Garcia v Recio

366 SCRA 437 | October 2, 2001

J. Panganiban

Fact:

Respondent, a Filipina, married an Australian in the Philippines and afterwards resided in

Australia. Not for long, they we’re immediately divorced in the latter country.

Respondent and petitioner met a few years after and got married together. Petitioner
discovered the respondent’s former marriage in Australia and filed for nullity of marriage.

Respondent however claims that his marriage were already dissolved long before petitioner and
respondent got married.

Issue:

Did the divorce obtained by Recio in Australia re-capacitates him to remarry?

Held:

No, the court cannot conclude that Recio who was then a naturalized Australian citizen was
legally capacitated to marry Garcia. Neither can the court grant Garcia’s prayer to declare her marriage
null and void on the ground of bigamy. After all it may turn out that under Australian law he was really
capacitated to marry Garcia as result of the divorce decree. The court laid down the following basic legal
principles; a marriage between two Filipino cannot be dissolved even by a divorce decree obtained
abroad because of Articles 15 and 17 of the Civil Code.