(Philippine legal context; informational only, not legal advice.)

1) Two different problems, two different legal tracks

When a spouse becomes an OFW and later marries someone else and/or stops providing support, people often bundle everything into one complaint. In Philippine law, these are usually handled through separate—but sometimes parallel—remedies:

Bigamy (criminal) – punishes contracting a second (or subsequent) marriage while a prior valid marriage still exists.
Non-support – typically pursued through:
- Civil cases for support under the Family Code (to compel financial support), and/or
- Criminal and civil remedies under VAWC (R.A. 9262) when the deprivation/denial of support is part of economic abuse against a wife and/or child.

You may pursue both bigamy and support/VAWC at the same time, because they protect different interests and require different proof.

2) Bigamy in the Philippines (Revised Penal Code, Article 349)

A. What bigamy is (core concept)

Bigamy is committed when a person:

Is legally married, and
The first marriage has not been legally dissolved (by death of a spouse, annulment/nullity with finality, or recognized foreign divorce where applicable), and
Contracts a second/subsequent marriage, and
The second marriage would be valid if not for the existence of the first marriage.

Key point: In the Philippines, you generally cannot treat a prior marriage as “void” on your own and remarry without court action. A later declaration that the first marriage is void will not automatically erase criminal exposure if the person remarried without the required legal clearances.

B. Typical evidence you’ll need

To establish bigamy, the most common documentary set includes:

PSA Marriage Certificate of the first marriage
PSA Marriage Certificate of the second marriage (or a certified copy from the Local Civil Registry where celebrated)
Proof the first marriage still existed at the time of the second marriage
- e.g., no final decree of annulment/nullity; spouse not dead; no recognized foreign divorce decision (if relevant)
Identity evidence linking the respondent to the marriage records (full name variations, birthdate, parents’ names, IDs)
If the second marriage used a different name/spelling: supporting documents showing it’s the same person

If the second marriage happened abroad: you’ll usually need an authenticated/apostilled foreign marriage record (and translation if not English/Filipino), and you must anticipate jurisdiction/venue complications (discussed below).

C. Where to file (venue and forum)

Office of the City/Provincial Prosecutor (or City Prosecutor) for the criminal complaint (Complaint-Affidavit and attachments).
After preliminary investigation and a finding of probable cause, the case is filed in court—bigamy is generally tried in the Regional Trial Court (often designated Family Court branches handle family-related matters in some places, but bigamy is a criminal case under the RPC).

Venue (place to file): Usually where the second marriage was celebrated (because that’s where the crime is consummated).

D. Preliminary Investigation (what actually happens first)

You usually start with a Complaint-Affidavit filed with the prosecutor. The prosecutor will:

Evaluate if the complaint is sufficient in form and substance
Issue a subpoena to the respondent (to submit a counter-affidavit)
Conduct a preliminary investigation to determine probable cause
Recommend filing in court (or dismiss)

OFW practical note: If the respondent is abroad, service of subpoena can be difficult. Prosecutors may proceed based on “last known address” and other modes allowed by rules and practice, but delays are common. Even if a case is filed in court, it may be archived until the accused can be arrested or appears.

E. Prescription (deadline)

Bigamy’s prescriptive period is commonly treated as 15 years from commission (because of its penalty classification). Timing still matters—file as early as possible while records, witnesses, and paper trails are intact.

F. Common defenses and issues you should anticipate

First marriage already dissolved before the second marriage (e.g., final annulment/nullity decree, spouse’s death)
Identity mismatch (claiming the person named in the second certificate is not the respondent)
Void first marriage arguments (often raised, but Philippine policy strongly discourages self-help determinations of voidness without court action)
Foreign divorce/foreign proceedings (recognition in the Philippines can be decisive in some scenarios, especially where one spouse is a foreigner and a foreign divorce exists—but this is technical and fact-specific)
Presumptive death (a spouse may remarry under strict rules after a judicial declaration of presumptive death; absent that, it typically doesn’t excuse remarriage)

G. If the second marriage happened abroad (important)

Philippine criminal jurisdiction is generally territorial. If the marriage ceremony occurred entirely abroad, a pure bigamy prosecution in the Philippines can become legally contested. Some complainants still pursue related remedies (civil status actions, record corrections, VAWC/support, immigration consequences, etc.), but you should expect that “bigamy in the Philippines” is strongest when the second marriage was celebrated in the Philippines or has substantial acts/records anchored here.

3) “Non-support” remedies: Civil Support vs. Criminal Economic Abuse (VAWC)

A. Support as a legal obligation (Family Code basics)

“Support” generally includes what is needed for sustenance and well-being, and for children, also education and related essentials. Support obligations exist between:

Spouses (subject to legal circumstances), and
Parents and their children (including many scenarios involving legitimacy/acknowledgment, depending on facts)

Support is typically based on:

Needs of the recipient, and
Resources/means of the giver

B. Civil cases to compel support (most direct way to get money for living)

If your primary goal is to obtain support, a civil action for support is often the most straightforward:

What you can ask the court for:

Provisional support / support pendente lite (temporary support while the case is ongoing)
A final support order (monthly amount, method of payment)
Orders directed to available assets (bank accounts/property) when feasible
In some cases, contempt if a party disobeys a support order

Where filed: generally in the proper family court/RTC/MTC depending on the specific action and local rules; in practice, many support petitions are handled in Family Courts where available.

OFW reality check: Enforcing a support order against a spouse abroad can be challenging if the income and employer are outside Philippine reach. Enforcement is often more practical if the respondent has:

Property in the Philippines
Bank accounts here
Receivables here
A local agency/employer arrangement that can be ordered to withhold, where legally and practically feasible

Even if cross-border collection is hard, a court order is still valuable: it formalizes arrears and obligations and strengthens later enforcement.

C. Criminal/civil remedy under VAWC (R.A. 9262): denial of support as “economic abuse”

For wives (including in many contexts where the victim is a woman in an intimate relationship covered by the law) and for children, R.A. 9262 (VAWC) can apply when non-support is part of economic abuse, such as:

Depriving or threatening to deprive the woman or child of financial support legally due
Controlling finances to make the victim financially dependent
Withholding support to punish, coerce, or control

VAWC is powerful because it can offer both:

Criminal accountability, and
Protection orders that can include financial relief.

D. Protection Orders (often the fastest “first relief”)

VAWC provides:

Barangay Protection Order (BPO) (limited scope; faster, barangay level)
Temporary Protection Order (TPO) (court-issued)
Permanent Protection Order (PPO) (court-issued)

Protection orders may include provisions related to:

Support, financial arrangements, and restrictions to prevent further abuse
No-contact and other protective measures

E. Where to file VAWC (venue advantage for victims)

A major practical advantage: VAWC is commonly filed where the victim resides (and/or where the abuse occurred). This is especially important when the respondent is abroad and the victim is in the Philippines.

F. Evidence for VAWC non-support/economic abuse

Proof of relationship (marriage certificate; proof of filiation for children)
Proof of prior support pattern (remittances, bank transfers, money apps, receipts)
Proof of stoppage/refusal (chat messages, emails, demand letters, admissions, witness affidavits)
Proof of need/expenses (rent, utilities, tuition, medical, groceries, etc.)
Proof of respondent’s capacity, if available (employment contracts, social media posts showing work/income, prior remittance amounts, etc.)

4) Step-by-step: How complaints are commonly prepared and filed (practical checklist)

Step 1: Secure civil registry documents early

PSA certificates (first marriage, second marriage if in PH)
If second marriage is local but not yet in PSA, request from Local Civil Registry where it occurred
For children: PSA birth certificates
For foreign marriage: get certified foreign record + apostille/authentication + translation

Step 2: Build a clean “timeline packet”

Create a simple chronological file:

Date of first marriage
Date of separation (if any)
OFW deployment dates
Date of alleged second marriage
Date support stopped
Notable messages/admissions and key incidents

Step 3: Draft affidavits strategically

Bigamy Complaint-Affidavit: focus on the two marriages and non-dissolution of the first at the time of the second
VAWC Complaint-Affidavit (if applicable): focus on economic abuse patterns, refusal, impact on the woman/children
Consider separate witness affidavits if there are people with direct knowledge (not hearsay)

Step 4: Choose where to file

Bigamy: Prosecutor where the second marriage occurred (typical venue)
VAWC: Prosecutor/court where the victim resides (often allowed and practical)
Civil support: proper family court venue (often where petitioner or child resides, depending on the action)

Step 5: Expect jurisdiction/appearance issues for OFWs

If the respondent remains abroad, your case may progress up to issuance of warrants/orders, but trial may stall if the accused doesn’t appear.
A protection order/support order can still be meaningful even without immediate criminal trial completion.

5) Common pitfalls (and how to avoid them)

Relying on rumors of a “second marriage” without documents
- Bigamy is document-driven. Obtain certified records.
Filing bigamy in the wrong place
- Usually file where the second marriage was celebrated.
Using “non-support” as a standalone criminal label
- In many cases, the criminal pathway is VAWC (economic abuse) rather than a generic “non-support crime.”
Weak identity linkage
- If the OFW used different name spellings, gather proof tying the respondent to both marriage records.
Waiting too long
- Aside from prescription concerns, delays make records harder to obtain and weaken proof.

6) What outcomes to realistically expect

Bigamy

Possible filing of criminal case, warrants, and eventual trial
If accused remains abroad, case progression can be slow (service/arrest issues)

VAWC / Support

Potentially faster protective relief (especially via protection orders and provisional support)
Still, cross-border collection can be difficult if all income/assets are abroad

7) Quick “Which route should I prioritize?” guide

You need money for day-to-day living now: prioritize civil support and/or VAWC protection orders with financial relief.
You want accountability for the second marriage in the Philippines: pursue bigamy (best when the second marriage was celebrated in the Philippines and you can secure the certificate).
You want both: file parallel actions, but keep each case focused on its legal elements.

8) Document checklist you can start gathering today

For bigamy

PSA marriage certificate (first marriage)
PSA/LCR marriage certificate (second marriage)
IDs / proof of identity (name variations)
Any proof the first marriage wasn’t dissolved before the second

For support / VAWC

PSA marriage certificate and/or proof of relationship
Children’s PSA birth certificates
Proof of expenses and needs
Proof of past support and stoppage (remittances, messages, bank records)
Proof of respondent’s capacity if available

If you want, paste a short fact pattern (dates of marriage, where the alleged second marriage happened, where you and the children currently live, and when support stopped). I can map those facts to the most appropriate filing sequence and a stronger evidence checklist.