. We have already had a petition to the OSG Special Commitee on Naturalization rejected because she was stateless and had explicitly renounced her citizenship, now as a result of the current petition to the court and the courts questions we find out she is Korean, so maybe the repatriation law for women in her position does apply after all, I just don’t know.
It turns out that if we can get her a Korean passport that we would have significantly less trouble getting her into the UK as South Korean citizens do not require a Visa to visit the UK, whereas Filipino citizens require a sponsor and loads of proof from the sponsor that the sponsor can provide a place to live and is financially secure enough to look after the visitor.
Tourist Visa for the UK…? if you are a poor Filipino forget it
I’ve gotten off the plane in Amsterdam before, on my way home, and been horribly embarrased at the way the Filipinos on the flight were treated. Do you know that sometimes they have passport checks at the end of the disembarkation tunnel..? If you are white or from a rich country you sail straight through, if you come from a poor country you get the third degree
I know why they do it but I really don’t like the discrimination.
So back to the point, I need to employ a good lawyer that specializes in this type of work. A short term solution might be for my partner to take up her Korean nationality get a Korean passport and for us to accept that she cannot own property in the Phils and so on and I suppose she would have to get an ACR and report every 59 days to the immigration authorities etc. At least I could get her to the UK, however we have another problem and that is how do we get our 18th month old wee boy James, who is a Filipino, over to the UK as well.
I suppose life would be very very boring if we did not have trials to overcome
Ah well, back to the research
Cheers
Jim
I have a question how do you file the paperwork for a article 26. My fiance was married to a foreigner and he divorced her in his country what does she need to do to file the paperwork in the filipines?
Atty Fred,
I am legally annulled to my husband whom i discovered bigamous. While my annulment was in court and while waiting for the decision of my annulment i file to get passport using my maiden name and i attached copy of on going annulment and bigamy court proceeding on my application for passport.
My annulment was approved in November 2003. I am getting married again here in America and I wanted to get a copy of my annulment from the solicitor general office in Makati. Can i do it on line? If yes, can you tell me how? If not… Can i ask you to please give me the number of the office of the solicitor general in makati so i can talk to any in the solicitor general office and request any of them to email to me a copy of my annulment.
Thank you in advance for the help.
Jim, it’s always disturbing to hear about negative treatment experienced by Filipinos abroad, but there are also bright spots and positive stories. There’s always a balance, and we always hope for the best. Thank you for your concern for a fellow Filipino, er, former Filipino. Anyway, I suggest you read another article in this site, it may help you in your research. Let me know if I could be of help. Good luck. Here’s the article –
https://jlp-law.com/blog/retention-re-acquisition-philippine-citizenship-9225/
Patrick, just file the proper case in court here in the Philippines. It’s relatively simple. Your lawyer will know the procedure.
Collin, I guess you know what court (location, branch) your petition was filed here in the Philippines. You could get the documents from that particular court. (You could help me in praying that the government push harder in expediting its current effort to enable online transactions).
pinksoda5029
I just wanna ask on how much to file an annulment if i do it.my husband and i are separated for morethan 2 yrs he didnt support us and he has lots of girls. i want to get an annulment, i wanna be free from him. hope atty fred can advise me what to do. thanks!
Dear Atty,
Good day. My friend who applied for annulment in 2003 due to the fact that the marriage was considered null and void due to her husband was still married during that time. Her lawyer said that the court already granted a favorable decision on her behalf last 2004. But until date, her lawyer said that her case is with the Solicitor General whether they will file for a motion for reconsideration or not. You mentioned that the Solicitor General have 15 days to file for a motion of reconsideration. If that is so, what documentions can she ask from her lawyer to prove his claims? Can she ask why the lawyer said that from 2004 the case is already with the Solicitor General and until date they have not filed a motion? Is it possible for her to ask for a copy of the court decision? If the grounds for annulment is due to nullity of marriage, what would be the grounds for the Solicitor General have to contest the decision of the court?
Thank you very much
Atty, is a court decision valid for my friend to remarry even the case is still with the Solicitor General for reconsideration? what would be the possible reason for her atty to say that the case is with the Solicitor General for the past 3 years? Is there a possibility that the Solicitor General already filed for reconsideration without their knowledge?
Pinksoda, the amount needed in pursuing a case for annulment varies (maybe you need at least PhP50,000, on the average). You don’t have to pay for professional services if you’re accepted in free legal aids or clinics.
Kakay, maybe it’s just a matter of miscommunication (i.e., the motion for reconsideration is still pending resolution, or whatever reason). Bottomline – this is something that should be discussed with her lawyer. She is entitled to get a copy of the decision or whatever documents related to the case.
Atty Fred,
I am 17 yrs separated to my ex Japanesse, one week after the marriage that we were together he went back to Japan because of his work, knowing as we planned I was to follow him there within 2 months as I was waiting for Immigration to approve my visa.
During that time I was suprised to recieve a phone call from him saying that he is no longer waiting for me as he had heard that in the Philippines papers are often fabricated for a cost, which he told me that the marriage is not legal, no matter that I told him the marriage is legal but if he did not want to be married to me anymore then he can do the right thing for me and come back to the Philippines and get an annulment so that I can be free to get on with my life and if later on I find someone special then I will be free to marry again, as I think that is the least you can do for me.
His response was its up to me as he is not interested and it doesn’t affect him since the marriage is not registered in his country, and with that he hung up the phone.
After sometime when I had calmed down from the shock of his treatment to the marriage i decided to try and talk to him again, but only to find out the phone number no longer existed, and he had moved. So after many months of trying to track him down without success I became so disillusioned that I gave up trying to find him.
The reason it is effecting me now is because I have met someone whom I want to spend the rest of my life with and as he lives in another country but has put his life on hold to come to live with me for 1 year as his Immigration states that the least you can have to move to his country is living together and marry within the 9 months the visa is given.
So as you can see after getting married and actually only being together for only one week under the same roof before he went back to Japan it has been a hefty price I have paid for the last 17 years and even more so now as I have finally a chance at true love and happiness which I think I am entitled to now.
Now my question is if I will file for abandonment which I have been adviced to do since it was him that left me, will I still get the same entitlement as an annulment would? meaning will it show the like to an immigration department that I am now single and free to marry as I need this to show so that I can go and marry my partner in his country?
Thank you for any helpful information you can give me as well as an estimate of how much will it cost for an abadonment, aswell as the cost of an annulment if need to be done that way.
Again thank you very much, hoping for your reply.
Yours Sincerely,
Dana Melissa
Danna Melissa,
I’m sorry to hear about your predicament. Abandonment is a ground for legal separation, not annulment. Even if the petition for legal separation is granted, the petitioner CANNOT remarry because the marital tie is still legally existent.
Atty. Fred,
Me and my boyfriend plan to go to US that time.After submitting all the requirements ,the papers was approved. Since both of us are nurses,my boyfriend told me that its better and easier for us to process the papers if we are married plus i dont need to take any examination anymore if he can take me. Well, I am not really sure even ready for that…I dont have any plan either to marry him.My parents doesnt like him and keep on telling me that they dont trust him.It takes months before I agree with one condition.He told me that we will just present the paper that we are marriage but he wont submit it in the Census Office.Its my eagerness to go to US I agree to do the ceremony last Nov. 2003 in Manila City Hall.No one in my family knows about it..only his friend who stand as a witness & the other guy. For sure the person who did the ceremony is not a judge ,my boyfriend just told me he is allowed to do it.My boyfriend arrange everything,since I dont know anything in Manila.I grow up in a province.We never been together after the marriage.I still stayed and live with my parents and we just see each other in work and off work.After one month my papers was approved in UK.I left Philippines 15 of January 2004.
That time my fear start ; he keep calling me 20 or more a day. I realize how jealous and crazy he is.He start disturbing me at night and even in my work.He start accusing me that I am with somebody here. He even send e mail to my employer about me and telling them to send me home because I am not safe here. I am just lucky that my employer is good.After they received several e mails they inform and talk to me. After all this embarrassment and burden i start hating and getting angry to him.I start to ignore all his calls and after a month of silence he called me oneday informing me that the thruth is he submit the papers to the Census and he is sending me the copy.I really dont know what to do that time…My whole world just collapse because of my stupidity.I keep on working blaming my self everyday of my life…but life must go on. Its been months after I recieved a call again from him telling me he is in New York now.He filled a petition for me and he even change my surname to his surname.I did not change anything in my status since everything is fast forward.After our last conversation I told him to stop bothering me..and I want to cut any connection between us.He said its okey and he said he already consulted a lawyer to fix it. We never see each other for almost three years and a half now.I really dont know whats going on on his mind.For sure I want to clear my status.
Can I file an annulment ? I never consulted any lawyer about this.But I think I am ready now to face it after this years. Can you please adviced me.
Thank you very much for the time.
Regards,
Tiffany
Tiffany, first off, I have to say that legal advice is not dispensed here. I have to repeatedly apologize for this (and I hope you understand), as we’re prohibited from doing so.
In general, a marriage is valid as long as the requisites are present and, more importanly, presumed to be valid. The number of years that the spouses are not together is not a ground for annulment. Lack of consent is also a ground, but proving it is easier said than done.
You should not blame yourself for this situation, because blame gets you nowhere. You’re correct that you must move on. Of course, a married person who wants to get our of a bad marriage can always file a petition for annulment or for the declaration of nullity of marriage, but whether or not the grounds invoked are sufficient is an entirely different matter. Your lawyer can best tell you what’s the ground for annulment (or declaration of nullity) best suited to your situation (and if such ground would most likely be sufficient to secure a favorable judgment from the court). Bottom line is, consult your lawyer, as you would need him/her anyway when the petition is filed.
Atty. Fred,
My dad is in the US for years now. My parents never legally separated but my dad just left to work abroad. Now, my mom received divorce papers which is signed by my dad but not his lawyer. He’s pressuring my mom to sign it. Does she need to sign it for the divorce to be effective? I think my dad is became naturalized but he never admitted it to us. We even received another court document saying that my mom needs to reply within 30 days or else she’ll get sued! This is just ridiculous… Is this valid?
Atty. Fred,
Im a filipina 33 years old. married in foreigner muslim since 1994 in Manila.We have 3kids.But after 6years of our married we got problems and decided to divorce.but i really dont know where and how to start.maybe i need an atty.who proctice divorce law? but i dont know were to find…
please i really need your help and advice. thank you… God bless…
Suzanne, the procedure is properly the subject of the proper state law, wherever the proceedings for divorce was filed in the U.S.
hi sir. good day. i’m karen 24 yrs old. presently working in kuwait. i got married sept 2001 at the age of 18. after a year his mom took my husband here in kuwait to work. first year was ok sending text messages everyday, calling. but after a year everything change. communicating only after 2 -3 months and eventually we had lost our communication for almost 6 months. then something happened, his mom called me and told me that he was caught by policeman for illegal drugs and ask me if i wanted to see him here.( he stayed here for more than 3 yrs before i came, but they only took me when he is already in prison) so i came here oct 2005 and decided to work while waiting for courts decision. he was sentenced to 5 yrs imprisonment on illegal drugs. luckily after almost 2yrs of imprisonment he was pardoned and sent back to philippines. we communicate through phone and things are entirely different now and we are having a lot of difficulties understanding each other. his attitude is somewhat different from what i had known him before. saying bad things if im not able to send money inside the prison, telling crazy things and accusations. with the mother in law doing certain things that is really against my will. it was last january when we decided to be on a separate ways, though we haven’t talk in person since we never had a chance here. we’re in good terms now. he’s back in the philippines. i have found a new muslim foreign partner in life recently and offering me a marriage. i just wanna know atty if its posible for me to remarry again? and can i file annulment here in kuwait? i heard his mom is planning to take him here on december, will it be easier if we’re both here? thank you so much. pls help me. ..
Karen,
Petitions for annulment between Filipinos, or those initiated by the Filipino spouse (in a marriage between a Filipino and a foreigner) may only be filed here in the Philippines. Good luck and God bless.
Atty Fred,
good day! if a foreigner marries a filipina here in the philippines and then files a divorce in the US, is he still allowed to marry again here in the philippines to another filipina? and is the 2nd marriage recognized valid under philippine laws?
thanks to so atty!
-robbie
hi!
I got married 10 years ago and been separated for 8 1/2 yrs. I would like to file an annulment only to find out that he is now out of the country. But his parents still leaves at the same address. My question is how is this going to affect the process of annulment?
Hello Good Day,
I`m new here and i`m here to find the answers of the question I have for a year now.I was married with a foreigner way back June 8, 2005 here in Cebu,Philippines.He stop supporting me and he don`t email me for a year now.I found out with some sources that his into 4 civil cases in the US and found also his out of financial support.I want to know what Legal steps I need to do.
Thanks..
Does anyone know the outcome of Blu2luv? I am wondering about the situation were the filipino is shown as filing the divorce with the foreigner. we have a child (no previous children) and are hoping that our marriage may be recognized in the Philippines. my wife has divorced a Korean citizen. We are in Korea (I’m American). I’m sure this will be important for a visa petition to the United States.
Robbie, that’s a very interesting question and perhaps we could post that separately so that the community members can discuss it.
Darlah, perhaps you may want to refer to this post:
https://jlp-law.com/blog/steps-procedure-in-annulment-declaration-nullity-of-marriage/
Coyote, please discuss the legal options with your retained counsel, as we could not dispense any legal advice here. The practical issue is this – if he is a foreigner and he is abroad, how will any judgment arising from a case filed here be executed? Good luck and God bless.
Atty Fred,
hi, im 32 years of age, a californian residents. im naturalized US citizen at Age of 17. I got married in Philippines back in 2003. after 4 years unfortunately im having a divorce. my question is Am i able to re-marry again in the philippines.
Atty Fred Good Day!!!
I am married in a Muslim Rite here in the Phils. My husband is a Muslim. Now we were planning to marry in Civil Rite. My question is Can he still marry another woman in Muslim Rite inspite of being married in Civil? Can we be married in Civil even if he has not process his divorce paper with his 1st wife. They were married in Muslim Rite too.
Hope to hear from you soon.
God bless!!!
good day jlp people!!! I was married here in the Philippines and had two kids with a Japanese, after years of marriage we got divorced, he remarries and divorced again..Here is my dilemna, I want to remarry here in the Philippines but I dont know the procedure to take…Can you help me how to start.. Thanx
Atty, Fred
Good morning,
I am Australian Citizen and living in Australia for 12 years. I was married to a Filipino in Philippines in 1991. We lived together for two years and had child together got separated but no child support from him or anything. In between of our separation, he was living with another women and had kids.
1994 when I met a British/Australian in the Philippines. 1996 I went to Australian for Permanent Residency. In 2004 I filed a Divorce for my Filipino husband in Australia. 2005 when me and my British/Australian partner got married in Australian Civil Registrar and living happily.
2007 when I went back to Philippines for Holiday, when I saw my ex-husband and confronted me about our married.
The question is, How can I apply for our Divorce to be legalized or recognized in the Philippines. I just want him to be out of the picture. Where can I get Certification that Certify and proven that our Divorced is legally recognized in the Philippines.
Please help me with this?
Regards
Hi. I have a filipino friend who has a filipino wife. They separated and The wife went to US with their daughter and already a naturalized US citizen. Now the wife will file for divorce. Now my question, Will divorce be acknowledge here in the philippines? how about their status here in the philippines? still married or not anymore? Will he still be able to remarry here in the philippines?
Hope to hear from you!
Thanks and God bless.
hi,please help me po kc sobrang gulong gulo ako kc i dont know anything about the law especially about marriage and divorce…my japanese husband and i got married in japan last july 2006 but before the wedding i found out that my husband had a previous marriage to a filipina before me, he never told me about this it happened when i saw the papers from the phil embassy translated in english already..they got married on jan2005 in the philippines and after 1 year my husband file a divorce in japan so he got the divorce paper 1month before our wedding (june2006)they had a child but according to my husband that time he was just confused because the girl is claiming him as the father of the child that she’s carrying but he keep on telling me that he’s not the one ho’s responsible for it,now i just want to know if their divorce is also valid in the philippines although it was done in japan,because we are planning to have our second wedding next year in the philippines and if our marriage here is also valid there and if not what should i do to make everything legal?please sir help me…and can u pls give a me contact number because i’ll be needing a legal service because my husband is planning to adopt my children…thank you and i hope to get a reply from you soon!
I am confused now..i need help is anyone there to advice me
Please just reply and i tell my story..
many thanks..
Everyone,
Perhaps you could find your concerns in the newest installment of the Q&A on this topic:
https://jlp-law.com/blog/annulment-in-the-philippines-questions-and-answers-qa-part-3/
I have to do this to save space and for orderly presentation. For those questions that are not related to the updates, please be patient and wait for future updates. Thank you.
Hi atty fred,
sana po bigyan nyo po ako ng advise.kinasal ako year 1995.15 years old lang ako noon. at yong partner ko ay 30years old. ate ko dapat ang ikakasal.kaya lang ate ko nag run away. ako ngayon ang tumayo na nagpakasal.at sinalo ko ang kahihiyan namin.after 2years nag abroad ako.bihira akong umuwi dahil nga d ko sya mahal at di rin kami magkasundo.tuwing nag aaway kami noon hinahabol ako ng itak.1997 nag abroad ako.hanggang ngayon nandito pa ako sa abroad.5years na d na ako umuwi at di na kami nag kita.pero nong kinasal kami wala akong birth certifecate na hinanap.pero ang nilagay na edad ko ay 20 years old.judge kami kinasal.noong pumunta ako dito sa abroad nag pa late register ako ng birthcertifecate.para lang maka kuha ng passport. pero lahat ng papers ko dito sa abroad ay single pati passport ko ang ginamit ko ay apelyedo ko.ngayon ang tanong ko po pewede ba akong mag file ng annulment.kasi nga d ko sya mahal.isa pa napilitan lang akong mag pakasal sa kanya.sana po bigyan nyo po ako ng advise.d ko po mapipilit ang sarili ko sa kanya.lahat ng tao sa amin alam nila ang lahat na pangyayari na di dapat ako ang ikakasal.kina usap ko minsan ang husband ko na bayaran ko sya para lang pirmahan ang papel na wala na kami.pero ayaw nya.humihingi ng malaking pera.pero wala ako ganoong halaga.ngayon ang gusto nya pera lang.sana atty.bigyan nyo ako ng advise.kong mag file ako.gaano ba katagal?pls.help me soon.laging tinatakot ang family ko.makaka uwi me dyan sa pnas anytime pls.help me thank you.im waiting your reply
hello po attorney,
gusto ko po mag file ng annulment, itatanong ko lang po kung pdew un reason ko na paulit ulit na pagsisinungaling ng asawa ko, kasi nuon may babae sya 2 years ago na po, tapos po ngayon taon na nman na to meron naman nangako po sya na hindi nya uulitin un tapos unulit pa rin po nya.. tapos sbi nya skin hihiwalayan na raw nya po un girl pero hindi pa rin nya hinihiwalayan meron pa rin sila relasyon paulit ulit nyang sinasabi na hihiwalayan na nya pero di nman pala totoo.. pero sakin pa rin po sya nauwi araw araw.. pero po sa ginawa nya skin nawalan na po ako ng gana kaya gusto ko na po tlaga mag file ng annulment nag sasawa na po ako sa mga kasinungaligan nya, di na po ako masaya sa mga pag sisinungaling nya sa kin.. sana po mapayuhan nyo po ako kasi baka masiraan lang ako ng bait sa kunsumisyon dito sa asawa ko araw araw lasing… nun dati di ko naman po alam na lasengero pala sya.. saka ko lang po nalaman nun kasal na kami nag sinungaling po sya skin.. 8 years ko syang pinakisamahan, kala ko magbabago na sya hindi pa rin pala.. ang dami kong chance na binigay sa knya pero wala po tlagang pag babago… salamat po sana po matulungan nyo po ako.. ang gusto ko lang pong malaman kung may chance po un marriage ko na ma annul.. thanks po god bless you its
Hi Atty.,
I want to ask if one can file annulment, bigamy, concubinage or adultery all at the same time? Will any of the last 3 affect the approval of nullity of marriage or the decision of court to annul the marriage? With the following details, is it possible to win in all cases above?
1. The marriage license in the marriage contract is dated the same day as the wedding date therefore not undergoing the waiting period before the license can be used?
2. The church and venue in the marriage contract does not exist and never existed.
3. Within the marriage the couple did not live together. (does 2 months of renting a room count?)
4. The girl left the husband because w/in 2 months in same room, she was many times physically/verbally abused by beating and the guy tainted woman’s personality/reputation both at work and socially by emailing and texting her friends and officemates with malicious and wrongful accusations and made up story.
5. No property and no child.
6. Have not seen each other for 3years.
7. Guy has a child with another woman and was involved with other women before her.
8. They might be living together and the guy’s family knows about it and condones with their set up.
9. The woman knows the guy is married even before the relationship and child.
10. I have pictures of the child and woman with the guy during the birth / christening / etc.
Can you advise on how to proceed with the filing of these cases? I want to have the annulment and charge both with criminal cases.
Thanks. Hope to hear from you soon.
Sam
Gdmorning! Could you pls help me with this? My uncle is a Filipino. He is a US Citizen when he got married here in the Phils twice to the same woman (Civil 1998 and Church i think 2001). They have a son. My uncle wants to divorce her in the US and wants to marry her gf here in the Phils. I’ve heard that as US Citizens now, he only needs the Divorce Decree. I’ve heard its faster than annulment. Does this Divorce Decree need them both to appear in court here inthe Phils or just my uncle? He is a US Navy and asks if he doesn’t have to appear in court and could have just his lawyer to represent him. How long will it be until he is able to remarry his gf here in the Phils? Do you have an idea regarding how much would it cost my uncle? Thank you and God bless, could you direct your reply to my email at thanks a lot!
Good Day!
I am a Filipina and I was married in the Phils. After being married for less than a year I got divorced in Spain. My ex husband is spanish. Currently, I am still in Spain. I want to know if I am single or I continue to be ¨married¨ in the Phils. If it´s also possible for you to let me know if I am violating any law by staying here even though I am already divorced. I have my residence card, I now work here, and I pay taxes, social security etc.
I would really appreciate it if you could help me.
Thank you so much!
our muslim brothers and foreigners have more rights than the christian citizens of this country. there’s a divorce law in the muslim world and divorced foreigners are legally recognized. this makes the rest of the citizens of the republic of the philippines a bunch second class citizens of their very own country. this is really very distressing. why in the world there’s not a single lawyer who will petition the supreme court on the inequality and the unconstitutionality of the situation? the philippine constitution have guaranteed that all citizens of the republic of the philippines should have their basic equal rights. why can our muslim brothers have a divorce law and the rest have none? does this mean that the rest of the citizens of this country are all dumb? this is the only country on this planet who gives more better treatment to foreigners than its own citizens. recognizing their divorce while the rest of the citizens have to go through hell just to get an annulment. no wonder this country is going nowhere.
to all folks who might be interested on this article. i came across on this on the web and it is very fascinating.
SO YOU WANT AN ANNULMENT? Of course you do! Thanks to him you’re physically, emotionally and mentally abused. You’re tired of working your butt off, earning a living to put food on the table while he goes squandering his paycheck on booze and cheap women. Enough is enough, right? So you pack your bags, your kid, even your cat and left. But still, if he had gone after you, you would have given him a second chance. After all, there is no divorce in the Philippines and you’re married to the pig! But did he go running after you? Hell, no! Instead he celebrated his newfound freedom. No more wifey to ask him where he’s been when he’s supposed to be looking for a job. Why would he care if you leave? There’s still his mom to care for him and as for sex he can get that anywhere.
Yep…that’s my fairy tale. No living happily ever after.
It didn’t take long for me to realize that I made a grave mistake of marrying my ex-husband we’ll call under the pseudonym, Manoy. After the separation, I vowed never to trust another man again. If men can use women for pleasure, why can’t women, right? But I wasn’t ready to be a slut. What’s the next best thing? ON-LINE DATING. At least in the chatroom, these men don’t have any other choice but to talk. Plus, I can be anybody I want to be on the internet. Ahhhh…..the power of the internet is in my hands. Dating has never been so much fun!
I should be thankful Manoy didn’t try to get me back after I left him. If he had, I wouldn’t have met the man who will restore all my faith in the opposite sex. Eventually, I met my fiancé, on-line, in one of the penpal websites. We will call my “My Teddy” J He swept me away with his intelligent words, honesty and sincerity. Plus he wanted to meet me. He was willing to travel halfway around the world, where foreigners are being kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf to meet me. Now…that, is something.
We fell in love and pretty soon we knew that we wanted to be together. One problem. Although I’ve been living as a single mother for two years when we met, I am still legally married to Manoy. No way My Teddy is going to live here in the Philippines. He can’t get a job here, he won’t survive the weather and most important of all, he has an 8-year-old son he will miss terribly. The only solution is for me and my son to join him in the UK. Here is where the annulment comes in. So many have offered advise on how to get me to the UK. To go to the UK as a tourist and then divorce Manoy there is the most popular. Apparently, it would be easier to go there as a tourist and then disappear than to actually file for an annulment. But My Teddy won’t have that. We both want everything to be legal and I definitely will not leave without my son. My Teddy is willing to pay whatever it cost to get me an annulment but first, he has to go back to the UK.
So off I went to see a lawyer and I have good-naturedly enumerated his advice for all you people still reading this :
1/ GROUNDS – PSYCHOLOGICALLY INCAPACITATED
This is the ONLY one that works. I won’t bother explaining why. If one of you is loony then it’s unfair for the other one to be in the marriage. But there’s a catch to it. It has to be proven that the lunacy had been there even before the marriage.
2/ IT HAS TO BE UNCONTESTED
The reason why annulments drag on is that one party will file a counter affidavit. Because the Philippine Family Code’s mission is to “preserve the Filipino family”, a counter affidavit is seen as an indication that the marriage can still be saved. This also means, I had to go see Manoy to convince him that an annulment is best for us, more for him, because he already has a girlfriend. At that time, he doesn’t know I have My Teddy. He’s got to gain more from it to make him agree. More than anything else, he’s going to get an annulment absolutely free. I agreed to cover all expense. Because I know that he will never admit that he is the cause of the break-up and that he will never agree to be the loony party, I had to be the respondent to the case and because I’m the respondent, I can guarantee that it will definitely be UNCONTESTED. Now, why would I file a counter-affidavit, right?
3/ PROOF THAT THERE WAS NO COLLUSION
The court will want to know that the annulment is not scripted. That is why it is important that the respondent never show his or her (in my case, my face) in court. They don’t want to make it too obvious that they were not really following proper court procedure. Later on I will tell you that this is all bs!
4/ MONEY TALKS….BIG TIME
One year after we took the first three items into consideration, and the case was still sitting at someone’s desk gathering dust. My lawyer, upon my instructions, “secretly” talked to the court clerk and asked him exactly how much it is going to take to get the annulment over and done with. Take note : the court clerk acts as the spokesperson for the judge and everybody else involved in that case. That way, if someone decides to squeal on them, the top guys don’t get into trouble. It was at this point that my lawyer was given a figure, 100 thousand pesos to get it final by December. It was October that time.
The 100 Thousand pesos will pay for the judge, solicitor general and initial investigator, everybody involved in the case. This will say that there was no collusion and that there are no objections to the annulment. So didn’t I tell you this was all bs?
5/ GAMBLE
Now, I’ve never gambled in my life. I was ready to back out. I was sure it was a scam. It will all be under the table. That means no receipts involved. It’s not my money I’m spending here, it’s My Teddy’s, his hard-earned money and he is not exactly rich, you know. But he said go for it. If it’s a scam then we lost a big amount of money and then we will have to think of another way to get you to the UK but if they turn out to be true to their word, then we won’t have any more problems. That’s when I know he really loves me.
The court finally pulled through and delivered their end of the bargain. My annulment case was over just one month after the pay-off. I should have thought about offering the grease money much much earlier! All in all, we spent P175 thousand for the annulment. Now, because of my annulment, my lawyer and the court are the best of buddies. My lawyer can give anybody an annulment in just one month for Two hundred fifty thousand pesos (P250,000.00). That’s right! It’s now as easy as buying aspirin at the drugstore.
So where am I now?
I am now in the process of waiting for my son’s and my UK visa. Two years ago when my fiancé and I started to live together, he took the time to register himself at the British Embassy and myself as the person responsible for him while he’s here. He took the time to know the people who might help things easier for me for when the time comes for me to file my application. He went back to the UK and did everything required to show that he has the means to take care of both my son and I and that means a proper home, a well-paying stable job and a fat bank account. He sent me letters every month, which I kept safe and he did the same for all his phone bills. He calls me every week. In the two years he’s been in the UK, he’s come to visit me four times, three weeks each time, not counting the 4-months he stayed here with me hoping we could wait out the annulment together. Our two-year relationship is well document and there is no reason to doubt that we are for real.
I’m now hoping we don’t encounter any more problems. We have gone through a lot. We’re in love and just want to be together. I hope that if I write another article it will be about my life as wife of my nice Brit guy in the UK. So….wish me luck and I’ll keep you posted.
Pls. can I ask for Pokwang’s email add or contact number? Her blog is enlightening and I would like to contact her. Can I leave my email here for her? Thanks. Gali.
Hello to all! I just have a simple question, is there such a thing as a Null and Voide Annulment? I have been reading online scripts regarding Annulment if the Phillipines, and I found out that “You can only file the Petition for Annulment in the place of your residence or the place of residence of your husband or wife” if i got it correctly, an annulment case could not be filed on another location, like for example TARLAC RTC, if ever a decision was made in favor of the petitioner, will be considered null and void if neither the respondent nor the petitioner has lived in that location?
Thanks!
i want to know my girlfriend plan to marry soon with me ,but his husband not yet Divorce her , he is every month asking her to send money back to philippines ,but she dont have feeling on hm any more , 10 year ago she forcs to make love with her husband so them get merry becase of get baby , on that time she just 21 yr old young girl know notthing about love , may i know too how long to file a Divorce in philippines , she is @ singapore working now , & i am a Singapore- ,Chineses Man ,
pls email me :
i was married to a filipino on 1994 through a fixer,meaning we never applied marriage license on our own & we never went to city hall for civil wedding.the fixer only met us twice for signatures of me,partner,parents & witnesses.but then,it was registered to NSO.we were together for 9yrs and separated.i am with my new bf now.and my husband his own.i just want to ask if our marriage then can be considered invalid?my boyfriend wants to marry me,what can i do?
I’m married without a marriage license and by a Solemnizing Officer. It was specified that under Art. 34 of Executive Order 209, there is no need for us to apply for a Marriage License and under that article, the determiner is that we should be living together for not less than 5 years. However, in fact we were not together for that long, there are no evidences or any proof of billing that I lived in our current location. I can’t also remember the solemnizing officer having us sign or get an oath or an affidavit with regards to the foregoing facts. Can I issue a nullity of our marriage because of that?
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.
I am an OFW and have been married for 16 years. I married at an early age.
A personal question. What if the LOVE that was supposed to keep the marrieage forever has died off and the reason for staying in the marriage is because of the children?
As far as I am concerned, I have tried to make our marriage work. I would say that the reason for the love lost is due to financial burden I have been shouldering all by myself and unfortunately, my wife couldn’t manage it, which made me lost my interest.
Bottom line, I am only sticking to the marriage because of my children who I love so dearly. Yes, I have met someone who has been comforting me and supporting me with my problems.
I know that I will be more happy with her than with my current situation. Of course, my support will never cease for my kids as they are the reason for me working abroad.
Don’t I have the right to be happy and give/show my love to someone who trully deserves it?
I’m married 5yrs ago. My husband is a seafarer but he was unable to declares our marriage on his documents. For almost 4 times working abroad I don’t have an allotment from him, even a single cent. After 4yrs. of marriage, he file an annulment in the ground of psychological incapacity. I was unable to present my counter affidavit. On our first hearing, I was not there also since, I was unable to receive the notice. I want to appeal in court but I don’t have a lawyer. What shall I do? Is that allowed to just step inside the court to defend yourself from their fabricated statement.
I also found out that my husband has a concubinage, He brought his woman to their house several times. Our annulment was not yet approved by the court.It is still on process. What will be the consequence if I’ll file for an adultery against him and his woman.
How about allotment do I still have the right to claim it but how?
i’ll be receiving the divorce papers next week my ex-husband sent me,i only have to get marriage contract in NSO,what should i do next?where should i bring those papers? answer needed immediately….thank you
Sir just want to ask some question, my sister got married before to a taiwanese in philippines and got divorce in Taiwan. Her taiwanese husband filed a divorce. She is a former filipino, the time of divorce she is Taiwanese holder already. Now her question is since they are divorced already, and now she has a capacity to re-marry again, is there any things need to do or steps for filing a marriage license in philippines, she want to re-marry a Filipino. How about the marriage before is it null and void? She send all necessary documents in DFA regarding the divorce paper issued from Taiwan government and certified from Phil. embassy in Taiwan. Also we want to know if the offices such as DFA, and city HAll is the one who will inform NSO for the record….
I am from the Netherland and my wife is a Filipina and we are married, must she change her name in the surname of me in her passport?
”We previously noted that infidelity is not, by itself, a ground for annulment, although it could be a basis for legal separation or filing a case for adultery/concubinage. As to custody, the Supreme Court already ruled that sexual infidelity, by itself, is not sufficient to grant custody over a child. Let’s continue the discussion on [...]”
This is strange, if i have proof like photo’s, e-mails, statements for adultery why is it no ground to file a annulment case?
my ex-husband who was a former filipino divorced me here in the u.s. when he became an american citizen. he remarried a filipina. after 2 years, i got married to a filipino resident alien but i was still a filipino resident alien then as well. five years ago, i filed for american citizenship but my husband didn’t. he will file for american citizenship this year. if we plan to retire in the philippines after a few years and open a business there, do we need to file for dual citizenship? and, is there anything we have to do to make sure my past divorce and current marriage is recognized and is legal in the philippines before we go home to retire?
I am separated for 9 years and now living in with my girlfriend with whom I have a 1 year old son. My girlfriend and I wanted to get married,so everything will be in order,my son with her will be legitimized,and for her family to show.
My ex-wife and I,for 9 years separation have no cohabitation and only had met twice in those long years.The reason we separated was she became mentally ill and after about a year or so of taking care of her,maybe out of sadness for what happened in my life,I got involved with another woman,not my girlfriend.
My problem is I don’t have money to afford case in the court. I’m a jobless man.I don’t even know a lawyer,and I don’t even know where and how to start. Law offices I see along my way makes me shy away. Where Can I get pro bono lawyer?And if there’s none,what is the cheapest cost a man like me can afford?Yesterday I went to Public Attorney’s Office,and I was told that my case is hopeless,and it would take so much time.The lawyer I talked with recommended that I should go to matrimonial tribunal of the Catholic Church where there is hope for the annulment that I seek,and that I should just w son for him to use my last name.What is the right way to do?Thank you so much.
Hello Atty,
I’m married in the phils and I’m divorced in florida for 8 yrs. and my previous husband re marry last 2004…
I have a cert. authentication of my divorce papers from phil. embassy (washington)…
Questions:
1.) Do I need to registered my authentication doc’s? and if needed what’s the place.
2.) How it cost to file a foreign divorce decree.
Good afternoon to All. I have a big problem now about my status. I’m divorced here in south Korea and I’m hoping someone can help me. My ex-husband is Korean and I’m still Filipino Citizen. I already summit in the Philippines my divorced paper. It is possible that I can marry again? I’m 23 years old now. I want to know if what the next step I’m going to do? please help me please. Thank you in advance and God bless. This is my email address ..
Fred,
My girlfriend is a filipino citizen and surely seeking annulment in her marriage. Her husband is a french citizen but both parties (whilst living apart) live in Philippines. My girlfriend has a 6 year old daughter from the marriage. My girlfriend is under the impression that irrespective of any custody arrangements imposed as a result of the annulment, once the daughter becomes 7 years of age, the daughter will be able to determine whether she lives with her mother or her father. Is this correct ? Is it more correct that this decision will be made by the Annulment judge.
Thanks for your comments
Hi Atty.,
good day, just want to asked if the “annulment is done” CAN I GOING MARRIED AGAIN HERE? hoping for you answer. thanks and More power.
Sweet25;-)
hi sir. im lea garlando from caloocan city. i just want to ask you and im hoping you will answer it before august 4. CAN A FILIPINO NATIONAL REMARRY AFTER DIVORCE FROM A FOREIGNER?
I have been marriaed for 9 years, troubles started on the 5th year from habitual lying and obvious negligence of financial support from my husband… he had also been trying to have a job that never happened and usually not home for months before saying he is trying to apply for a job abroad.. i tried working out the relationship since we got 4 kids and im considering the pride of the marriage, until 2 and a half years ago, he told me that he will finally look for a job in Cavite, since then, i had no news and any support from him. I am now wanting to end up the marriage legally since it should have been a long time ago, I and my children have not changed our address and phone numbers. Is there any chance for me to get out of this marriage. I need help.
i’d like to ask about my problem of my brother..yong wife nya nasa japan and gusto nyang mag file ng presumtive death ano po ba ang kailangan pwede ba siya o ako ang mag file at san court kaya pwede at gaano dw po katagal pati yong babayaran.
sir pano po ba mag file ng presumtive death at gaano po ito katagal
thank you.
Hi Atty Fred, I hope you can give me advice on this issue. Here is the case,
They’re not living on the same roof for almost 6yrs now. Since may problema na talaga pagsasama nila for many reasons na di magkasundo. The guy is something Silahis pero di nya mailabas or tinatago lang. When you see the situation parang ginagawa nyang panakip butas yung family nya to hide what he is. Many times na din syang nahuli for a sign of pagiging Silahis. Un din siguro reason why di sila mgkasundo. Talo pa yung girl kung dumakdak, and iba ang attitude nya. We can say may Psychological Incapacity yung guy. Kahit sa mga kids nya he never act like a father. All he did to his wife is to turn her down ganito, ganyan… Now the girl is fed up and feels a lot of pain and want to end their marriage for her to move on. He confront his husband and he refuse for the annulment for many reasons like property and other things. What will be the best move for this case… PLS HELP!
Atty, in this case po mga ilang months/years matatapos yung proceedings if ever ayaw nung isang party. And how much would it cost? Thanks a lot…
I would like to ask about the divroced certificate obtained overseas.
I was married to a foreigner, we were married here (civil ceremony), and i am presently here in the Phils. My Ex-Husband filed for divorced 2004 in Melbourne Australia and the divorced certificate is now in my hands. I managed to aunthenticate the documents from Australian Embassy here and at the DFA…and my questions is…how can i file with NSO that i am already divorced?? Do i still need to file a petitions at the court so that NSO would acknowledge my divorced certificate? Can i still get married overhere? What would be the legal actions to formalise everything that i am already divorced.
Hope to hear from you?
Hi. This thread is really informative. I would like to ask about the case of an “uncontested divorce” filed by the foreign husband in the US. I have heard that a divorce by “mutual consent” or “agreed divorce” in countries such as Japan and Korea cannot be recognized here if the filipina spouse files a Petition for Recognition.
Is an uncontested divorce obtained by the foreign spouse in the US the same as the consensual divorce in japan?
I have this predicament that the divorce in the US, which is agreed divorce, will be tagged as the same consensual divorce and will not be recognized here.
Additional facts:
The petitioner is the foreign husband..
Grounds are:
1) no cohabitation for 5 years
2) marriage not consummated
3) no children
4) no property to divide
I hope you could help ease my confusion on this. Thank you so much
hi,
if you had both civil and church wedding and wanted to file an annulment, will the procedures undergo for both civil and church? i am no longer a filipino citizen, is there any difference in the filing of annulment.
thanks
Hi,
I’m 24 years old..married for 3 years.. My husband met an accident 2 years ago.. Now, he’s suffering from amnesia.. He doesn’t recognize me even our daughter… she’s 2 years old.. it seems like the time that he’s not in good condition is longer than the time we spent our marriage together… although we have lots of issues to discuss with way back before he had this accident… like vices, money matters, third parties, etc. in short.. we were not really in good relationship.. we even thought of separating but still waiting for the right time to do so.. with all these legal and family matters/concerns.. going back to his condition… he’s neurologist/psychiatrist confronted us that he won’t get back to being “normal” as to before he had his accident.. but we’ll try to make him “functional” as what a normal person does.. his memory could be back 3 years 4 years 5 years from now but with no assurance… sadly it could never come back… his doctor added.. I know my responsibilities as his wife and until now im stil doing my part and even if were through i’l be doing the same until he gets healed.. but right now i want to be enlightened… what will i do sir?! Can this scenario be a basis for annulment?! how can i decide on this matter? we’ve thought this before he had his accident but now that he’s suffering from amnesia, how can i pursue such decision?! he’s incapable?! please sir… thanks…
My partner is married in the philipines, has gone through the annulment process (which her husband objected) and is now stuck married to someone who has hurt her greatly. Also, her properties and bank accounts cannot be touched, even though they were hers before she was married. Does anyone have any solutions to our problem?
Also i need to ask, why is the Philipines so backward in its social law? Divorce is sometimes nessessary for health reasons, both mental and physical. Is the country stuck in the 1600′s? How could filipinos stand for this law? Any other country would not allow its citizens to be stuck in situations like this.
hi,
i’ve been separated for 14 years now with my first wife. is this a legal way to divorse my marriage with her.
im having a family at this time and live comfortably with them.
how can i obtain to fully dissengage my marriage life with my first wife.
also at what stage or age whom we are abliged to sustain financial to our kids from broken marriage, am i obliged to make a financial sustain until or up to the children of my children?
please i need your advise.
I was married abroad year 1997 and went home to phil. and renew our vows in the church year 1998 in spun of 2 yrs & 8mos we lived as husband and wife but i worked abroad again yr 1999 a month after i received a letter informing my husbands infidelity in phil. From then on we had unsettled differences till we had no communication at all. and was totally abandoned marriage until now. No kids, no properties. It’s running 13yrs of separation and or abandonment.
If i file an annulment will this be enough grounds and how long will it take to be free at all.
Please advice.
hi i just wanna ask some advise regarding to my problem now. me and my belgian husban committed a relationship for about 3 years now . till such time he dicided to marry me here in the phillippine under by phillippine law if civil marriage last september 8 2011..after a few months later i found out that we are not mentally fit to each other and we always have fight throught communacating in internet.i am now currently married in the law of the phillippines to him,while he still single on his country becouse our marriage paper here was not yet aunthen cated by the DFA and was not yet recognize in the belgium embassy under their law.what should i do i wanna file an anullment case againts him to get my freedome of being marraige?.how long does it takes?how much the cost will be pay?.,do i have to inform this to the embassy of belgium?please kindly help me i am badly needed my single status again now,hope you could help me regarding this
thank you very much
rosemarie