Annulment FAQs

1. Is there divorce in the Philippines?

In Philippine jurisdiction, divorce is non-existent.
2. Is divorce between Filipinos abroad valid here in the
Philippines?
No, as divorce is not allowed here in the Philippines, what cannot be
done directly here cannot be done indirectly abroad. This is due to the
fact that "laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status,
condition and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the
Philippines, even though living abroad." (Article 15 of the Civil Code of
the Philippines)
3. Since there is no divorce, how can I dissolve my marriage?
Under Philippine law, parties who wish to have their marriage annulled
have three options:
Petition for annulment of marriage;Petition for nullity of marriage.
A petition for annulment of marriage is applicable to marriages that
are voidable. Under Philippine law, a voidable marriage is one that "is
valid until otherwise declared by the court." (Nial vs. Bayadog, G.R. No.
133778, 14 March 2000)
A petition for nullity of marriage presupposes that the marriage was
void from the beginning on account of the inability of the parties to
satisfy the formal and essential requisites of marriage (Article 2 and 3
Family Code of the Philippines) as well as their failure to comply the
essential marital obligations of marriage, namely: to "live together,
observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render mutual help and
support." (Article 68 Family Code of the Philippines).
4. What are these essential and formal requisites of marriage?
The essential requisites of marriage are:
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.
(Article 2 Family Code of the Philippines)
The formal requisites of marriage are:
1. Authority of the solemnizing officer;
2. A valid marriage license; and
3. A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the
contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal
declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the
presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age. (Article 3 Family
Code of the Philippines)
5. What is psychological incapacity?
Psychological incapacity refer to no less than a mental (not physical)
incapacity that causes a party to be truly incognitive of the basic
marital covenants that concomitantly must be assumed and
discharged by the parties to the marriage which, as so expressed by
Article 68 of the Family Code, include their mutual obligations to live
together, observe love, respect and fidelity and render help and
support. (Santos v. Court of Appeals, et al., 310 Phil. 21 (1995))
Simply put, psychological incapacity is the failure of the party to a
marriage to assume and comply with the essential obligations of
marriage.
6. What are the characteristics of psychological incapacity?
Psychological incapacity must be characterized by:
Gravity It must be grave or serious such that the party would be
incapable of carrying out the ordinary duties required in a
marriage;Juridical Antecedence It must be rooted in the history of
the party antedating the marriage, although the overt manifestations
may emerge only after the marriage; andIncurability It must be
incurable or, even if I were otherwise, the cure would be beyond the
means of the party involved.(Santos v. Court of Appeals, et al., 310
Phil. 21 (1995))
7. My husband and I have constant marital disagreements such
that our marital relation is extremely strained, can I file for
annulment on the ground of psychological incapacity?
No, personal differences do not reflect a personality disorder
tantamount to psychological incapacity. (Marable vs. Marable, G.R. No.
178741, 17 January 2011) Mere showing of "irreconciliable
differences" and "conflicting personalities" in no wise constitutes
psychological incapacity. It is not enough to prove that the parties
failed to meet their responsibilities and duties as married persons; it is
essential that they must be shown to be incapable of doing so, due to
some psychological (nor physical) illness. (Republic of the Philippines
vs. CA, G.R. No. 108763, 13 February 1997)
8. Who can file the action to declare the marriage void?
Either party, even the psychologically incapacitated, can file the action.
(Edward Kenneth Ngo Te vs. Rowena Ong Gutierrez Yu-Te, G.R. No.
161793, 13 February 2009)
9. Does the action to declare the marriage void on account of
the psychological incapacity of a party to a marriage prescribe?
No, the action or defense for the declaration of absolute nullity of a
marriage does not prescribe. (Article 39, Family Code of the
Philippines)
10. Is there a need for my husband to be personally examined
by a psychiatrist for the declaration of nullity of marriage on
the basis of psychological incapacity?
No, there is no requirement that the defendant/respondent spouse
should be personally examined by a physician or psychologist as a
condition sine qua non for the declaration of nullity of marriage based
on psychological incapacity. (Marcos vs. Marcos, G.R. No. 136490. 19
October 2000)
11. My husband is physically unable to comply with his marital
obligations; can I have my marriage annulled on the basis of
his psychological incapacity?
No, the psychologically refers to the mental incapacity that prevents
the party from complying with his basic marital covenants. (Santos v.
Court of Appeals, et al., 310 Phil. 21 (1995)) It bears stressing that
psychological incapacity must be more than just a "difficulty," "refusal"
or "neglect" in the performance of some marital obligations. Rather, it
is essential that the concerned party was incapable of doing so, due to
some psychological illness existing at the time of the celebration of the
marriage. (Marable vs. Marable, G.R. No. 178741, 17 January 2011)
It is indispensable that the evidence must show a link, medical or the
like, between the acts that manifest psychological incapacity and the
psychological disorder itself. (Marable vs. Marable, G.R. No. 178741,
17 January 2011)
12. What is a Psychological Report?
The psychological report embodies the findings of a clinical
psychologist regarding the psychological state of an individual. It is the
product of a two-part test: the psychological testing and the clinical
interview which the petitioner should undergo.
Legally, it is an indispensable piece of evidence for the declaration of
nullity of marriage on the ground of Psychological Incapacity under
Article 36 of the Family Code of thePhilippines. Absent any
Psychological Incapacity on the part of the Petitioner or Respondent
would result in the dismissal of the petition.
13. Is the Psychological Report and testimony of the
Psychologist sufficient to establish the existence of
Psychological Incapacity?
No, psychological incapacity must be established by the totality of the
evidence presented during the trial. (Marcos vs. Marcos, G.R. No.
136490. 19 October 2000) Hence other evidence must be presented
during the trial to establish the psychological incapacity.
14. My husband/wife agreed to have an annulment; can we file
the case for nullity of marriage?
No, in cases of annulment and declaration of absolute nullity of
marriage, collusion between parties is prohibited. (Article 48 Family
Code of the Philippines)
This prohibition is due to the fact that "our family law is based on the
policy that marriage is not a mere contract, but a social institution in
which the state is vitally interested. The state can find no stronger
anchor than on good, solid and happy families. The break up of
families weakens our social and moral fabric and, hence, their
preservation is not the concern alone of the family members." (Tuason
vs. Tuason, G.R. No. 116607, 10 April 1996)
15. What would happen if I was forced to marry my
husband/wife?
The marriage is deemed as void from the very beginning. There is an
absence of consent if one is forced against his will to wed another. As
consent is an essential requisite of marriage (Article 4 Family Code of
the Philippines), the absence thereof is deemed as a ground for the
annulment of marriage.
16. I discovered after the marriage that my husband/wife's
character is vastly different from when we were dating. Can I
file for annulment?
No, misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health, rank, fortune
or chastity is not considered as fraud and it cannot be used as a
ground for action for the annulment of marriage. (Article 46 Family
Code of the Philippines)
17. I discovered that at the time I married my wife, she was
already pregnant with the child of another person, can I file for
annulment?
Yes, non-disclosure of the wife that she is pregnant with the child of
another man is considered as fraud under Article 45 of the Family code
of the Philippines. (Article 46 paragraph 2 Family Code of the
Philippines)
18. What are the grounds for the annulment of marriage?
Article 45 of the Family Code of the Philippines provides the grounds
for the annulment of marriage which must be present at the time the
marriage was celebrated, to wit:
1.Either party (between the age of 18 to 21 years old) got married
without parental consent unless parties freely cohabited with the other
as husband and wife after attaining the age of twenty-one;
2.Either party was of unsound mind, UNLESS such, freely cohabited
with the other as husband and wife after coming to reason;
3.The consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless parties
lived together as husband and wife despite the discovery of the fraud
by innocent spouse;
4.The consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or
undue influence, unless parties continued to live as husband and wife
even though the force, intimidation or undue influence had ceased.
5.The physical inability to have sexual intercourse of either or both
parties and such circumstance is incurable.
6.Either party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease which
is serious and appears to be incurable.
19. What are the grounds for the declaration of nullity of
marriage?
The grounds are enumerated under Article 35 and 36 of the Family
Code of the Philippines, to wit:
Either or both parties are below eighteen years of age; Marriage was
solemnized by a person not legally authorized to perform
marriages;There is no marriage license;Marriage is bigamous or
polygamous;There was a mistake of one contracting party as to the
identity of the other;The subsequent marriage is void;
andPsychological incapacity.
20. What are the effects of the declaration of nullity/annulment
of a marriage?
The dissolution of the marriage through annulment or nullity of
marriage shall have the following results:
Either spouse can remarry; Children born during the existence of the
marriage are still deemed legitimate;Custody of the common children
shall be awarded to either or both parents, and;The property regime
shall be dissolved and liquidated. (Article 50, Family Code of the
Philippines)
Legal Separation FAQs
21. Can I remarry after my Legal Separation is granted?
No, legal separation is merely the separation of spouses from bed and
board. (Article 63 Family Code) While it permits the partial suspension
of marital relations, the marriage bond still exists as the marital bonds
are not severed as in the case of annulment or petition for nullity.
22. What are the grounds for Legal Separation?
The grounds for legal separation are:
Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against
the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner; Physical
violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious
or political affiliation;Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the
petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in
prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement;Final
judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six
years, even if pardoned;Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the
respondent;Lesbianism or homosexuality of the
respondent;Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous
marriage, whether in thePhilippinesor abroad;Sexual infidelity or
perversion;Attempt by the respondent against the life of the
petitioner; orAbandonment of petitioner by respondent without
justifiable cause for more than one year. (Article 55 Family Code of the
Philippines)
23. What would happen to the donation I gave my
wife/husband before the legal separation?
The innocent spouse may revoke the donations he/she made in favor
of the offending spouse. If such donations involve property, such
revocations should be recorded in the Register of Deeds in the places
where the properties are located. (Article 64 Family Code of the
Philippines)
Note however that such revocation must be done within five years
from the time the decree of legal separation become final.
24. My husband/wife and I agreed to have a legal separation,
can we still file a case for legal separation?
No, collusion or connivance between parties is a ground for the denial
of the petition for legal separation. (Article 56 Family Code of the
Philippines)
25. When should I file for Legal Separation?
The action for legal separation should be filed within five (5) years
from the time of the occurrence of the cause. (Article 57 Family Code
of the Philippines; A.M. No. 02-11-11-SC, 15 March 2003)
26. What are the effects of Legal Separation?
1. The spouses shall be entitled to live separately from each other, but
the marriage bonds shall not be severed;
2. The absolute community or the conjugal partnership shall be
dissolved and liquidated but the offending spouse shall have no right
to any share of the net profits earned by the absolute community or
the conjugal partnership;
3. The custody of the minor children shall be awarded to the innocent
spouse; and
4. The offending spouse shall be disqualified from inheriting from the
innocent spouse by intestate succession. (Article 63 Family Code of the
Philippines)