I DO!
AYYY DON'T
THE STATE POLICY ON MARRIAGE
Section 1. The State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation.
Accordingly, it shall strengthen its solidarity and actively promote its total
development.
Section 2. Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family
and shall be protected by the State.
DIVORCE IS NOT ALLOWED IN THE PHILIPPINES
The remedy of a person seeking to end a marital relationship is to declare the
marriage void ab initio (void from the beginning). He should file a case for
declaration of nullity of marriage or, in lay man's terms, annulment.
DIFFERENCE OF DIVORCE AND ANNULMENT
Main Difference in Law - Divorce dissolves a marriage that was legal and valid while
annulment is declares that a marriage was never valid and legal from the beginning.
Legal Effect - Both divorce and annulment end the marital relationship between
husband and wife.
Legal Effect as to children - In divorce, since there was a valid marriage, the children
are legitimate children. As a general rule, in annulment, since there was no
marriage to begin with, the children are illegitimate because they were born outside
of a valid marriage. The exception is if the marriage was declared void thru Article
36 (psychological incapacity) where the children remain legitimate despite
annulment.
Procedure - Annulment is more tedious and requires a fairly long judicial process
while divorce is fast and requires only the signing of an agreement between the
parties.
Consent - In divorce, the parties can agree to have the marriage dissolved. In
annulment, the consent of the parties is not necessary and may even be a badge of
collusion, in which case, the annulment will be denied.
GROUNDS FOR DECLARATION OF NULLITY OF MARRIAGE
Void Marriages under Article 35 of the Family Code:
Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the
consent of parents or guardians.
Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages
unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing
in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so.
Those solemnized without marriage license.
Those bigamous or polygamous marriages.
Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity
of the other.
Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53 (partition and
distribution of property, delivery of legitime)
Article 36 of the Family Code of the Philippines - Psychological Incapacity
Art. 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the
celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential
marital obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such
incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.
WHAT IS PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY?
Psychological incapacity should refer to no less than a mental (not physical)
incapacity that causes a party to be truly incognitive of the basic marital covenants
that concomitantly must be assumed and discharged by the parties to the marriage
(Santos vs. Court of Appeals, 04 January 1995)]
Psychological incapacity contemplates incapacity or inability to take cognizance of
and to assume basic marital obligations and not merely difficulty, refusal, or
neglect in the performance of marital obligations or ill will (Yambao vs. Republic 24
January 2011)
BASIC MARITAL OBLIGATIONS UNDER THE LAW
The husband and wife are obliged to live together (Art. 68, Family Code).
The husband and wife are obliged to observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and
render mutual help and support (Art. 68, Family Code).
The husband and wife shall fix the family domicile (Art. 69, Family Code).
The spouses are jointly responsible for the support of the family (Art. 70, Family
Code).
The management of the household shall be the right and the duty of both spouses
(Art. 71, Family Code).
The parents shall parental authority over their children and shall have the following
duties (Art. 220, Family Code):
To keep them in their company
To support them
To educate them
To instruct them by right precept and good example
To provide for their upbringing in keeping with their means;
To give them love and affection, advice and counsel, companionship and
understanding
To provide them with moral and spiritual guidance, inculcate in them
honesty, integrity, self-discipline, self-reliance, industry and thrift, stimulate
their interest in civic affairs, and inspire in them compliance with the duties
of citizenship;
To furnish them with good and wholesome educational materials
To supervise their activities, recreation and association with others
To protect them from bad company
To prevent them from acquiring habits detrimental to their health, studies
and morals;
To represent them in all matters affecting their interests
To demand from them respect and obedience
To impose discipline on them as may be required under the circumstances;
and
To perform such other duties as are imposed by law upon parents and
guardians.
REQUIREMENTS FOR ANNULMENT BASED ON PSYCHOLOGICAL INCAPACITY
(The Molina Doctrine)
Burden of proof to show the nullity of the marriage belongs to the plaintiff.
The ROOT CAUSE of the psychological incapacity must be
Medically or clinically identified
Alleged in the complaint
Sufficiently proven by experts
The incapacity must be proven to be existing at "the time of the celebration" of the
marriage.
The incapacity must also be shown to be medically or clinically permanent or
incurable;
Such illness must be grave enough to bring about the disability of the party to
assume the essential obligations of marriage
The essential marital obligations must be those embraced by Articles 68 up to 71 of
the Family Code as regards the husband and wife, as well as Articles 220, 221 and
225 of the same Code in regard to parents and their children (as discussed above).
Such non-complied marital obligations must also be stated in the petition, proven by
evidence and included in the text of the decision
Interpretations given by the National Appellate Matrimonial Tribunal of the Catholic
Church in the Philippines, while not controlling or decisive, should be given great
respect by our courts
The trial court must order the prosecuting attorney or fiscal and the Solicitor
General to appear as counsel for the state. No decision shall be handed down
unless the Solicitor General issues a certification, which will be quoted in the
decision, briefly stating therein his reasons for his agreement or opposition, as the
case may be, to the petition.
PROCEDURE WILL BE DISCUSSED NEXT EPISODE
