TITLE I
the parties until annulment or declaration of nullity of such
MARRIAGE
Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage
Article 1. Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a
man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the
establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the
family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences,
and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except
that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the
marriage within the limits provided by this Code. (52a)
 Marriage – founded on contract and established by law, under
which certain rights and duties incident to the relationship come
into being irrespective of the wishes of the parties.
 A social institution regulated and controlled by the State.
 Is a contract sui generis (unique).
 DISTINCTIONS BETWEEN MARRIAGE (M) AND AN
ORDINARY CONTRACT (OC):
a.) The marriage contract cannot be revoked, dissolved or
otherwise terminated by the parties, but only the sovereign
power of the state;
b.) The nature, consequences, and incidents or marriage are
governed by law and not subject to agreement; while in OC,
the parties are free to establish such clauses, terms and
conditions provided the same are not contrary to law, morals,
good customs, public order, or public policy.
c.) Only 2 persons of opposite sex may enter into a contract of
marriage, and but one such contract may exist at the same
time; while ordinary contracts may be entered into by any
number of persons, whether of the same or different sex;
d.) Marriage is not just a contract; it is fundamentally a social
institution.
 M is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a
woman.
 The status of marriage ordinarily continues during the joint lives of
marriage.
 Our family law is based on the policy that M is not a mere contract,
but a social institution in which the State is vitally interested
 Constitution considers M as an “inviolable social institution,” and
is “the foundation of family life which shall be protected by the
State.
 3 parties to every civil M: 2 willing spouses and an approving
State.
 According to the Family Code (FC), the parties may, in their M
settlement, fix their property relations during the M. (within the
limits provided by the FC)
Presumption of Marriage:
Section 3(aa) of Rule 131 of the New Rules on Evidence:
“Sec. 3. Disputable presumptions. – the ff. presumptions are satisfactory in
uncontradicted, but may be contradicted and overcome by evidence:
(aa) ‘a man and a woman deporting themselves as husband and wife have
entered into a lawful contract of marriage’
- Semper praesumitur pro matrimonio – always presume marriage.
- Once a man and a woman have lived as husband and wife and such
relationship is not denied or contradicted, the presumption of their
being married must be admitted as a FACT.
- Marriage contract – its absence is not always proof that no
marriage in fact took place.
 Marriage contract – renders unnecessary the presumption that “a
man and a woman deporting themselves as husband and wife have
entered into a lawful contract of marriage.”
- Primary evidence of a marital union.
- (Pugeda v. Trias) testimony by one of the parties to the marriage,
or by one of the witnesses to the marriage, has been held to be
 admissible to prove the fact of marriage. The person who officiated
at the solemnization is also competent to testify as an eyewitness to
the fact of marriage.
- (Trinidad v. CA) proofs of marriage:
a.) Testimony of witness to the matrimony
b.) The couple’s public and open cohabitation as husband and
wife after the alleged wedlock
c.) The birth and baptismal certificate of children born during
such union
d.) The mention of such nuptial in subsequent documents
 M is valid because the State is interested in the preservation of the
family and sanctity of the family is a matter of constitutional
concern.
 Any doubt shall be resolved in favor of the validity of the
marriage.
[Art 2 – 3]
Art. 2. No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are
present:
(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. (53a)
 Validity is tested according to the law in force at the time the
marriage is contracted.
 (gen. rule) the nature of the marriage already celebrated cannot be
changed by a subsequent amendment of the governing law.
 Essential requisites of marriage are:
1.) Legal capacity
2.) Consent
 Legal Capacity:
- Any male or female of the age of 18 and upwards not under any of
the impediments mentioned in Art. 37 and 38. May contract
marriage.
- 3 components:
1.) Age requirement
2.) Sex of the parties
3.) Absence of legal impediments mentioned in Art. 37 and 38 of
the Family Code.
 Age:
- Both the contracting parties must be at least 18 years of age.
- A marriage contracted by any party below 18 years of age is void
from the beginning, even if the marriage is with the consent of the
parents or guardians of the minor.
- Art 14 – “both are below 21” In the absence of parental consent,
the marriage is considered voidable and may be annulled pursuant
to Art. 45(1) of the FC.
- The attainment of the required minimum age for marriage would
be reckoned, not on the date of filing if the application fir issuance
of a marriage license, but ON THE DATE OF THE MARRIAGE.
 Sex- defined as the sum of peculiarities of structure and function
that distinguish a male from a female. It is determined at birth,
visually done by the birth attendant (physician or midwife) by
examining the genitals of the infant.
- Female – the sex that produces ova or bears young.
- Male – sex that has organs to produce spermatozoa for fertilizing
ova
- Sexual development in cases of intersex persons makes the gender
classification at birth inconclusive. It is at maturity that the gender
of such persons, like respondent, is fixed.
 Absence of Impediments (the ff. are not legally capacitated to
marry each other):
1.) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree, whether
the relationship between the parties be legitimate or
illegitimate.
2.) Between brothers and sisters, whether full or half blood,
whether the relationship bet. The parties be legitimate or
illegitimate.
 3.) Between collateral blood relatives, whether legitimate or
illegitimate, up to the 4th civil degree
4.) Bet. Step-parents and step-children
5.) Bet. Parents-in-law and children-in-law
6.) Bet. The adopting parent and the adopted child
7.) Bet. The surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the
adopted child
8.) Bet. The surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter
9.) Bet. An adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter
10.) Bet. Adopted children of the same adopter
11.) Bet. Parties where one, with the intention to marry the other,
killed that other person’s spouse, or his or her own spouse.
 Consent
- It is necessary in order to create a valid marriage, and without
consent the purported marriage is a mere NULLITY.
- Consent of the parties must be mutual.
- However, the mere fact that the marriage is bogus and fraudulent
on the part of one party will not render the same invalid where the
other party is deceived and believed to be a valid marriage.
- The contracting parties must appear personally before the
solemnizing officer and declare in the presence of not less than two
witnesses of legal age that they tale each other as husband and
wife.
- Consent, to be valid, must be:
1.)freely given
2.)Made in the presence of the solemnizing officer.
 Intent or Motive:
- (gen. rule) the law will not look behind the appearance of a consent
which was clearly manifested to determine its reality.
- The good faith or bad faith of the parties doesn’t not affect the
validity of the marriage so long as the essential and formal
requisites are present.
- Art. 41 of FC – marriage is considered void ab initio (invalid from
the outset) if both spouses therein acted in bad faith.
- The marriage is VALID even if the solemnizing officer is not
legally authorized to perform marriages so long as either or both
parties believed in good faith that the solemnizer had the legal
authority to do so.
- Marriages entered intro for other purposes, limited or otherwise,
such a convenience, companionship, money, status, and title,
provided that they comply with all legal requisites, are equally
VALID.
Art. 3. The formal requisites of marriage are:
(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter
2 of this Title; 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. (53a, 55a)
 Formal requisites of marriage:
1.) Authority of solemnizing officer
2.) Valid marriage license
3.) Marriage ceremony
FF. persons authorized to solemnize marriages:
1.) Incumbent members of the judiciary within the court’s jurisdiction
2.) Priest, rabbi, imam or minister of any church or religious sect dully
authorized by his church or religious sect
3.) Ship captain or airplane chief, in cases of articulo mortis (in the
article of death)
4.) Military commanders of a unit, in cases of articulo mortis
5.) Consul-general, consul or vice-consul, in limited cases
 6.) Mayors
 Valid Marriage License – is the state’s demonstration of its
involvement and participation in every marriage.
Instances recognized by the FC wherein a marriage license is
dispensed with, to wit:
1.) In case either or both of the contracting parties are at the point
of death
2.) If the residence of either party is located that there is no means
of transportation to enable such party to appear personally
before the local civil registrar
3.) Marriages among Muslims or among members of the ethnic
communities, provided these are solemnized in accordance
with their customs, rites or practices
4.) Ratification of marital cohabitation bet. A man and a woman
who have lived together as husband and wife for at least 5
years and without any legal impediment to marry each other.
 Common-Law Marriage – a marriage without formal
solemnization or without formalities.
- Sometimes termed as “consensual marriage” or “marriage in fact”.
- Agreement bet. A man and a woman who are legally competent to
contract a marriage, that they take each other as husband and wife,
and such a marriage differs from a ceremonial marriage only in the
respect that the agreement does not have to be in the presence of
witnesses or pronounced by an official having legal authority to
perform marriage ceremonies.
- Not recognized as valid in the Philippines because there’s no
marriage ceremony.
 A marriage by proxy is not valid.
Art. 4. The absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall
render the marriage void ab initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2).
A defect in any of the essential requisites shall not affect the validity of
the marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity
shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable. (n)
The FF. marriages are void ab initio:
1.) Marriages contracted by any party who is not legally capacitated
2.) Marriages where consent is lacking
3.) Those solemnized by any person not authorized to perform
marriages, EXCEPT when the marriage will fall under the
exception mentioned in Art 35(2) of the FC
4.) Those solemnized without a valid marriage license, except those
marriages exempt from the license requirement
5.) Common-law marriages and marriages by proxy.
 In any of the essential requisites is defective, the marriage is not
void ab initio but merely VOIDABLE. (note: it is only consent
which is susceptible of becoming defective, but not legal capacity)
 For a perfectly valid marriage, the parties should be 21 years of age
or over.
 The requirement of at least 2 witnesses of legal age is, however,
merely directory and not mandatory so that a failure to comply
therewith does not invalidate the marriage.
 If without marriage license (formal requisite of marriage), the
marriage is void ab initio. Thus, a marriage which preceded the
issuance of the marriage license is VOID, and the subsequent
issuance of such license cannot render valid or even add an iota of
validity to the marriage.
 An irregularity in the formal requisites shall not affect the validity
of the marriage.
Irregularities that doesn’t affect the validity of marriage:
1.) The fact that the application for marriage license was not under
oath.
2.) The fact the M license was issue in violation of the three-month
suspension period under Art 15 and 16 of the FC.
 3.) The fact that M license was issued prior to the completion of the
period of publication; or that it was issued in the absence of the
required publication
4.) The fact that a M license was issued without the submission
certificate of legal capacity required under Art 21 of the FC
5.) The fact that the license was issued without the submission of
certificate of compliance required under Sec 15 of Rep. Act No,
10354, otherwise known as “The Responsible Parenthood and
Reproductive Health Act of 2012
6.) The fact that the license was obtained in the locality where neither
if the contracting parties resides
 Art 20 – a marriage license is effective only for a period of 120
days counted from the date of issue and the same “shall be deemed
automatically cancelled (void ab initio) at the expiration of said
period.
 The mere fact that no record of the marriage exists in the registry
of marriage does not invalidate said marriage, as long as in the
celebration thereof, all requisites for its validity are present.

Art. 5. Any male or female of the age of eighteen years or upwards not
under any of the impediments mentioned in Articles 37 and 38, may
contract marriage. (54a)
Art. 6. No prescribed form or religious rite for the solemnization of the
marriage is required. It shall be necessary, however, for the contracting
parties to appear personally 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. This declaration shall be contained in
the marriage certificate which shall be signed by the contracting parties
and their witnesses and attested by the solemnizing officer.
In case of a marriage in articulo mortis, when the party at the point of
death is unable to sign the marriage certificate, it shall be sufficient for
one of the witnesses to the marriage to write the name of said party,
which fact shall be attested by the solemnizing officer. (55a)
Requisites in a marriage ceremony:
1.) Personal appearance of the contracting parties before the
solemnizing officer.
2.) Their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and
wife
3.) That such declaration be done in the presence of the solemnizing
officer and atleast 2 witnesses of legal age (doesn’t affect the
validity).
Art. 7. Marriage may be solemnized by:
(1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court's
jurisdiction;
(2) 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;
(3) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in the case mentioned in
Article 31;
(4) Any military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned,
in the absence of the latter, during a military operation, likewise only in
the cases mentioned in Article 32;
(5) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul in the case provided in
Article 10. (56a)

Article. 8. The marriage shall be solemnized publicly in the chambers

of the judge or in open court, in the church, chapel or temple, or in the
office the consul-general, consul or vice-consul, as the case may be, and
not elsewhere, except in cases of marriages contracted on the point of
death or in remote places in accordance with Article 29 of this Code, or
where both of the parties request the solemnizing officer in writing in
which case the marriage may be solemnized at a house or place
designated by them in a sworn statement to that effect. (57a)

Art. 9. A marriage license shall be issued by the local civil registrar of

the city or municipality where either contracting party habitually
resides, except in marriages where no license is required in accordance
with Chapter 2 of this Title. (58a)

Art. 10. Marriages between Filipino citizens abroad may be solemnized

by a consul-general, consul or vice-consul of the Republic of the
Philippines. 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.