LEGAL VALIDITY OF MARRIAGE IN THE PHILIPPINES A Comprehensive Doctrinal Survey

I. Governing Framework

Source	Citation	Key Points
1987 Constitution	Art. XV, §2	“The State recognizes the sanctity of family life… Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State.”
Family Code of the Philippines (Exec. Order No. 209, 1987, as amended by E.O. 227)	Arts. 1–257	Primary civil statute on marriage, nullity, annulment, legal separation, property regimes, and parental authority.
Code of Muslim Personal Laws (Pres. Decree 1083, 1977)	Arts. 13–79	Governs marriages where both parties are Muslims or where a Muslim male marries a non-Muslim female.
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights Act (Rep. Act 8371, 1997) & NCIP Administrative Circular 1-2021		Recognizes customary unions solemnized per indigenous traditions, with registration protocols.
Other Special Laws	e.g., RA 9858 (legitimation of children born to subsequent spouses), RA 8187 (paternity leave)

Unless stated otherwise, the discussion below refers to the civil regime of the Family Code.

II. Meaning and Characteristics of Marriage

“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.” – Fam. Code, Art. 1

Characteristics

Permanent – No term or automatic expiry; may be dissolved only by death or a court decree of nullity/annulment.
Exclusive/Monogamous – Subsequent marriage during the subsistence of a prior one is void and penalized as bigamy (Rev. Penal Code, Art. 349).
Inviolable Social Institution – Not a mere contract; the State and society have an interest in its preservation.
Public Policy – Its validity or nullity is a matter of public interest; parties cannot ratify what the law declares void.

III. Requisites of a Valid Civil Marriage

Type	Provision	Effect of Absence	Effect of Defect
Essential (Art. 2)	(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties; (2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer	Void ab initio	Voidable when the vitiation affects capacity or consent (Arts. 45-46)
Formal (Art. 3)	(1) Authority of an officer empowered to solemnize; (2) Valid marriage license (unless exempt); (3) Marriage ceremony with personal declaration before at least two witnesses of legal age	Void ab initio	Irregular, does not affect validity, if the defect is merely in form (e.g., typographical error on license)

A. Legal Capacity

Minimum age: 18 years (Art. 5).
Parental consent required if either party is 18–20 (Art. 14); parental advice if 21–25 (Art. 15). Non-compliance with advice → no invalidity, but delays issuance of license for three months.
Absence of capacity yields a void marriage (e.g., underage marriage without court dispensation under PD 1083 for Muslims).

B. Consent

Must be intelligent, free, and voluntary. Vices: mistake as to identity, violence, intimidation, undue influence, or fraud (Art. 45). Fraud must fall under Art. 46 (concealment of pregnancy by another man, conviction of a crime involving moral turpitude, etc.).

C. Authority of the Solemnizing Officer

Recognized officers (Art. 7):

Judges (inc. Shariʽa Circuit and Shariʽa District Judges) within jurisdiction.
Priests, rabbis, imams, ministers of any religious sect duly registered with the civil registrar general.
Ship captains or airplane chiefs – only in articulo mortis.
Military commanders – only in articulo mortis in a zone of military operations.
Consuls/vice-consuls for marriages abroad.
Mayors within their territorial jurisdiction (added by RA 11642, 2022).

Lack of authority → void marriage, unless at least one party believed in good faith that the officer had authority (Art. 35[2]).

D. Marriage License & Its Exceptions (Arts. 27–34)

Exception	Key Conditions
Marriages in articulo mortis	Danger of death of either party; sworn statement; marriage must be solemnized even without license.
Remote places	No registrar within jurisdiction or physical access extremely difficult.
Muslim & Indigenous marriages	Governed by PD 1083 or customary law; require registration but not a civil license.
Cohabitation for ≥5 years	Parties must have lived together as husband and wife continuously; absence of any legal impediment; joint affidavit in lieu of license.
Foreign service marriages	Solemnized by consul/vice-consul abroad between Filipino citizens.
Ship/Airplane marriages	Solemnized by captain/chief with passengers/crew in articulo mortis.

E. Marriage Ceremony

Personal appearance; declaration that they take each other as husband and wife; at least two witnesses of legal age; registration of certificate within 15 days (§ 24, Civ. Reg. Adm. Order 1-2021).

IV. Classification of Invalid Marriages

Ground	Nature	Article(s)
Lack of essential/formal requisite	Void ab initio	2, 3, 35
Psychological incapacity	Void ab initio	36
Consanguinity/affinity in prohibited degrees	Void ab initio	37-38
Subsequent marriage without compliance with Art. 52-53 OR without declaration of presumptive death (Art. 41)	Void ab initio	53, 52, 41
Incestuous or void under Muslim/indigenous law	Void ab initio	45 P.D. 1083; IP customs
Vice of consent, minority without parental consent, mental illness, concealed grave facts	Voidable	45-46
Irregularity in form (wrong venue on license, honest mistake in spelling)	Valid but irregular	4

Action/Prescriptive Period

Void – imprescriptible; may be impugned at any time by any interested party (except after death of parties for reasons of public policy on filiation and succession).
Voidable – action for annulment within specific periods (Art. 47):
- Intimidation/violence – 5 years from cessation;
- Fraud – 5 years from discovery;
- Impotence, STD – 5 years from marriage;
- Minority – by parent/guardian anytime before 18th birthday or by party within 4 years after reaching 18.

V. Psychological Incapacity (Art. 36)

Originally interpreted strictly in Santos v. CA (G.R. No. 112019, Jan 4 1995) and Republic v. Molina (G.R. No. 108763, Feb 13 1997). Modern doctrine in Tan-Andal v. Andal (G.R. No. 196359, May 11 2021):

Incapacity need not be clinical mental illness, but a personality structure that renders party truly unable to fulfill essential marital obligations.
Must be grave, juridically antecedent, and incurable.
Evidence may be juridical (testimonials, documents); psychological report is helpful but not indispensable.

VI. Recognition of Foreign Marriages & Divorces

Lex loci celebrationis – A marriage valid where celebrated is valid here (Art. 26, par. 1) except when repugnant to Philippine public policy (e.g., same-sex marriages are not recognized absent legislation).
Mixed Marriage & Foreign Divorce (Art. 26, par. 2) – If a foreign spouse obtains a valid divorce abroad causing the foreign spouse to be capacitated to remarry, the Filipino spouse may remarry upon judicial recognition of that divorce in a Philippine court (e.g., Republic v. Cudi-an, G.R. No. 202248, Feb 12 2020).
Proof – Foreign law and judgment must be proven under the rules on evidence (authentic copies, expert testimony if necessary).

VII. Subsequent Marriages & Presumptive Death (Art. 41)

Requisites:
1. Spouse has been absent for 4 consecutive years (2 years in danger-of-death circumstances);
2. Well-founded belief of death;
3. Judicial declaration of presumptive death obtained before contracting new marriage.
Absence of declaration → new union void; contracting party liable for bigamy unless same court later declares first spouse presumptively dead (Lee v. Court of Appeals, April 13 1999).

VIII. Bigamy & Penal Considerations

Bigamy: Art. 349, RPC – Imprisonment prisión mayor and fine.
Good-faith defense evolved: filing petition for declaration of nullity after second marriage does not erase criminal liability (Tenebro v. CA, Feb 18 2004).
Acquittal scenarios:
- First marriage void and factually proven in bigamy case (e.g., lack of license).
- Judicial recognition of foreign divorce precedes remarriage.

IX. Effects on Property & Children

Scenario	Property Regime	Children’s Status
Valid first marriage	Absolute Community of Property (ACP) by default unless pre-nup choosing Conjugal Partnership of Gains (CPG) or separation (Arts. 74-75)	Legitimate
Void marriage under Art. 36/35/37/38	No ACP/CPG; property regime of co-ownership under Art. 147 (if parties in good faith) or Art. 148 (bad faith/concubinage)	Children: legitimated only if void by reason of absence of license + cohabitation ≥ 5 yrs (RA 9858); otherwise illegitimate but entitled to support & legitime (Art. 895 Civil Code)
Annulled/Voidable marriage	ACP/CPG dissolved; effects retroact only to date of decree, not to date of marriage	Children born before decree remain legitimate (Art. 45)

X. Registration & Civil Registry Considerations

Timeline – Certificate must be transmitted to the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) within 15 days by the solemnizing officer (30 days if marriage abroad).
Late Registration – Possible upon compliance with PSA Circular 1-2018; affidavit of delayed registration; payment of fees.
Corrections – Minor clerical or typographical errors via administrative petition (RA 9048 as amended by RA 10172). Substantial corrections (date/place of marriage, parties’ names if altering filiation) require judicial order.

XI. Special Marriage Regimes

Sector	Governing Law	Distinct Features
Muslim Filipinos	PD 1083	Polygamy allowed (max four wives) under strict conditions; mahr (dower); guardianship for minors; talaq/khula divorce.
Indigenous Peoples	RA 8371 & customs	Validity anchored on community tradition; NCIP issues Certificate of Marriage Registration (CMR); may later be converted to civil marriage for benefits.
Overseas Filipino Workers	Consular marriages (Art. 10[3])	Solemnized by consular officers; license issued by DFA; must be registered with PSA.

XII. Emerging Issues & Pending Measures (as of 2025)*

Topic	Legislative/Draft Status	Notes
Absolute Divorce Bill	Approved in House (May 2024); pending Senate deliberations	Would allow judicial divorce on enumerated grounds, ending marital union and restoring capacity to remarry.
Civil Unions	Several bills filed (18th-19th Congress)	Aim to provide gender-neutral civil partnerships; not yet enacted.
Age-of-Consent harmonization	RA 11648 (2022) raised sexual consent to 16; parallel proposals to adjust marriage age of Muslims from 15 to 18 pending.

*Because no search was undertaken, the status reflects knowledge up to late-2023 legislative updates and public reports. Consult the Official Gazette or Congress website for real-time status.

XIII. Procedural Pathways for Challenging Marriages

Petition for Declaration of Nullity (void marriages) – Art. 35/36/37/38/53 grounds; imprescriptible.
Petition for Annulment (voidable marriages) – Must invoke Art. 45 ground within prescriptive periods.
Petition for Judicial Recognition of Foreign Divorce – Summary proceeding under Rule 108 (Civil Registry) or Rule 45 appeal; registrable upon finality.
Summary Petition for Declaration of Presumptive Death – Art. 41; verified petition; publication; hearing; final decree.
Petition for Legal Separation – Grounds under Art. 55; does not dissolve marriage; merely separates in bed and board; converts property regime to separation of property.

All petitions fall under the exclusive original jurisdiction of the Regional Trial Courts (Family Courts under RA 8369).

XIV. Conclusion

The legal validity of marriage in the Philippines hinges on a tightly woven framework of constitutional mandates, statutory requisites, jurisprudential refinements, and cultural accommodations. The Family Code’s essential and formal requisites remain the core touchstones; their absence or defect triggers a nuanced spectrum of consequences—ranging from voidness ab initio to mere irregularity. Layered atop are sector-specific regimes (Muslim, indigenous, overseas), criminal sanctions (bigamy), and evolving jurisprudence (psychological incapacity, foreign divorce recognition).

While Congress continues to debate absolute divorce and civil unions, the prevailing paradigm still enshrines marriage as a permanent, monogamous, and inviolable social institution—its validity safeguarded by both substantive and procedural rigors. Practitioners must therefore master not only the statutory text but also the ever-growing corpus of Supreme Court doctrine and administrative issuances that collectively determine when, how, and why a marriage enjoys—or loses—legal recognition in the Philippines.