Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree

Published by Atty. Fred June 5th, 2009 in Annulment and Legal Separation. 35 Comments
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Divorce is not allowed in the Philippines and divorce secured anywhere by a Filipino is not recognized in this
jurisdiction.We already have a number of discussions on this (read more here and here). In certain instances, however, a
divorce validly secured abroad by a non-Filipino may be recognized here in the Philippines.
What are circumstances that would make Article (Family Code) applicable?
We have a basic discussion on Article 26 of the Family Code (click here: Divorce and Annulment in the Philippines).
Included in that discussion are the two elements that must be shown before the second paragraph of Article 26 is
applied:
1. There is a valid marriage that has been celebrated between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner; and
2. A valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry.
Is this provision applicable to former Filipinos?
Yes. See the discussion here.
This law provides that the divorce must be secured by the foreigner-spouse. What if the foreigner-spouse
continually maltreats the Filipino/Filipina spouse, isnt it unfair that the Filipino/Filipina cant initiate divorce?
It may be unfair, but thats the law, consistent with the States policy of not allowing divorce for Filipinos. This doesnt
mean, however, that the Filipino/Filipina has no other recourse. If the circumstances fall under the grounds for
annulment/declaration of nullity, then the marriage could still be annulled or declared null and void from the beginning.
If theres already a divorce validly secured abroad (by the foreigner-spouse or the Filipino spouse who
became a foreign citizen, losing his/her Filipino citizenship in the process), can the Filipino spouse
immediately remarry?
No. The existence of a valid divorce decree, however, does not automatically entitle the Filipino to remarry in the
Philippines. The foreign divorce decree must be judicially recognized in the Philippines. This means that the proper action
or petition must be filed in a Philippine court. For purposes of re-marriage, the divorce validly secured abroad is not
automatically recognized here in the Philippines.
Isnt it enough that I already forwarded the divorce decree to the Philippine Embassy (or the Department of
Foreign Affairs) and the National Statistics Office (NSO)?
No. The foreign divorce decree must be recognized here in the Philippines; a process which may only be done through
the courts.
Why should we waste money in filing a petition in court for the recognition of the divorce decree?
This is the requirement of law, unfortunately. The divorce decree must be proven, just like any fact, in court. The
presentation of the divorce decree is insufficient. Proof of its authenticity and due execution must be presented. This
necessarily entails proving the applicable laws of the jurisdiction where the foreigner-spouse (who could be a former
Filipino) is a national. One of the requirements under Article 26 is that the decree of divorce must be valid according to

the national law of the foreigner.

35 Responses to Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree

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15 nins

Dec 30th, 2009 at 4:10 am

another question, could i apply annulment there in philippines since i was here in canada?

14 nins

Dec 30th, 2009 at 4:04 am

Im here in canada for only 1 yr and married in the philippines for 7yrs but separated(not legal) for 5yrs. I want to
file a divorce here in canada but im not planning to remarry for now(maybe for d future) is it possible?!!

13 pacman

Nov 30th, 2009 at 1:18 am

dear atty,
in oct 2000, i was married in civil rights in the US to a filipina who was a naturalized US citizen before our
marriage. in jan 2001, we got married in church here in the philippines. our marriage did not last long and she filed
for divorce not long after. divorce was granted. she also filed for church annulment and recognition of foreign
divorce. church annulment was granted both in the court of first instance and appelate court in 2005 and 2007
respectively. only the petition for recognition of foreign divorce is still pending. do i have to file a separate petition
for the recognition of foreign divorce or do i just follow up on the petition which she already filed. she is not
following it up anymore. after all, being a US citizen she is not bound by philippine laws and can actually marry
again. article 26 applies to my case, right? what are your thoughts? thanks.

12 julieta

Jul 22nd, 2009 at 7:55 pm

(cont. of julieta)
Sorry po sa issue of annulment pala dapat me magsend ng message,, paki forward nalang po,, tnx

11 julieta

Jul 22nd, 2009 at 7:49 pm

(cont. of julieta)
in short po, wala po akong kinakasama until now, disgrasya po ang pangalawaat ni kailan po di po nya
nakita ang anak nya.. gusto ko po malaman kung paano mawalang bisa ang kasal ko sa kanya, ano po ba ang una
kong gagawin? di ko po kasi magamit ang single name ko dahil nga po sice nag aral na mga anak ko kailangan na
po nila ng mga identification ko im my married name,, so lahat po ng application gamit ko in my married name.. pls
help me po,, kindly send it to my email your answer at jlmanuel982002@yahoo.com
thnx

10 julieta

Jul 22nd, 2009 at 7:37 pm

(contfr julieta)
..magkaiba po ang ama nila,, kasal po ako sa una, at dala dala po namin hanggang ngayon ang apelyido ng ama sa
una kong anak,, ginamit ko rin po ang apelyido nya sa pangalawa kong anak kahit di sya ang ama nito, ang dahilan
ko po dahil nga kasal ako sa unaanyway nakasal po ako yr 1995 at that time buntis po ako sa kanya ng
5months, actually po di po talaga kami magkasama, pinahanap lang po sya ng lolo ko, buntis na po me ng

5months at ayaw nyang maging illigitimate ang apo nya sa tuhod.. at that day din pagkausap sa kanya ng lolo ko
agad kami pinakasal kinabukasan sa city hall, huwes lang po.. at nung araw din yun nagpaalam din ang exhusband ko na kailangan nyang bumalik sa trabaho nya.. at mula nun hanggang ngaun di na po sya nagbalik,,bale
14yrs same age ng anak nya na anak kong panganay..

9 julieta

Jul 22nd, 2009 at 7:11 pm

dear atty,
im a single parent of my 2 kids, 14yrs old and 12 yrs old.pareho po silang lumaking walang ama,

8 need_legal_ad

Jul 14th, 2009 at 3:29 am

I also have a concern on this thread.olin taha is right, what if someone has been maltreated(filipina) and she
divorced her husband.what can she do to have the chance to remarry??

7 olin taha

Jun 27th, 2009 at 10:14 pm

I have some observations about Article 26 of the Family Code. It says that it must be the foreigner spouse who
obtains the divorce in order for the Filipina spouse to be capacitated to remarry here. But what if its the Filipina
spouse who obtains the divorce because of physical violence or attempt against her life. Would she be
incapacitated to remarry because Art. 26 is specific that it must be the foreigner spouse who obtains the divorce?
Sounds unfair. Maybe this needs some curative legislation.

6 alvincurren

Jun 6th, 2009 at 3:25 am

Im an American. I married a filipina there in the R.P. and discovered she was defrauding me for money and a
green card. I am in the process getting an anullment based on that fraud. But now I have met another filipina that I
would like to marry.
Does a foreigner need to have his marriage judicially recognized to remarry as well?

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