II.

Annulment
a. Annulment defined
Annulment is a legal procedure for declaring a marriage as null and
void. An annulled marriage is considered to be invalid from the
beginning, as if it had never taken place. This means that the
individuals were never united in marriage as husband and wife.
Annulment is different from a declaration of nullity. Annulment applies
to a marriage that is considered valid, but there are grounds to nullify
it. Declaration of nullity applies to a marriage that is invalid since the
beginning.
b. Laws and Processes of Annulment
Marriages can be annulled by the court on the following grounds:
1. Either party was eighteen (18) years of age but below twenty-one
(21), and the marriage was solemnized without the consent of the
parents, guardian or person having substitute parental authority over
the party. You can only file the Petition within five (5) years after
reaching the age of twenty-one. But you cannot anymore file the
Petition if you have freely cohabited with each other as husband and
wife after you reach the age of twenty-one. Your parent/s or guardian
can also file the Petition anytime before you reach the age of twentyone.
2. Either party was of unsound mind at the time of marriage. You may
file the Petition anytime before the death of your husband or wife. But
for instance, you freely cohabited with each after he/she came to
reason, under this circumstance, you are already precluded by law
from filing the Petition.
3. The consent of either party was obtained by fraud. You can file the
Petition within five years after the discovery of the fraud, provided that
you did not freely cohabit with your husband or wife after your full
knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud. Sounds tricky?
4. The consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or
undue influence or otherwise known as shotgun marriage. You can
file the Petition within five years from the time the force, intimidation,
or undue influence disappeared or ceased. However, you are already
barred from filing the Petition if you have freely cohabited with your
husband or wife knowing that the force or intimidation had already
ceased.

5. Either party was a sexual impotent or physically incapable of

engaging in sexual intercourse and such incapacity continues and
appears to be incurable. You can file the Petition within five (5) years
after marriage.
6. Either party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease found
to be serious and appears to be incurable. You can file the Petition
within five (5) years after marriage.
The kinds of fraud that will give ground for annulment are as follows:
1. Non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final judgment of the
other party of a crime involving moral turpitude;
2. Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the marriage,
she was pregnant by a man other than her husband;
3. Concealment of sexually transmissible disease, regardless of its
nature, existing at the time of the marriage; or
4. Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism
homosexuality or lesbianism existing at the time of the marriage.

or

The grounds to declare the marriage void:

1. Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even
with the consent of parents or guardians;
2. Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform
marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both
parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal
authority to do so;
3. Those solemnized without license unless exempted by law.
4. Those bigamous or polygamous marriages.
5. Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the
identity of the other;
6. Assuming that you caused the annulment of your first marriage.
However, you get married immediately without waiting for issuance of
the Final Decree of Annulment. Your second marriage can also be
voided by the Court.

7. Psychological Incapacity of the husband or wife, existing at the time

of marriage, which prevents him or her from complying with the
essential marital obligations of marriage, even if such incapacity
becomes manifest only after the solemnization of the marriage.
8. Incestuous Marriages (between ascendants and descendants;
between brothers and sisters whether full or half blood).
9. Marriages between relatives:
a. between collateral blood relatives, whether legitimate or illegitimate,
up to the fourth civil degree;
b. between step-parents and step-children;
c. between parents-in-law and children-in-law;
d. between the adopting parent and the adopted child;
e. between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the
adopted child;
f. between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;
g. between an adopted child and and a legitimate child of the adopter;
h. between adopted children of the same adopter;
i. between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other,
killed the other persons spouse, or his or her own spouse.
Reference:
Gtalawphil.com,. Guzman Taedo & Acain - Frequently Asked Questions
on Philippine Annulment Law. Retrieved 13 February 2015, from
http://www.gtalawphil.com/Philippine%20Annulment%20101.htm
Annulment. (2015). The Free Dictionary. Retrieved from http://legaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/annulment