Divorce is not allowed in the Philippines and divorce secured anywhere by a Filipino is not recognized in this jurisdiction.We already have a number of discussions on this. In certain instances, however, a divorce validly secured abroad may be recognized here in the Philippines.
What are circumstances that would make Article (Family Code) applicable?
We have a basic discussion on Article 26 of the Family Code (see: Divorce and Annulment in the Philippines). Included in that discussion are the two elements that must be shown before the second paragraph of Article 26 is applied:
- 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.
Is this provision applicable to former Filipinos?
Yes. A Filipino who loses his/her Philippine citizenship is treated as a foreigner-spouse for purposes of applying Article 26. [See Mixed marriages]
This law provides that the divorce must be secured by the foreigner-spouse. What if the foreigner-spouse continually maltreats the Filipino/Filipina spouse, isn’t it unfair that the Filipino/Filipina can’t initiate divorce?
Prior to the change in jurisprudence, the Filipino spouse cannot initiate the divorce proceedings even if he/she is maltreated by the alien spouse. notwithstanding the fact of being abused. It resulted to an unfair situation. [This reply has been updated in light of recent jurisprudence. See Mixed Marriages and Divorce: When One Spouse is a Foreigner, Divorce is Recognized even if Initiated by the Filipino Spouse]
If there’s already a divorce validly secured abroad (by the foreigner-spouse or the Filipino spouse who became a foreign citizen, losing his/her Filipino citizenship in the process), can the Filipino spouse immediately remarry?
No. The existence of a valid divorce decree does not automatically entitle the Filipino to remarry in the Philippines. The foreign divorce decree must be judicially recognized in the Philippines. This means that the proper action or petition must be filed in a Philippine court. For purposes of re-marriage, the divorce validly secured abroad is not automatically recognized here in the Philippines. [See: Process of Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree]
Isn’t it enough that I already forwarded the divorce decree to the Philippine Embassy (or the Department of Foreign Affairs) and the National Statistics Office (NSO)?
No. The foreign divorce decree must be recognized here in the Philippines — a process which can only be done through the courts.
Why should we waste money in filing a petition in court for the recognition of the divorce decree?
This is the requirement of law, unfortunately. The divorce decree must be proven, just like any fact, in court. The presentation of the divorce decree is insufficient. Proof of its authenticity and due execution must be presented. This necessarily entails proving the applicable laws of the jurisdiction where the foreigner-spouse is a national. One of the requirements under Article 26 is that the decree of divorce must be valid according to the national law of the foreigner. [See Process of Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree]
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HELLO PO,
ASK KO LANG PO.
MAY KAIBIGAN PO AKONG KASAL PO NG ISANG KOREAN BEFORE DITO PINAS TAPOS PUMUNTA NA SILA DITO NG KOREA. AFTER 9 YEARS MORE SA KANILANG PAGSASAMA AY HINIWALAYAN PO SIYA THRU COURT AT DIVORCE NA PO SILA NGAYON. AT CITIZEN NA RIN PO.ANG TANONG KO PO, PWEDE NA PO BA SIYANG MAG-ASAWA RITO SA KOREA? PAANO PO ANG STATUS NG KASAL NIYA SA PINAS?
hi atty. my divorce paper po akong hawak .married po ako sa korean 2010 at nag divorced po kami 2011 sa korea ano po gagawin ko para maging single po ako ulit at ano po gagawin ko po sa divorced paper na hawak ko ngayon ? pero naka korean po xa nd po nka english . Thanks po
Hello po Atty.! Magandang Buhay!
Tanong lang po. My bestfriend girl had a relation to a man who was married by civil. matagal na nagkahiwalay ang kanyang nobyo sa kanyang asawa na mga pitong taon na po. Nasa visayas ang asawa ng kanyang nobyo at ang nobyo nya ay nasa mindanao. Ano po ba kailangan o dapat gawin, dahil po gusto nila makasal at magsama. Pwede po ba na makasal sila kahit kasal na sa civil ang kanyang nobyo noong 2004? Di po ako makasagot sa tanong ng besty ko kaya po ako na lang nagtanong dito.
ATTY. are foreigners allowed to file a case for ‘RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN DIVORCE” anywhere in PHILS.?as he was previously married to a Filipina there in PASAY CITY and then they got divorce in CANADA.We been consulting many lawyers already and they have different opinion about it and its puzzles as a lot we don’t want to waste our time and money and just in ended up dismiss by the court here.
Please help us to light up what we should do and what are the documents needed in filing the case,we already authenticated his documents in his embassy as well as in dfa infact we already filed it in manila[civil registrar office]….thank you in advance….
What if both the filipino spouse and alien wife jointly filed for a divorce.. can the filipino have it recognized here
Atty. Fred,
Ask ko lang po, kung nagfile po ng Petition under Rule 108 and in the proceedings dun po ipaparecognize yung decree of divorce, tulad po ng sinabi sa Corpuz v. Sto. Tomas case, san po ang venue kung ang kasal ay sa foreign country?
I have a question.If the US citizen husband who get married here in the Philippines divorce a Filipina via publication,can a Filipina wife still file for annulment or she really needs the divorce paper from the spouse to file a decree of divorce for foreign recognition?
Good eve atty. My boyfriend is a Canadian but he was a former Filipino.He got married here when he was a Filipino then he and his ex wife went to canada and they both became canadian citizen..Now they were separated for 5 yrs and they filed
for a divorce in canada..Now wer planning to get married here in the philippines..Do we still need to get a recognition of foreign divorce?
A Filipina was divorced from her foreign spouse. The foreign spouse remarried and later died. If the Filipina want to remarry, does she need to have her divorce judicially recognized by a Philippine court before she can be allowed to remarry even if her former spouse had already died?
Hello Atty. Me and my BF stayed together for 14 years and have already 12 years old daughter. The problem is he is already divorced in Italy but he was married a filipina in Manila. Do we can marry here in Philippines, even he is not yet annulled from he’s x Filipina wife? Thank you