Prohibition against Mail-Order Brides

You may be aware of the existence of mail-order brides, although you may not be aware that this is an “industry.” According to a study (The “Mail-Order” Bride Industry and its Impact on U.S. Immigration), funded through the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service:

An American man seeking a foreign bride may avail himself of over 200 different services in which foreign women advertise for husbands. There are two types of such services. In one type, the so-called “mail-order bride” industry (representatives of the industry prefer the term “international correspondence service”), women’s names, photos, biographical sketches, and addresses are presented in hard copy brochures or on the Internet. In these services, the agency provides the photos and descriptions of the women, who are not charged for this listing. Men who wish to obtain the mailing address of any of the women they would like to contact are charged a fee of from $2 to $5 for each of the mailing addresses.

The study also notes that the “Philippines provides a large number of the Asian listings, despite the fact that ‘mail-order bride’ activities” have been declared illegal. Indeed, taking measures to protect Filipino women from being exploited in their pursuit of economic upliftment, the Philippine Congress enacted Republic Act No. 6955, which is “An act to declare unlawful the practice of matching filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals on a mail order basis and other similar practices, including the advertisement, publication, printing or distribution of brochures, fliers and other propaganda materials in furtherance thereof and providing penalty therefore.”

The law makes it unlawful for any person, natural or juridical, association, club or any other entity to commit, directly or indirectly, any of the following acts:

(1) To establish or carry on a business which has for its purpose the matching of Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals either on a mail-order basis or through personal introduction;

(2) To advertise, publish, print or distribute or cause the advertisement, publication, printing or distribution of any brochure, flier, or any propaganda material calculated to promote the prohibited acts in subparagraph 1;

(3) To solicit, enlist or in any manner attract or induce any Filipino woman to become a member in any club or association whose objective is to match women for marriage to foreign nationals either on a mail-order basis or through personal introduction for a fee;

(4) To use the postal service to promote the prohibited acts in subparagraph 1.

The law also makes it unlawful for the “manager or officer-in-charge or advertising manager of any newspaper, magazine, television or radio station, or other media, or of an advertising agency, printing company or other similar entities, to knowingly allow, or consent to, the acts prohibited in the preceding paragraph.”

Any person found guilty by the court to have violated any of the prohited acts shall suffer an imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (1) day but not more than eight (8) years, and a fine of not less than Eight thousand pesos (P8,000) but not more than Twenty thousand pesos (P20,000). If the violation is committed by an association, club, partnership, corporation, or any other entity, the incumbent officers who have knowingly participated in the violation shall be held liable. On the other hand, if the offender is a foreigner, he shall be immediately deported and barred forever from entering the country after serving his sentence and payment of fine.

2 thoughts on “Prohibition against Mail-Order Brides

  1. xcyne

    Is it ok to ask for the requirements for fiance visa and how long it would take? Which is better, fiancee visa or marriage visa? Thanks so much. It would help me in a lot of aspects. God bless and more power to your organization.

    Reply
  2. rsalarda

    I find it amusing that Bong Revila’s sensitivity on mail order brides from Actor Alec Baldwin. He should know that our country is well known as a “Mail Order Bride Country”. His reaction towards the actor threatening him with violence “Mayhem” if the actor comes to the Philippines is uncalled for. Such reaction is childish and shows lack of restraint among people who are on power. I believed the best reaction to this is to invite Alec Baldwin to see for himself what our country can offer. Not just in terms of its beauty but also among our people. We as a country have a lot to offer. We may not be rich and powerful as a nation but our heritage, our land and its people are our assets in showcasing it to doubters like Alec Baldwin. Yes, he was arrogant and lack the sensitivity in detailing our flaws, but he did us a big favor by putting the issue front page. As a nation we must show tolerance to such degrading comments so we dont become the issue. I have a message for Mr. Bong Revilla, show mr Baldwin how much our country have change for the better. Invite him to visit and show him that inspite of our problems we are doing everything we can to stop the proliferation of the Mail Order Bride business. That we as people have a lot to offer more than the exploitation of our women. Finally, dont be such a cowboy, and dont threaten anyone with violence especially people who have access to the world. It will create more problems for our people. Remember cowboy’s are a thing of the past, and this type of character has been discredited within the last 8 years. Tough talk must be back-up with wisdom for it to be effective. I give you credit for standing-up to our women, but you must know you are not well known outside the Philippines. Alec Baldwin is a famous actor and I’m sure he doesnt need to visit the our country more than you want to visit the United States. Alec Baldwin doesnt need us, but in this case you may need Alec Baldwin to showcase our country.

    Rsalarda/Magat P

    Reply

Leave a Reply to xcyne Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *