Executive Order No. 209 The Family Code of The Philippines Title I Marriage Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage Art 1. Marriage Definition
Executive Order No. 209 The Family Code of The Philippines Title I Marriage Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage Art 1. Marriage Definition
Executive Order No. 209 The Family Code of The Philippines Title I Marriage Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage Art 1. Marriage Definition
209
THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
TITLE I
MARRIAGE
Marriage is:
1. Special contract
2. Permanent union
3. Between a man and woman
4. In accordance w/law
5. For the establishment of conjugal and family
6. Foundation of a family
7. Inviolable social institution
8. Nature, consequences and incidents are governed by law
9. Not subject to stipulation (except property relations)
(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and
(2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer. (53a)
c. IRREGULARITY on the formal requisites - NO EFFECT, but the party or parties responsible for the
irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable. (n)
Ex: there is only one witness, the witnesses are not of legal age
Art. 5. Any male or female of the age of eighteen years or upwards not under any of the impediments mentioned in
Articles 37 and 38, may contract marriage. (54a)
Art. 6. No prescribed form or religious rite for the solemnization of the marriage is required. It shall be necessary,
however, for the contracting parties to appear personally before the solemnizing officer and declare in the
presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age that they take each other as husband and wife. This
declaration shall be contained in the marriage certificate which shall be signed by the contracting parties and
their witnesses and attested by the solemnizing officer.
In case of a marriage in articulo mortis, when the party at the point of death is unable to sign the marriage
certificate, it shall be sufficient for one of the witnesses to the marriage to write the name of said party, which
fact shall be attested by the solemnizing officer. (55a)
(1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court's jurisdiction;
(2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized by his church or
religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within the limits of the written authority
granted by his church or religious sect and provided that at least one of the contracting parties belongs to the
solemnizing officer's church or religious sect;
(3) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in the case mentioned in Article 31;
(4) Any military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the latter, during a
military operation, likewise only in the cases mentioned in Article 32;
(5) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul in the case provided in Article 10. (56a)
Art. 11. Where a marriage license is required, each of the contracting parties shall file separately a sworn
application for such license with the proper local civil registrar which shall specify the following:
(1) Full name of the contracting party;
(2) Place of birth;
(3) Age and date of birth;
(4) Civil status;
(5) If previously married, how, when and where the previous marriage was dissolved or annulled;
(6) Present residence and citizenship;
(7) Degree of relationship of the contracting parties;
(8) Full name, residence and citizenship of the father;
(9) Full name, residence and citizenship of the mother; and
(10) Full name, residence and citizenship of the guardian or person having charge, in case the contracting party
has neither father nor mother and is under the age of twenty-one years.
The applicants, their parents or guardians shall not be required to exhibit their residence certificates in any formality
in connection with the securing of the marriage license. (59a)
Art. 12.
a) Birth Certificate or baptismal
The local civil registrar, upon receiving such application, shall require the presentation of the original birth
certificates or, in default thereof, the baptismal certificates of the contracting parties or copies of such
documents duly attested by the persons having custody of the originals. These certificates or certified copies
of the documents by this Article need not be sworn to and shall be exempt from the documentary stamp tax.
The signature and official title of the person issuing the certificate shall be sufficient proof of its authenticity.
Art. 13. WITH PREVIOUS MARRIAGE – Death Certificate or Judicial Decree of absolute divorce/
annulment/ nullity
In case either of the contracting parties has been previously married, the applicant shall be required to furnish,
instead of the birth or baptismal certificate required in the last preceding article, the death certificate of the
deceased spouse or the judicial decree of the absolute divorce, or the judicial decree of annulment or
declaration of nullity of his or her previous marriage.
In case the death certificate cannot be secured, the party shall make an affidavit setting forth this circumstance
and his or her actual civil status and the name and date of death of the deceased spouse. (61a)
In case either or both of the contracting parties, not having been emancipated by a previous marriage, are
between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one, they shall, in addition to the requirements of the preceding
articles, exhibit to the local civil registrar, the consent to their marriage of their father, mother, surviving
parent or guardian, or persons having legal charge of them, in the order mentioned. Such consent shall be
manifested in writing by the interested party, who personally appears before the proper local civil registrar,
or in the form of an affidavit made in the presence of two witnesses and attested before any official
authorized by law to administer oaths. The personal manifestation shall be recorded in both applications for
marriage license, and the affidavit, if one is executed instead, shall be attached to said applications. (61a)
Effect of absence: NO EFFECT, but the marriage license shall not be issued until after 3mos following the
date of completion of the 10-day publication.
Any contracting party between the age of twenty-one and twenty-five shall be obliged to ask their parents
or guardian for advice upon the intended marriage. If they do not obtain such advice, or if it be unfavorable,
the marriage license shall not be issued till after three months following the completion of the publication
of the application therefor. A sworn statement by the contracting parties to the effect that such advice has
been sought, together with the written advice given, if any, shall be attached to the application for marriage
license. Should the parents or guardian refuse to give any advice, this fact shall be stated in the sworn
statement. (62a)
In the cases where parental consent or parental advice is needed, the party or parties concerned shall, in
addition to the requirements of the preceding articles, attach a certificate issued by a priest, imam or
minister authorized to solemnize marriage under Article 7 of this Code or a marriage counselor duly
accredited by the proper government agency to the effect that the contracting parties have undergone
marriage counseling. Failure to attach said certificates of marriage counseling shall suspend the issuance of
the marriage license for a period of three months from the completion of the publication of the application.
Issuance of the marriage license within the prohibited period shall subject the issuing officer to
administrative sanctions but shall not affect the validity of the marriage.
Should only one of the contracting parties need parental consent or parental advice, the other party must be
present at the counseling referred to in the preceding paragraph. (n)
In case of any impediment known to the local civil registrar or brought to his attention, he shall note down
the particulars thereof and his findings thereon in the application for marriage license, but shall nonetheless
issue said license after the completion of the period of publication, unless ordered otherwise by a competent
court at his own instance or that of any interest party. No filing fee shall be charged for the petition nor a
corresponding bond required for the issuances of the order. (64a)
The local civil registrar shall require the payment of the fees prescribed by law or regulations before the
issuance of the marriage license. No other sum shall be collected in the nature of a fee or tax of any kind for
the issuance of said license. It shall, however, be issued free of charge to indigent parties, that is those who
have no visible means of income or whose income is insufficient for their subsistence a fact established by
their affidavit, or by their oath before the local civil registrar. (65a)
Art. 20. LIFE OF MARRIAGE LICENSE -120days, valid any part of the Phils.
The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of one hundred twenty days from the
date of issue, and shall be deemed automatically canceled at the expiration of the said period if the
contracting parties have not made use of it. The expiry date shall be stamped in bold characters on the face
of every license issued. (65a)
Art. 21. MARRIAGE OF EITHER/ BOTH ALIENS IN THE COUNTRY - Certificate of legal capacity to
contract marriage/ Affidavit for stateless persons
When either or both of the contracting parties are citizens of a foreign country, it shall be necessary for
them before a marriage license can be obtained, to submit a certificate of legal capacity to contract
marriage, issued by their respective diplomatic or consular officials.
Stateless persons or refugees from other countries shall, in lieu of the certificate of legal capacity herein
required, submit an affidavit stating the circumstances showing such capacity to contract marriage. (66a)
The marriage certificate, in which the parties shall declare that they take each other as husband and wife,
shall also state:
(1) The full name, sex and age of each contracting party;
(2) Their citizenship, religion and habitual residence;
(3) The date and precise time of the celebration of the marriage;
(4) That the proper marriage license has been issued according to law, except in marriage provided for in
Chapter 2 of this Title;
(5) That either or both of the contracting parties have secured the parental consent in appropriate cases;
(6) That either or both of the contracting parties have complied with the legal requirement regarding
parental advice in appropriate cases; and
(7) That the parties have entered into marriage settlement, if any, attaching a copy thereof. (67a)
Art. 23. Marriage certificate in 4 copies
It shall be the duty of the person solemnizing the marriage to furnish either of the contracting parties the
original of the marriage certificate referred to in Article 6 and to send the duplicate and triplicate copies of
the certificate not later than fifteen days after the marriage, to the local civil registrar of the place where the
marriage was solemnized. Proper receipts shall be issued by the local civil registrar to the solemnizing
officer transmitting copies of the marriage certificate. The solemnizing officer shall retain in his file the
quadruplicate copy of the marriage certificate, the copy of the marriage certificate, the original of the
marriage license and, in proper cases, the affidavit of the contracting party regarding the solemnization of
the marriage in place other than those mentioned in Article 8. (68a)
Art. 24. It shall be the duty of the local civil registrar to prepare the documents required by this Title, and to
administer oaths to all interested parties without any charge in both cases. The documents and affidavits filed in
connection with applications for marriage licenses shall be exempt from documentary stamp tax. (n)
Art. 25. The local civil registrar concerned shall enter all applications for marriage licenses filed with him in a
registry book strictly in the order in which the same are received. He shall record in said book the names of the
applicants, the date on which the marriage license was issued, and such other data as may be necessary. (n)
EXN: Articles 35
(1) below 18 years old
(4) bigamous/ polygamous (except Art 41)
(5) contracted by mistake of one of the party as to the identity of the other
(6) subsequent marriages that are void under Art 53
* 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. (As amended by Executive Order 227)
Art. 29. In the cases provided for in the two preceding articles, the solemnizing officer shall state in an affidavit
executed before the local civil registrar or any other person legally authorized to administer oaths that the
marriage was performed in articulo mortis or that the residence of either party, specifying the barrio or
barangay, is so located that there is no means of transportation to enable such party to appear personally
before the local civil registrar and that the officer took the necessary steps to ascertain the ages and
relationship of the contracting parties and the absence of legal impediment to the marriage. (72a)
Art. 30. The original of the affidavit required in the last preceding article, together with the legible copy of the
marriage contract, shall be sent by the person solemnizing the marriage to the local civil registrar of the
municipality where it was performed within the period of thirty days after the performance of the marriage.
(75a)
Art. 33. Marriages among Muslims or among members of the ethnic cultural communities may be performed
validly without the necessity of marriage license, provided they are solemnized in accordance with their
customs, rites or practices. (78a)
No license shall be necessary for the marriage of a man and a woman who have lived together as husband
and wife for at least five years and without any legal impediment to marry each other. The contracting
parties shall state the foregoing facts in an affidavit before any person authorized by law to administer
oaths. The solemnizing officer shall also state under oath that he ascertained the qualifications of the
contracting parties are found no legal impediment to the marriage. (76a)
VOID VOIDABLE
Nature Inexistent. Void ab initio. Valid until annulled by court.
Document Decree of Nullity Decree of Annulment
Prescription Action for the declaration of nullity does not Action for the declaration of nullity does not
prescribe. prescribe.
Ratification Cannot be ratified Can be ratified by prescription and free
cohabitation.
How to Can be attacked directly or indirectly/ Can only be attacked directly.
impugn collaterally.
Legitimacy of GR: Illegitimate, Those conceived before the declaration of
children EXN: Art 36 and 53 annulment are legitimate.
Effect on No conjugal partnership/ absolute community There is conjugal partnership/ absolute
property property. Only co-ownership. community property.
relations
Effect of death Can still be impugned even after death of Can no longer be impugned after the death
of parties parties. of parties.
Art. 37. Marriages between the following are INCESTUOUS and void from the beginning, whether relationship
between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:
(1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and
(2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood. (81a)
Art. 38. The following marriages shall be VOID from the beginning for reasons of PUBLIC POLICY:
(CSPASSAAP)
(1) Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth civil degree;
(2) Between step-parents and step-children;
(3) Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;
(4) Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(5) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(6) Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;
(7) Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter;
(8) Between adopted children of the same adopter; and
(9) Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other person's spouse, or his or
her own spouse. (82)
Art. 39. The action or defense for the declaration of absolute nullity of a marriage shall not prescribe.
(As amended by Executive Order 227 and Republic Act No. 8533; The phrase "However, in case of
marriage celebrated before the effectivity of this Code and falling under Article 36, such action or defense
shall prescribe in ten years after this Code shall taken effect" has been deleted by Republic Act No. 8533
[Approved February 23, 1998]).
Art. 40. The absolute nullity of a previous marriage may be invoked for purposes of remarriage on the basis solely
of a final judgment declaring such previous marriage void. (n)