Wife from the Philippines (Part 5) – Is Divorce Possible?

When a marriage involving a Filipino falls apart, a pressing question arises: are the couple condemned to remain legally wed forever, given that the Philippines is the only country in the world that has never legalized divorce?

After Ireland (1995) and Malta (2011) legalized divorce, the Philippines became the only country without a divorce law. The Vatican doesn’t count – it doesn’t even recognize marriage as something that could be dissolved.

Like many legal procedures in the Philippines, anything divorce-adjacent is far from straightforward. The saying that describes the whole country applies here too: nothing works properly, yet things somehow get resolved. The letter of the law is followed, but its spirit can be stretched and twisted until divorce becomes possible after all.

At this point, many throw in the towel and let the matter rest, believing it’s impossible, too troublesome, and too expensive. However, Philippine law does not allow domestic divorce, but it recognizes foreign divorces under specific conditions – effectively allowing a Filipino to be freed from the marriage if one spouse was foreign at the time of marriage, or the divorce.

Accept That Logic Is Optional

Since the Philippine Catholic Church does not recognize divorce, couples must turn to a secular court to dissolve their marriage. This applies to all religious denominations except the Muslim areas of the Philippines, where Islamic family laws are applied. There, legal divorce is available only to couples married under Islamic rites.

The key factor in divorce is whether the marriage is registered in the marriage registry maintained by the Philippine Statistics Authority. For a marriage to be legally recognized in the Philippines, it must be registered with the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), regardless of whether the ceremony was religious or civil. If the marriage was never registered – for example, due to lost paperwork or failure to submit – the state considers the couple not legally married, even if a ceremony took place.

If the marriage is not properly registered, the foreign spouse can handle the divorce with a warm handshake – or exhaust themselves emotionally dealing with bureaucracy while trying to get justice and fairness in disputes over property division and child custody, for example.

Setting aside the sanctity of the Catholic sacrament of marriage, in the more secular aspects of Philippine law, there are four ways to dissolve a marriage so that both spouses can remarry:

• Marriage annulment
• Marriage nullification
• Death of a spouse
• Judicial recognition of a foreign divorce

Divorce Without Calling It Divorce

In the Philippines, nullity of marriage and annulment are commonly referred to as “divorce,” even though technically they are not. These are practically the only methods available to Filipino citizens that allow them to end their marriage and remarry. Both nullity and annulment are legal procedures that declare the marriage invalid from the start – as if it never happened.

Nullity of marriage is when a court rules that the marriage was never valid from the start – ab initio. This means the union is deemed illegal from the outset due to certain formal errors or impediments. Such grounds may include technical errors in the marriage certificate, in conducting the ceremony or official registrations, being underage at the time of marriage, or consenting to the marriage under threat or other improper pressure.

Annulment means that a marriage was initially valid but later proven defective. It dissolves the marriage based on the incapacity or incompetence of one spouse. To be granted an annulment, there must be strong and credible grounds. The most common grounds include psychological incapacity or a temporary mental illness that prevents a spouse from fulfilling the essential obligations of marriage.

Both annulment and nullification are long and costly legal processes – typically ranging from USD 10,000 to USD 25,000, depending on the lawyer, location, and complexity of the case. The court examines the evidence, hears testimony, and evaluates documentation to determine the marriage’s validity. About 5% of petitions are denied. If a petition is rejected, neither party may file a new case or appeal the decision.

Processing times for petitions range from one to three years, depending on witness availability and court backlog. It can take even longer if one spouse contests the petition and disputes the evidence presented.

In annulment and nullity cases, one spouse typically files as the petitioner, but joint petitions are allowed in nullity cases when both agree on clear grounds (e.g., bigamy, lack of license). In contested cases, one becomes the ’complainant’ and the other the ’respondent’. Once the court declares the marriage legally void, both parties are free to remarry.

Naturally, the death of a spouse also ends the marriage. The surviving spouse can then remarry if desired. When applying for a new marriage license, the official death certificate of the deceased spouse must be attached.

Foreign Divorce: Outsourcing the Job Abroad

Recognition of a foreign divorce allows the divorce to be legally recognized in the Philippines under certain conditions for couples where one spouse is a Philippine citizen or former Philippine citizen. First, the divorce must be obtained in a country where at least one spouse is legally domiciled and where divorce is permitted with the right to remarry.

To support the petition, it is recommended (but not required) to attach a certified English translation of the relevant foreign divorce law, confirming that it allows both parties to remarry. Once the divorce decree is granted, it must be translated into English by an official translator, then authenticated by the foreign ministry, and certified by the Philippine embassy.

Judicial recognition of foreign divorce requires a family law attorney who drafts the petition, which the couple reviews, approves, and signs. The foreign spouse must attach a non-forum shopping affidavit, which can be prepared by a public notary or, abroad, at a Philippine consulate or embassy.

The Filipino spouse files the petition at the Regional Trial Court in their place of residence. If the court approves the petition, it issues a decision that recognizes the foreign divorce and dissolves the marriage under Philippine law as well.

Once the applicants receive the court’s decision recognizing the divorce, they must wait another 15 days for the decision to become final. The final decision must be registered with the Philippine Statistics Authority’s civil registry and certified at the local civil registry office of the municipality where the marriage was originally registered. After this, the Filipino party can update their marital status and remarry if desired.

To process a foreign divorce recognition, the court will require the following documents:

• A verified written narration or affidavit detailing the history of the marriage.
• A certified copy of the marriage certificate issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority.
• A certified and court-authenticated copy of the foreign divorce decree.
• Proof of the spouses’ current residence.
• Proof of Philippine or foreign citizenship (passport or citizenship certificate).
• A non-forum shopping affidavit stating that no action or appeal on the same matter is pending in any other court.
• To speed up processing, you can also attach a certified and English-translated copy of the divorce law of the country where the divorce was granted. That divorce law must allow the parties to remarry.

The Poor Man’s Divorce

The Philippines also recognizes legal separation, which does not dissolve the marriage, meaning the “separated” person cannot remarry. Couples choose legal separation when reconciliation is impossible, but annulment/nullity is not an option.

Legal separation establishes legal terms for living separately and handling matters related to children, property, and financial support. Obtaining a legal separation decision takes from several months to a year, and even longer in difficult and contentious cases.

Legal separation is applied for at the court of residence on grounds specified by law. These may include adultery, repeated spousal or child abuse, pressured into prostitution, drug addiction, alcoholism, homosexuality, bigamy, or abandonment without justified reason for over a year. An attorney helps identify the applicable grounds.

The Philippines also recognizes prenuptial agreements. Couples considering one – especially in international marriages – should consult a family law attorney familiar with both Philippine and foreign (e.g., common-law jurisdiction) practices.

Eternal Marriage… Until Congress Do Us Part

Divorce legislation has been attempted in Congress several times, and proposals have sometimes advanced far, but they usually fail in the Senate due to strong church opposition. In recent years, however, public attitudes have grown more permissive, and pressure for the law is mounting.

It’s likely that some form of divorce law will pass in the coming years, but only as a compromise version with strict conditions and long cooling-off periods. Whether to divorce is then entirely up to the spouses. Usually, when a couple decides to separate, it doesn’t always mean they don’t understand each other, but sometimes it means they have finally begun to understand.

When people divorce, it’s always a tragedy. But if people who have learned to hate each other stay together, it can be something worse. There’s a saying in the Philippines about why Catholics don’t want divorce: they stay together through hate, bitterness, and sheer spite – just as God intended.

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