1) Overview: What the Law Can and Cannot Do

In the Philippines (for most citizens), marriage is treated as a permanent civil status: there is generally no absolute divorce under the Family Code system (with important exceptions discussed below). That does not mean a spouse is helpless when the other spouse abandons the family or engages in an outside relationship. The legal system offers a set of civil, criminal, and protective remedies that can (a) compel support, (b) protect the spouse and children from abuse, (c) address property and custody issues, and (d) in appropriate cases, impose criminal liability for sexual infidelity-related offenses.

This article explains the principal remedies available in Philippine law for:

Spousal abandonment (leaving the marital home, withdrawing support, and/or deserting spouse/children), and
Third-party relationships (adultery/concubinage and related conduct, plus possible civil damages).

This is general legal information, not legal advice. Outcomes depend heavily on facts, evidence, and current jurisprudence.

2) Key Concepts and Legal Definitions

A. “Abandonment” (Family-Law Sense)

In Philippine family law, “abandonment” is not just physical departure. It commonly involves some combination of:

Leaving the marital home and refusing to return without just cause, and/or
Failure or refusal to provide support to the spouse and/or children, and/or
Desertion showing intent to sever marital cohabitation and obligations.

Abandonment can be relevant as:

A ground for legal separation (under the Family Code),
A basis for judicial separation of property, and/or
A form of economic abuse under the Anti-VAWC law (RA 9262) when the victim is a woman (and her children).

B. “Third-Party Relationship”

A third-party relationship becomes legally actionable in different ways depending on the facts:

Criminal: adultery or concubinage (private crimes) when statutory elements are met.
Civil: possible damages claims under general Civil Code provisions (not automatic; fact- and proof-dependent).
Protective: if conduct amounts to violence, threats, harassment, or economic abuse, protective orders may be available (especially under RA 9262).

3) Immediate Priority Remedy: Support for Spouse and Children

A. The Legal Duty to Support

Under the Family Code, spouses owe each other support, and parents owe support to their children. “Support” generally includes what is necessary for sustenance and living consistent with the family’s means, typically including:

Food, shelter, clothing
Education and school needs
Medical and health expenses
Transportation and basic daily living
Other necessities proportionate to resources

Support is proportionate to:

the giver’s resources and earning capacity, and
the recipient’s needs.

B. How to Enforce Support

Common court remedies include:

Petition/complaint for support (including child support), and
Support pendente lite (temporary support while a family case is pending), which is crucial where the family’s finances are suddenly cut off.

Evidence that usually matters:

Proof of relationship (marriage certificate, child’s birth certificate)
Proof of needs (receipts, tuition assessment, medical bills, monthly budget)
Proof of capacity (pay slips, ITRs, bank/transfer records, business records, lifestyle evidence)

C. Non-Support as Potential Abuse (When the Victim is a Woman)

If a husband/partner deliberately deprives a woman and her children of financial support, that can qualify as economic abuse under RA 9262 (Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act), which provides both:

Criminal liability, and
Protection orders that can include support, stay-away directives, and other relief.

4) Protective Remedy: RA 9262 (VAWC) for Abandonment, Infidelity-Related Abuse, and Economic Control

A. Who Can Use RA 9262?

RA 9262 protects:

Women who are wives, former wives, or women in a dating or sexual relationship with the offender, and
Their children (legitimate or illegitimate), including those under the woman’s care.

The respondent is typically the woman’s husband/ex-husband or partner (not a random third party unless that third party is in a defined relationship with the victim under the statute’s scope).

B. Why RA 9262 Is Often the Most Practical Tool

RA 9262 is widely used in abandonment scenarios because it covers:

Economic abuse (including deprivation or withdrawal of financial support),
Psychological violence (harassment, humiliation, intimidation, coercive control),
Physical violence and threats.

Abandonment that results in deprivation of support may be framed as economic abuse, especially where there is a pattern of control or intentional deprivation.

C. Protection Orders

VAWC offers three main types of protection orders:

Barangay Protection Order (BPO) (limited scope; usually for immediate protection)
Temporary Protection Order (TPO) (court-issued, short-term)
Permanent Protection Order (PPO) (court-issued, longer-term)

Relief can include:

Stay-away orders and anti-harassment directives
Removal/exclusion of the offender from the home in appropriate cases
Award of temporary custody
Orders for financial support and prohibition against disposing of property to evade support
Other measures to prevent contact and further harm

5) Marital-Status Remedy: Legal Separation (Not Divorce)

A. What Legal Separation Does

Legal separation allows spouses to live separately and addresses:

Custody arrangements
Support obligations
Separation of property (dissolution/liquidation of property regime, subject to rules)

It does not allow remarriage. The marriage bond remains.

B. Abandonment as a Ground

Abandonment can be a recognized ground for legal separation when it meets statutory requirements (commonly framed as abandonment without justifiable cause for the required period). Other grounds often relevant to third-party relationships include forms of sexual infidelity and related serious misconduct.

C. Important Procedural Features

A cooling-off period is generally observed in legal separation cases (intended to encourage reconciliation), though courts can still address urgent matters like custody and support.
There is a prescriptive period (a deadline) for filing legal separation actions counted from the occurrence of the ground; filing too late can bar the action.

D. Effects on Property

Legal separation typically results in:

Dissolution of the property regime (e.g., absolute community/conjugal partnership), and
Forfeiture consequences in favor of the innocent spouse/children may apply in certain circumstances (depending on the ground and facts).

6) Property-Focused Remedy: Judicial Separation of Property

If the main problem is financial abandonment or asset dissipation, a spouse may seek judicial separation of property even without pursuing legal separation. This is useful where:

One spouse abandons the other or fails to comply with obligations,
There is danger the abandoning spouse will sell, hide, or dissipate community/conjugal assets, or
The spouse’s conduct places the family’s property at risk.

Courts can order:

Separation of property,
Accounting and protection of assets,
Measures to prevent fraud against the spouse and children.

This remedy is often paired with:

Support claims, and/or
Protective orders (especially where economic abuse is alleged).

7) Ending or Undoing the Marriage: Nullity/Annulment and Related Pathways

A. Annulment and Declaration of Nullity (General Rule)

Abandonment and infidelity by themselves are not the usual statutory grounds for annulment/nullity. Annulment/nullity depends on specific legal grounds such as:

Void marriages (e.g., lack of essential/ formal requisites, bigamous marriages, certain prohibited marriages)
Voidable marriages (e.g., lack of parental consent for certain ages at the time, fraud of a kind recognized by law, force/intimidation, certain incapacity conditions)

B. Psychological Incapacity (Often Invoked, Fact-Heavy)

A spouse’s persistent abandonment, serial infidelity, and refusal to perform marital obligations are sometimes argued as manifestations of psychological incapacity (Family Code Art. 36). This is a complex, evidence-intensive ground and is not automatically established by misconduct alone. Courts look for a qualifying incapacity meeting legal standards developed in jurisprudence.

C. Special Situations Where “Divorce” or Divorce-Like Relief Exists

Muslim Personal Laws (PD 1083): Muslims may have access to divorce forms under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, subject to requirements and proper forums.
Recognition of Foreign Divorce: In certain mixed-marriage situations involving a foreign spouse, a foreign divorce may be recognized in the Philippines through a court process, affecting the Filipino spouse’s capacity to remarry (subject to statutory conditions and proof requirements).

8) Criminal Remedies for Third-Party Relationships

A. Adultery

Adultery is a crime under the Revised Penal Code with these typical features:

Committed by a married woman who has sexual intercourse with a man not her husband, and
The male partner, if he knew she was married (knowledge issues can be litigated)

Adultery is traditionally treated as a private crime, meaning prosecution requires a complaint by the offended spouse and has special rules on who must be included as accused and how pardon/consent may affect the case.

B. Concubinage

Concubinage is also a crime with distinct statutory elements (and is not simply “any affair by a husband”). It commonly requires specific circumstances such as:

Keeping a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, and/or
Cohabiting with her in another place, and/or
Having sexual intercourse under scandalous circumstances

Like adultery, it is traditionally a private crime with procedural constraints and defenses related to consent/pardon and proper party inclusion.

C. Practical Limits of Criminal Infidelity Cases

Criminal infidelity cases are evidence-driven and often difficult because:

Proof typically needs credible testimony and/or corroboration beyond suspicion,
Entrapment-like tactics can backfire,
Filing criminal cases can escalate conflict and affect children.

For many families, support enforcement and protective orders are more immediately useful than infidelity prosecutions, though each situation differs.

9) Can the Third Party Be Sued for Damages?

A. No Automatic “Alienation of Affection” Cause of Action

Philippine law does not treat “stealing a spouse” as a standalone civil tort in the same way some foreign jurisdictions do. However, civil damages may still be possible in appropriate factual settings under general Civil Code principles.

B. Potential Civil Code Bases (Fact-Dependent)

A spouse may attempt to claim damages against a third party (or the spouse) based on:

Abuse of rights and acts contrary to morals, good customs, or public policy
Willful acts causing injury or violating standards of human relations
Acts causing humiliation, anxiety, or intrusion into privacy/peace of mind

Courts typically scrutinize:

The specific wrongful acts (harassment, public humiliation, threats, coercion, deceit),
The causal link to measurable injury (emotional distress, reputational harm, financial loss), and
Whether the claim is being used to punish moral wrongdoing rather than address a legally cognizable injury.

C. Evidence That Often Matters

Messages, admissions, photos/videos (lawfully obtained), hotel/lease records
Proof of public scandal, harassment, or targeted humiliation
Witness testimony
Medical/psychological treatment records (if claiming serious emotional distress)
Proof of financial loss where claimed

Warning: Illegally obtained evidence (e.g., unauthorized recordings, hacking, unlawful access to accounts) can create separate legal exposure.

10) Child Custody and Parental Authority When One Spouse Abandons

A. Best Interests of the Child

Custody determinations hinge on the best interests of the child. Abandonment and failure to support are strong indicators relevant to parental fitness.

B. “Tender Years” Consideration

Philippine practice commonly favors the mother for children of very young age (often referenced as under seven), unless there are compelling reasons to find her unfit. This is not absolute; courts weigh safety, stability, and welfare.

C. Remedies Commonly Sought

Temporary and permanent custody orders
Visitation schedules (or restrictions where safety issues exist)
Child support orders (including arrears)
Protective orders if abuse or harassment is present

11) Property Issues in Abandonment and Infidelity Contexts

A. Preventing Asset Dissipation

When abandonment coincides with moving assets to a new partner or hiding income, common legal strategies include:

Seeking judicial separation of property
Requesting provisional relief to prevent disposal of assets
Using support proceedings to compel financial disclosure

B. Conjugal/Community Property vs. Exclusive Property

Determining whether a property is community/conjugal or exclusive depends on:

The property regime (absolute community, conjugal partnership, or separation), and
Timing and manner of acquisition, and
Source of funds

A spouse cannot simply “take everything” by leaving; conversely, the left-behind spouse cannot automatically claim all assets without proper liquidation rules.

12) Procedural Roadmap: Where and How Cases Are Usually Filed

A. Support, Custody, Legal Separation, Property Cases

These are generally filed in appropriate courts (often Family Courts/RTC branches designated for family cases, depending on locality and subject).

Typical early requests:

Temporary custody
Support pendente lite
Protection against harassment
Orders preventing dissipation of property

B. VAWC (RA 9262)

VAWC complaints may be filed through:

Barangay (for certain immediate protective measures)
Prosecutor’s Office (criminal complaint)
Courts (for TPO/PPO and related relief)

C. Adultery/Concubinage

Criminal complaints are usually initiated at the Prosecutor’s Office, but they carry special procedural requirements because they are treated as private crimes.

13) Common Pitfalls and Strategic Considerations

Focusing only on punishment instead of protection and support. If immediate needs are safety, shelter, and children’s schooling, support and protective orders are often faster and more practical.
Evidence mistakes. Illegally obtained evidence can undermine a case and expose the gatherer to liability.
Delay and prescription. Some actions (notably legal separation) have strict filing deadlines.
Children caught in the middle. Courts dislike using custody as leverage; documented stability and child-centered arrangements matter.
Paper trail matters. Keep records: remittances stopped, school bills unpaid, messages admitting refusal to support, threats, harassment, and proof of expenditures for children.

14) Summary of Core Remedies (Philippine Context)

For Spousal Abandonment

Support case (including support pendente lite)
VAWC (RA 9262) for economic/psychological abuse and protection orders (for women and children)
Judicial separation of property to protect assets and compel accountability
Legal separation if statutory grounds and deadlines are met (no remarriage)
Custody and visitation orders anchored on the child’s best interests

For Third-Party Relationships

Criminal: adultery or concubinage (if elements are met; private-crime rules apply)
Civil: possible damages under general Civil Code provisions when there is a legally cognizable injury (harassment, humiliation, coercion, etc.), not merely the existence of an affair
Protective: if the spouse’s conduct around the third-party relationship involves threats, harassment, stalking-like behavior, or economic deprivation—especially via RA 9262 where applicable