Discussions are welcome in the Forum. As more subjects here are discussed by the readers, the interaction of one topic with another (or between related laws) results to a legal melting pot, enriching the pool of topics to choose from.
For instance, we have discussed (”Divorce and Annulment in the Philippines“) that a Filipino - wherever he/she may be located in the world - is governed by Philippine laws on marriage. This means that while he/she can secure a divorce outside the Philippines, such divorce is NOT recognized in the Philippines. The same article also contains a discussion on the effect of losing Filipino citizenship vis-a-vis divorce. If a Filipino is naturalized as a foreign citizen and, in the process, loses his/her Filipino citizenship, such former Filipino can validly seek a divorce abroad and the divorce is recognized in the Philippines. In other words, after complying with the procedure in having the foreign decree of divorce recognized here in the Philippines, the Filipino spouse may validly remarry.
Then came the new law (Republic Act No. 9225) that allows former Filipinos to re-acquire or maintain their Filipino citizenship. Here are the issues:
If a Filipino secures a divorce BEFORE losing his/her Philippine citizenship by naturalization as a foreign citizen (the divorce is not valid under Philippine laws), will the subsequent loss of Philippine citizenship have any effect on the validity of the previous divorce? Will it make any difference if the foreign decree of divorce, validly secured by a former Filipino, is not judicially recognized here in the Phils. before that former Filipino re-acquires his/her Philippine citizenship?
On the other hand, what’s the effect of the re-acquisition of Filipino citizenship on the foreign decree of divorce previously and validly secured?
I already suggested that the law students who had been asking me for thesis topics can pick up this one…and maybe provide us with the abstract of the study =) In the meantime, let’s hear what’s on your mind.
You may also want to read these related posts:
Retention and Re-Acquisition of Philippine Citizenship by jlp on July 22nd, 2006
hello, i need your help.
I and my fiancee planned to get married this january.But there had been questions in my mind right now.
My fiancee is a naturalized american citizen.He got married here in the philippines when he was still a filipino citizen.He later on filed a divorce when his wife was gotten pregnant by another guy.Will he still be allowed to marry here in the philippines again?will he not be sued for bigamy for that?..
thanks for your legal help
Atty. Fred,
Enquiry:
Sir, are guests allowed to answer questions from other guests? I am contemplating on giving some personal opinion (in comment form) on some of the interesting questions posted above, but I am afraid I might violate your site policies. Anyhow, I am not constrained by the same strict canon you are constrained with since I am not a lawyer, but would that be a problem as well?
Thanks.
Marinette, please check the latest post, maybe you’ll find the answers there.
Atty. Fred:
My ex-husband & I are both Filipino citizen living here in the US. We were married in 1991 in a church. I filed a divorce and he willingly signed it and was able to get a divorce decree. After I obtained a divorce, I married a US citizen here in the US also. If I’ll visit Philippines, can I be charged with bigamy? Do I need to be there to file an annulment? Does Art. 26 applies to my situation? Thank you.
Marinette70
g69g, you may have noticed that there had been numerous instances wherein we apologized for not giving any reply, mainly because we are ethically prohibited from giving any legal opinion. Again, we shall consider the issues raised in your comment in preparing new articles for future posting. I hope you understand.
I am a Christian filipino citizen who got married to a Sudanese national under the Muslim rites in Doha, Qatar. I never registered our marriage to our Phil. Embassy there. My eldest son, who was born in Qatar(but has a Phil. passport), and I came home to the Phil. last year so I could deliver our second son here. My husband is now living-in with another filipina in Doha but they are not married. I came to know about their illicit relationship when I accidentally saw on video that they are sharing the same room and house together and are using our marriage certificate so they could rent a house in Doha. The video’s with me right now. My questions: 1)since our marriage is never registered at the Phil. Embassy in Doha (and therefore not registered at our NSO), does that mean I am single and free to marry anonther one in the future?Would that make our sons illegitimate? 2)under Muslim divorce laws, the woman can file for a divorce in cases of adultery.Can I file for our divorce here in our country, and re-marry in the future even if I were the one who filed for the divorce first? Or should I wait for my husband to file it since he is a foreigner? If ever, can he file it here in our country at the Shariah Court? Pls. help…
No, he will not be liable for bigamny.