The Philippines remains one of the few jurisdictions in the world without a law on absolute divorce for its citizens. Marriage, once validly contracted, creates an indissoluble bond that persists until the death of one spouse, a decree of annulment for voidable marriages, or a judicial declaration of nullity for void marriages. This fundamental principle, enshrined in the Family Code of the Philippines (Executive Order No. 209, as amended), profoundly shapes the legal status and rights of spouses who separate—whether de facto or through a decree of legal separation—and subsequently form new relationships. Such situations give rise to a complex interplay of civil, criminal, property, familial, and succession laws. This article comprehensively examines every material aspect of the topic under current Philippine legal framework.

I. Legal Framework and Indissolubility of Marriage

Article 1 of the Family Code defines marriage as “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.” The bond is permanent and exclusive. No court decree of legal separation, de facto separation, or even long-term abandonment dissolves the marriage tie.

Only three events terminate the marriage:

Death of a spouse;
Decree of annulment (voidable marriages under Article 45, e.g., lack of parental consent, unsound mind, fraud, force, impotence, or affliction with sexually-transmissible disease); or
Judicial declaration of nullity (void marriages under Articles 35–54, including Article 36 psychological incapacity).

Separated spouses, therefore, remain legally married at all times. Any subsequent marriage ceremony with a new partner is bigamous and void ab initio under Article 35(4) of the Family Code and punishable as bigamy under Article 349 of the Revised Penal Code.

II. Forms of Separation

A. De Facto Separation

Spouses simply live apart without judicial intervention. All marital obligations—fidelity, support, cohabitation, and the property regime—continue in full force. The separation has no automatic legal effect on the marriage or on rights against third persons. Prolonged de facto separation may, however, be used as evidence in nullity or legal separation cases, or to prove abandonment.

B. Legal Separation (Articles 55–67, Family Code)

A petition may be filed on any of the following grounds:

Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct against the petitioner, a common child, or the petitioner’s child;
Physical violence or moral pressure to compel change of religious or political affiliation;
Attempt to corrupt or induce the petitioner or a child to engage in prostitution, or connivance therein;
Final conviction for a crime involving moral turpitude with sentence of more than six years, even if pardoned;
Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism;
Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent;
Contracting a subsequent bigamous marriage;
Sexual infidelity or perversion;
Attempt against the life of the petitioner; or
Abandonment without justifiable cause for more than one year.

A decree of legal separation produces the following effects (Article 63):

Spouses may live separately, but the marriage bonds are not severed;
The absolute community of property (ACP) or conjugal partnership of gains (CPG) is dissolved and liquidated;
The offending spouse forfeits any share in the net profits of the ACP or CPG;
Custody of minor children is awarded to the innocent spouse (subject to the best-interest rule under Article 213);
The offending spouse is disqualified from intestate succession from the innocent spouse, and testamentary provisions in the offending spouse’s favor are revoked by operation of law.

Reconciliation is encouraged and, if achieved, revives the original property regime and restores most rights (Articles 65–67), except for prior criminal liabilities already prosecuted.

III. Criminal Liabilities Arising from New Relationships

Because the marriage subsists, sexual relations or cohabitation with a new partner constitute criminal infidelity:

Adultery (Article 333, Revised Penal Code): A married woman who has sexual intercourse with any man other than her husband, and the man who knows her to be married. One act suffices. The paramour is liable as principal if he has knowledge of the marriage.
Concubinage (Article 334, Revised Penal Code): A married man who (a) keeps a mistress in the conjugal dwelling, (b) has sexual relations with a woman not his wife under scandalous circumstances, or (c) cohabits with her in any other place. The mistress is liable as accomplice.

These crimes may be committed even after a decree of legal separation, as the marital bond remains. The innocent spouse may file the criminal complaint. Prescription for adultery/concubinage is one year from discovery.

Additionally, the Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act (Republic Act No. 9262) may apply if the new relationship involves economic or psychological abuse against the legal spouse or common children.

IV. Property Rights and Regimes

A. During De Facto Separation

The governing property regime (ACP under Article 91, CPG under Article 105, or complete separation of property) continues until judicially dissolved. Earnings and acquisitions of either spouse generally remain part of the conjugal or community property unless proven to be excluded under Article 92 or 117.

When a separated spouse cohabits with a new partner, the relationship falls under Article 148 of the Family Code (cohabitation of a man and a woman who are not capacitated to marry each other). Only properties acquired by both through their actual joint contribution of money, property, or industry are owned in common in proportion to their contributions. Wages and salaries are owned in equal shares if both are gainfully employed. There is no presumption of joint acquisition (contrast with Article 147 for unmarried capacitated cohabitants). The legal spouse retains superior claim over any remaining conjugal or community assets.

B. After Decree of Legal Separation

The regime is mandatorily dissolved and liquidated. Post-decree acquisitions by each spouse become their exclusive separate property. The offending spouse’s forfeiture of net profits is strictly enforced. Any subsequent cohabitation with a new partner is again governed by Article 148.

The legal spouse may file an action for forfeiture of properties acquired through conjugal funds or for accounting against the offending spouse and the new partner.

V. Support Obligations

Spouses are mutually obliged to support each other (Articles 194–208).

In de facto separation, the obligation subsists. A court may grant support pendente lite in any proceeding (legal separation, nullity, or independent support action).
In legal separation, the innocent spouse is generally not required to provide personal support to the guilty spouse, as this would reward wrongdoing. However, support for common children remains the joint obligation of both parents, proportional to their means and the children’s needs. The court may order the guilty spouse to provide support directly to the children or through the innocent spouse.

The new partner has no right to demand support from the married person.

VI. Parental Authority, Custody, and Filial Rights

Joint parental authority continues (Article 211). In legal separation, custody is awarded to the innocent spouse unless the best interest of the child requires otherwise (Article 213). The parent living with a new partner may be found morally unfit if the illicit relationship demonstrably harms the child’s welfare. Visitation rights are generally granted to the non-custodial parent but may be regulated or supervised by the court.

Children born to the new relationship are illegitimate vis-à-vis the married parent. The married parent may voluntarily acknowledge paternity or filiation, granting the child rights to support and a share in the parent’s estate as an illegitimate heir (one-half the share of a legitimate child). The presumption of legitimacy under Article 164 applies only to children conceived or born during the subsistence of the valid marriage with the legal spouse.

The new partner, as biological parent of such children, exercises parental authority jointly with the married parent over those children alone.

VII. Succession and Inheritance Rights

The legal spouse remains the surviving spouse for all succession purposes until the marriage is terminated by death, annulment, or nullity.

In intestate succession, the surviving spouse concurs with legitimate children (one share equal to a child) or takes one-half if no descendants (Article 996–1000, Civil Code).
In legal separation, the offending spouse is disqualified from inheriting from the innocent spouse by intestate succession (Article 63(4)). The innocent spouse may still inherit from the offending spouse unless the will provides otherwise.
Testamentary dispositions in favor of the offending spouse are automatically revoked upon the decree becoming final.

The new partner has no forced heirship or intestate rights whatsoever. Any bequest to the new partner may be contested by the legal spouse or legitimate children on grounds of immorality or undue influence.

VIII. Rights and Legal Status of the New Partner

The new partner occupies no recognized spousal status. Philippine law does not confer “common-law spouse” rights on a person who knowingly enters a relationship with a married individual.

Specific consequences:

No right to use the married person’s surname;
No right to spousal support;
No right to conjugal or community property except under the limited Article 148 regime;
No automatic beneficiary status in life insurance, SSS, GSIS, PhilHealth, or Pag-IBIG (the legal spouse remains the primary beneficiary unless validly changed and the designation is not successfully challenged);
No right to claim damages for “loss of consortium” or similar actions;
May be compelled to vacate any property belonging to the legal spouse or the conjugal regime;
If the new partner contributes financially or industrially, he or she may recover only the proportionate share proven under Article 148 through an ordinary civil action.

Jurisprudence consistently holds that equity will not reward an illicit relationship at the expense of the legitimate family.

IX. Other Legal and Practical Implications

Taxation: Spouses remain “married” for income tax purposes and must file jointly unless the Commissioner of Internal Revenue grants permission for separate filing due to de facto separation.
Citizenship and Immigration: The legal spouse retains derivative citizenship benefits; the new partner does not.
Government Benefits and Pensions: The legal spouse is the statutory primary beneficiary.
Name Usage: A married woman may continue using her husband’s surname even after separation unless she elects otherwise in a public document.
Bigamy Prosecution: If the separated spouse contracts a second marriage ceremony, both the spouse and the new partner (if aware) are liable for bigamy.
Foreign Divorce Recognition: Under the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code, a divorce obtained abroad by an alien spouse is recognized, allowing the Filipino spouse to remarry. A pure Filipino couple cannot avail of this exception unless one later acquires foreign citizenship and obtains a valid foreign divorce.

X. Available Legal Remedies and Paths Forward

Separated spouses who wish to remarry must pursue:

Judicial declaration of nullity under Article 36 (psychological incapacity) or other void-marriage provisions; or
Annulment under Article 45.

These actions may be filed at any time, even after years of separation or after children have been born to new relationships. Reconciliation during pendency is possible but rare once a new family is established.

Legal separation itself does not bar a subsequent nullity petition. Many couples obtain legal separation first to settle property and custody, then proceed to nullity to regain the right to remarry.

Conclusion

Under Philippine law, separated spouses who form new relationships remain bound by the original marriage in virtually every legal dimension. The new partner acquires only minimal, contribution-based property rights under Article 148 and none of the privileges of marriage. Criminal exposure for adultery or concubinage persists, property claims favor the legitimate spouse, support and custody obligations prioritize the original family, and succession rights vest exclusively in the legal spouse. The only definitive ways to extinguish these obligations are death or a successful petition for annulment or declaration of nullity. Until then, the law protects the first marriage with unyielding rigor, reflecting the constitutional policy of the State to strengthen the family as the basic autonomous social institution.