Issues:

1. Whether the 2nd paragraph of the of Art 26 of the Family Code extends to aliens the right to petition
a court of this jurisdiction for the recognition of a foreign divorce decree.
2. WON the unavailability of the 2nd paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code would strip Gerbert of
legal interest to petition the RTC for the recognition of his foreign divorce decree.
3. WON Gerbert failed to comply with the requisites on recognition of foreign divorce judgement.

Script:

Chief Justice Corona: Ms. Laut/ Ms. Del Castillo

Ms: Thank you Mr. Chief Justice and may it please the Court:
The alien spouse can claim no right under the second paragraph of Art 26 of the Family Code as
the substantive right it establishes is in favor of the Filipino spouse.

We agree on the decision of the RTC in concluding that Gerbert was not the proper party to
institute the action for judicial recognition of the foreign divorce decree as he is a naturalized
Canadian citizen and its ruling that only the Filipino spouse can avail of the remedy, under the
second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code, in order for him or her to be able to remarry
under Philippine law.

Again the Article 26 of the Family Code reads that all marriages solemnized outside the
Philippines.

Justice: Skip that part, we already know that provision. Lets get to the point. Isnt this Article 26 applies
as well to benefit of the alien as claimed by the petitioner?

Ms: No your honor. Article 26 of the Family Code does not apply to aliens as only Filipino spouse can
avail the remedy provided therefrom. This is consistent with the legislative intent behind the enactment of
the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code, as determined in Republic v. Orbecido III; the
provision was enacted to avoid the absurd situation where the Filipino spouse remains married to the alien
spouse who, after obtaining a divorce, is no longer married to the Filipino spouse.

Justice: Isnt the petition essentially for declaratory relief similar to that filed in Orbecido case in which
the petitioner similarly asks for a determination of his rights under the second paragraph of Article 26 of
the Family Code?

Ms: No, your honor. In the case at bar, the petitioner is a naturalized citizen of another state unlike in the
case of Orbecido who is a Filipino citizen. Hence is not a proper party to institute the action for judicial
recognition of the foreign divorce decree.

Justice: The possibility that Gerbert might be prosecuted for bigamy if he marries his Filipina fiance in
the Philippines since two marriage certificates, involving him, would be on file with the Civil Registry
Office not a sufficient legal interest?

Ms: Yes he has, however, not with respect to the application of Article 26 paragraph b which only applies
to a Filipino spouse. Your honor, may I respectfully ask to proceed with our arguments to further discuss
on the inapplicability of Article 26?

Justice: request granted, you may proceed.

Let me review the legislative history and intent behind the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family
Code.

The Family Code recognizes only two types of defective marriages void and voidable marriages. In both
cases, the basis for the judicial declaration of absolute nullity or annulment of the marriage exists before
or at the time of the marriage. Divorce, on the other hand, contemplates the dissolution of the lawful
union for cause arising after the marriage. Our family laws do not recognize absolute divorce between
Filipino citizens.

Recognizing the reality that divorce is a possibility in marriages between a Filipino and an alien,
President Corazon C. Aquino, in the exercise of her legislative powers under the Freedom Constitution,
enacted Executive Order No. (EO) 227, amending Article 26 of the Family Code to its present wording.

Through the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code, EO 227 effectively incorporated into the
law this Courts holding in Van Dorn v. Romillo, Jr. and Pilapil v. Ibay-Somera. In both cases, the Court
refused to acknowledge the alien spouses assertion of marital rights after a foreign courts divorce decree
between the alien and the Filipino. The Court, thus, recognized that the foreign divorce had already
severed the marital bond between the spouses. The Court reasoned in Van Dorn v. Romillo that:

To maintain x x x that, under our laws, [the Filipino spouse] has to be considered still married to
[the alien spouse] and still subject to a wife's obligations x x x cannot be just. [The Filipino spouse]
should not be obliged to live together with, observe respect and fidelity, and render support to [the alien
spouse]. The latter should not continue to be one of her heirs with possible rights to conjugal property.
She should not be discriminated against in her own country if the ends of justice are to be served.

As the RTC correctly stated, the provision was included in the law to avoid the absurd situation where the
Filipino spouse remains married to the alien spouse who, after obtaining a divorce, is no longer married to
the Filipino spouse. The legislative intent is for the benefit of the Filipino spouse, by clarifying his or her
marital status, settling the doubts created by the divorce decree. Essentially, the second paragraph of
Article 26 of the Family Code provided the Filipino spouse a substantive right to have his or her
marriage to the alien spouse considered as dissolved, capacitating him or her to remarry. Without
the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code, the judicial recognition of the foreign decree of
divorce, whether in a proceeding instituted precisely for that purpose or as a related issue in another
proceeding, would be of no significance to the Filipino spouse since our laws do not recognize divorce as
a mode of severing the marital bond; Article 17 of the Civil Code provides that the policy against absolute
divorces cannot be subverted by judgments promulgated in a foreign country. The inclusion of the second
paragraph in Article 26 of the Family Code provides the direct exception to this rule and serves as basis
for recognizing the dissolution of the marriage between the Filipino spouse and his or her alien spouse.

Additionally, an action based on the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code is not limited to
the recognition of the foreign divorce decree. If the court finds that the decree capacitated the alien spouse
to remarry, the courts can declare that the Filipino spouse is likewise capacitated to contract another
marriage. No court in this jurisdiction, however, can make a similar declaration for the alien spouse (other
than that already established by the decree), whose status and legal capacity are generally governed by his
national law.
Given the rationale and intent behind the enactment, and the purpose of the second paragraph of Article
26 of the Family Code, the RTC was correct in limiting the applicability of the provision for the benefit of
the Filipino spouse. In other words, only the Filipino spouse can invoke the second paragraph of Article
26 of the Family Code; the alien spouse can claim no right under this provision.

Justice: So does that mean the unavailability of the 2nd paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code would
strip Gerbert of legal interest to petition the RTC for the recognition of his foreign divorce decree.

Ms: No, your honor. The foreign divorce decree is presumptive evidence of a right that clothes the party
with legal interest to petition for its recognition in this jurisdiction. The foreign divorce decree itself, after
its authenticity and conformity with the aliens national law have been duly proven according to our rules
of evidence, serves as a presumptive evidence of right in favor of Gerbert, pursuant to Section 48, Rule 39
of the Rules of Court which provides for the effect of foreign judgments. However, in the instant case, the
petitioner failed to comply with the requisites on recognition of foreign divorce judgement.

Justice: How come the petitioner failed when he was abled to attached a petition a copy of the divorce
decree, as well as the required certificates proving its authenticity?

Ms: It is a well settled rule that the foreign judgment and its authenticity must be proven as facts under
our rules on evidence, together with the aliens applicable national law to show the effect of the judgment
on the alien himself or herself.

Since both the foreign divorce decree and the national law of the alien, recognizing his or her capacity to
obtain a divorce, purport to be official acts of a sovereign authority, Section 24, Rule 132 of the Rules of
Court comes into play.

Justice: What is this Rule 132 again?

Ms: This Section requires proof, either by (1) official publications or (2) copies attested by the officer
having legal custody of the documents. If the copies of official records are not kept in the Philippines,
these must be (a) accompanied by a certificate issued by the proper diplomatic or consular officer in the
Philippine foreign service stationed in the foreign country in which the record is kept and (b)
authenticated by the seal of his office.

Although the records show that Gerbert attached to his petition a copy of the divorce decree, as well as
the required certificates proving its authenticity, but failed to include a copy of the Canadian law on
divorce.

Chief Justice Corona: Thank you counsel.