1. What are the requisites for a valid marriage in the Philippines?
The following essential requisites must be present in order that a marriage shall be valid:
(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).
In addition, the following formal requisites of marriage must also be complied with:
(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2) A valid marriage license unless the marriage is of exceptional character; 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).
2. Who has the authority to solemnize marriages in the Philippines?
Marriage may be solemnized by:
(a) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court’s jurisdiction;
(b) 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;
(c) Any ship captain or airplane chief in a marriage in articulo mortis between passengers or crew members, not only while the ship is at sea or the plane is in flight, but also during stopovers at ports of call;
(d) Any military commander of a unit, to which a chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the latter, during a military operation. As a commissioned officer, the military commander may only solemnize a marriage in articulo mortis between persons within the zone of military operation, whether members of the armed forces or civilians;
(e) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul of the Republic of the Philippines in marriages between Filipino citizens abroad. The issuance of the marriage license and the duties of the local civil registrar and of the solemnizing officer with regard to the celebration of marriage shall be performed by said consular official; (Article 7, Family Code) and
(f) Duly elected mayors of cities and municipalities (Sec. 444, (b)(xviii) Chapter 3, Local Government Code)
3. Is a marriage license required?
Generally speaking, a marriage license is required. This is issued by the local civil registrar of the city or municipality where either contracting party habitually resides. However, a marriage license is not required in the following exceptional cases:
(a) Marriage in articulo mortis (Article 27, Family Code);
(b) Marriage between passengers or crew members in a ship or airplane (Article 31, Family Code);
(c) Marriage between persons in a military zone (Article 32, Family Code);
(d) Marriage in remote and inaccessible places (Article 28, Family Code);
(e) Marriages by Muslims and ethnic cultural minorities, provided they are solemnized in accordance with their customs, rites, or practices (Article 33, Family Code) and
(f) Marriage by parties who have cohabited for at least five (5) years, without any legal impediment to marry each other (Article 34, Family Code).
4. How can I obtain a marriage license?
Where a marriage license is required, each of the contracting parties shall either file separately a sworn application for such license and fill up the appropriate application forms 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 (Article 11, Family Code).
5. What requirements do I need to apply for a marriage license?
You would need the following:
(1) Your original birth certificate or baptismal certificate of the contracting parties, or copies of such documents duly attested by the persons having custody of the original. PSA-issued birth certificates are widely accepted, though the proper civil registrar may require additional information if the PSA-issued copy has issues.
(2) If either of the contracting parties has been previously married, the applicant shall be required to furnish, instead of the birth or baptismal certificate, the death certificate of the deceased spouse or the judicial decree of absolute divorce, the judicial decree of annulment or the declaration of nullity of his or her previous marriage.
(3) In case either or both of the contracting parties, are between the ages of eighteen (18) and twenty-one (21), written consent to their marriage of their father, mother, surviving parent or guardian, or persons having legal charge of them, in the order mentioned, shall be obtained.
(4) Any contracting party between the age of twenty-one and twenty-five shall be obliged to seek parental advice upon the intended marriage. If it is unfavorable, the marriage license shall not be issued till after three months following the completion of the publication of the application thereof.
(5) In the case where parental consent or parental advice is needed, the parties concerned shall attach a certificate issued by proper authorities to the effect that the contracting parties have undergone marriage counseling.
(6) When either or both of the contracting parties are citizens of a foreign country, it shall be necessary for them before a marriage license could be obtained, to submit a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage, issued by their respective diplomatic or consular officials.
(7) The contracting parties must accomplish four (4) copies of the Application for Marriage License for the purpose of registration.
(Source: https://psa.gov.ph/content/registration-application-marriage-license)
6. I am a Filipino and I have been legally married with a man in the U.S. Will our marriage be recognized in the Philippines?
No, marriages between parties of the same sex are not recognized in the Philippines. Articles 1 and 2 of the Family Code of the Philippines provide a definition and spell out the basic requisites of marriage. These provisions confine marriages to involve only a male and a female. The Supreme Court upheld the ban on same-sex marriage in the country (Falcis vs. Civil Registrar General, G.R. No. 217910). Due to the current iteration of Philippine laws being confined to the heteronormative standards under which they have been drafted, we do not recognize the existence and specificities of other forms of intimacy.
7. I am a Filipino man who underwent sex reassignment to become a woman. My Filipino boyfriend and I subsequently got married in the U.S. Will our marriage be recognized in the Philippines?
No, your marriage could not be recognized in the Philippines. Articles 1 and 2 of the Family Code provide a definition and provide the prevailing requisites of marriage. These provisions confine marriages to involve only a male and a female. The words “sex”, “male”, and “female” as used in our marriage laws should be understood in their common and ordinary usage. The statutory language of the law remains unchanged and it cannot be argued that the term “sex”, as used in the context of the time when the law was drafted, is something alterable through surgery or something that allows a post-operative male-to-female transsexual to be included in the category “female” (Silverio vs. Republic of the Philippines, G.R. No. 174689, 22 October 2007). Thus, the ban on same-sex marriage in the Philippines, as upheld in the case of Falcis vs. Civil Registrar General (G.R. No. 217910, 03 September 2019) applies.
8. How long can a marriage license be used?
The marriage license shall be valid for one hundred twenty (120) days from the date of issuance. It shall be deemed automatically cancelled at the expiration of said period if the contracting parties do not use it (Article 20, Family Code). This means that the marriage must be celebrated within one hundred twenty (120) days from the issuance of the marriage license, otherwise the contracting parties will have to acquire a new marriage license upon the expiration of their current license.
9. I am in Italy and my fiancée is in the Philippines about to give birth. Can I ask my brother to stand in as proxy for me to get married so our child will be legitimate?
No, marriage by proxy is proscribed in the Philippines. Such marriage is void because of non-compliance with the formal and essential requisite of a marriage ceremony as prescribed in Articles 5 and 6 of the Family Code. Accordingly, it shall be necessary for the contracting parties to appear personally before the solemnizing officer and declare in the presence of not less than two (2) witnesses of legal age that they take each other as husband and wife. This act may constitute the consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer.
10. I am in New York while my fiancée is in the Philippines and we are scheduled to get married tomorrow. However, my flight back to the Philippines has been delayed and I might not make it to our wedding. Can I attend my wedding through video conferencing?
No, marriage celebrated through video conferencing where either or both parties do not appear personally before the solemnizing officer, cannot be considered as valid in the Philippines. Both parties must personally appear 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 (Article 6, Family Code).
11. I am a Filipino citizen, and I got married with my American fiancée in New York City, U.S.A. Will my marriage be recognized in the Philippines?
Generally, marriages solemnized abroad in accordance with the laws in force in that country shall be valid in the Philippines (Article 26[1], Family Code of the Philippines). However, the following marriages are prohibited:
(a) Marriage where one or both parties are below eighteen (18) years of age (Article 35[1], Family Code);
(b) Bigamous or polygamous marriage (Article 35[4], Family Code);
(c) Mistake in identity (Article 35[5], Family Code);
(d) Marriages void under Article 53 (Article 35[6]);
(e) Psychological incapacity (Article 36, Family Code);
(f) Incestuous marriages (Article 37, Family Code); and
(g) Marriages that are void by reason of public policy (Article 38, Family Code).
If your marriage abroad with a foreigner falls under any of the above-enumerated exceptions, then your marriage will not be recognized in the Philippines.
