I. Overview

In Philippine law, a valid marriage rests heavily on true, personal, and freely given consent of the parties. When consent is forged—for example, when a signature is faked or a party never actually appears at the ceremony—the issue goes to the very existence of the marriage.

A “marriage” built on forged consent is often not merely defective; it may be void from the beginning (void ab initio), and therefore subject to a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage, not just annulment.

This article discusses forged consent under the Family Code of the Philippines, its interaction with procedural rules and criminal law, and the consequences once nullity is declared.

II. Consent as an Essential Requisite of Marriage

Under the Family Code, the essential requisites of marriage are:

Legal capacity of the contracting parties; and
Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer.

If an essential requisite is absent, the marriage is void from the start. A forged consent usually implies that real, personal, and informed consent was never given.

Key points:

Consent must be personal (not by representative or proxy);
Consent must be freely given (without force, intimidation, undue influence);
Consent must be given before the solemnizing officer.

When documents or signatures are forged, the law asks: Did the person actually consent in the manner the law requires?

If the answer is “no,” the marriage’s very existence is in question.

III. “Forged Consent” – What Does It Cover?

“Forged consent” is not a term explicitly defined in the Family Code, but in practice it refers to situations such as:

Forged signature on the marriage contract or license
- One spouse’s signature on the marriage contract is faked, or
- A marriage license is obtained using falsified documents or forged signatures.
Marriage document processed without the knowledge of one party
- A supposed spouse later discovers they are “married” on paper, despite never having gone through a ceremony.
Impostor or mistaken identity
- One party is misled about whom they are marrying, or
- An impostor stands in for a party.
No actual ceremony or personal appearance
- Paperwork is fabricated to make it appear that a ceremony took place, but in reality, one (or both) of the parties never appeared before the officiant.

These scenarios may lead to nullity because the essential requisite of consent is absent, or because the formal requisites (personal appearance, real ceremony) were never complied with.

IV. Distinguishing Void and Voidable Marriages

To understand nullity based on forged consent, it’s crucial to distinguish void from voidable marriages:

A. Void Marriages (Subject of Declaration of Nullity)

A marriage is void ab initio if, among others:

An essential requisite (like true consent) is absent;
A formal requisite is absent (no real ceremony, no appearance of parties, no license unless covered by exemptions);
It falls under specific void categories (e.g., mistaken identity, bigamous marriage).

The result:

The marriage is treated as if it never existed, but a court declaration of nullity is required for civil registry and remarriage purposes.

B. Voidable Marriages (Subject of Annulment)

A marriage is voidable where consent exists but is defective, for reasons such as:

Fraud;
Force, intimidation, or undue influence;
Psychological conditions covered by law (e.g., insanity at time of marriage).

In voidable marriages:

There was real consent, but improperly obtained;
The marriage is considered valid until annulled;
There are prescriptive periods and only certain persons can file.

Forged consent usually points to an absence of real consent, making the marriage void, not merely voidable—although the exact classification still depends on the facts.

V. Specific Legal Bases Implicated by Forged Consent

Forged consent situations may touch on several Family Code provisions:

Absence of essential requisite (consent)
- If one alleged spouse never actually consented, there is no meeting of minds.
- The marriage is void for lack of consent.
Absence of formal requisites
- If the alleged marriage occurred only on paper (no real ceremony, no personal appearance), then essential formal requisites such as the marriage ceremony and personal declaration before the solemnizing officer are lacking.
- The result is a void marriage.
Mistake as to identity
- If forgery or deception leads one party to marry someone they mistake for another person, this ties in with the rule on marriages contracted through mistake of one party as to the identity of the other.
- Such a marriage is treated as void.
Defective but real documents
- If the spouses personally appear, truly consent, and a real ceremony occurs, but some documentary signatures are later falsified, the marriage remains valid despite document irregularities.
- In that case, forgery is a criminal/administrative issue, not a ground for nullity.

The law focuses on: Was there a real, lawful marriage ceremony and personal consent? If not, the marriage is void.

VI. When Forged Consent Leads to Nullity

Forged consent most clearly results in nullity of marriage when:

The supposed spouse never knew about the marriage, and
There was no personal appearance or ceremony involving that person.

Examples:

A person discovers they are “married” after checking PSA records, but they never attended any ceremony, never signed anything, and never consented.
Family or another person fakes signatures and paperwork to contract a marriage between two people without their knowledge or attendance.

In such cases:

There is no consent, no valid ceremony, and possibly no valid license;
The marriage is void ab initio and may be judicially declared null.

VII. Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage Based on Forged Consent

A. Nature of the Action

A petition for declaration of absolute nullity of void marriage is the proper remedy when the ground is absence of an essential or formal requisite, including forged consent that negates real consent.

Key characteristics:

It does not prescribe (no time limit);
It may be filed by any interested party—not only the spouses (spouse, heirs, or others who stand to be affected).

B. Jurisdiction and Venue

Filed with the Family Court (Regional Trial Court designated as such);
Usually in the place where any of the parties resides.

C. Parties and Participation of the State

The petitioner (spouse or interested party) alleges that the marriage is void;
The respondent is the other spouse (or alleged spouse);
The public prosecutor participates to ensure there is no collusion and that the case is not a mere simulation to obtain a convenient decree.

D. Reliefs Sought

The petition generally asks the court to:

Declare the marriage void ab initio;
Order the local civil registrar and PSA to annotate and correct the civil registry;
Decide on property relations, support, and custody of children;
Authorize the parties to remarry once the decision becomes final and properly recorded, if they are otherwise legally capacitated.

VIII. Evidentiary Issues: Proving Forged Consent

Because marriages enjoy a presumption of validity, the party alleging forgery must present clear and convincing evidence.

Typical evidence includes:

Handwriting comparison and expert testimony
- Forensic examination of the questioned signature on the marriage contract or license;
- Comparison with genuine signatures on IDs, contracts, or other documents.
Testimony of the alleged spouse whose signature is forged
- Denies having signed the marriage papers;
- Denies having attended any ceremony.
Testimony of the solemnizing officer and witnesses
- Whether the supposed spouse actually appeared before them;
- Whether a ceremony took place at all.
Civil registrar and PSA records
- Irregularities in processing;
- Suspicious circumstances (e.g., license obtained without personal appearance, mismatched IDs).
Other documentary and circumstantial evidence
- Travel records proving absence from the location at the alleged date of marriage;
- Communications (messages, emails) contradicting the supposed relationship.

The judge must decide:

Was there real consent, freely and personally given?
Or were the documents fabricated to create the illusion of consent?

IX. Effects of a Declaration of Nullity Based on Forged Consent

Once a court declares the marriage null based on forged consent, several legal consequences follow:

A. Status of the “Marriage”

The marriage is treated as non-existent from the start;
The parties were never legally husband and wife.

However, the court decision must be:

Final and executory, and
Registered with the local civil registrar and PSA,

before it can be fully relied upon for purposes such as remarriage and rectification of records.

B. Property Relations Between the Parties

Since there was no valid marriage:

There is no absolute community or conjugal partnership of gains.
Property relations are generally governed by:
- The rules on co-ownership, especially if both parties were in good faith believing that the marriage was valid (putative marriage); or
- The rules under the Family Code on unions in fact, depending on the specifics of the relationship (e.g., whether there was actual cohabitation, who was in good or bad faith).

The court will usually:

Identify properties acquired during the relationship;
Determine each party’s contributions;
Order partition in accordance with law and equity.

C. Status of Children

The status of children is highly sensitive and does not always automatically follow the nullity of the marriage.

General principles:

The law tends to protect children’s legitimacy in situations where at least one parent honestly believed the marriage was valid (putative marriage doctrine).
Some void marriages have express statutory protection for the legitimacy of children.
Even in void marriages without explicit protection, children are not left without rights; they have recognized rights to support, inheritance, and other protections.

In cases of forged consent, outcomes may depend on:

Whether the parties actually cohabited and represented themselves as spouses;
Whether one or both parents were in good faith.

Because the rules can be technical and ground-specific, courts examine the particular facts of each case. It is common for the court to expressly rule on the status and rights of the children in its decision.

D. Right to Remarry

Since a void marriage never produced a valid marital bond, the parties are, in theory, free to marry others. However:

For practical and administrative purposes, a judicial declaration of nullity and proper annotation in the civil registry is required before entering into a new marriage.
A subsequent marriage without such declaration and annotation may be subject to challenge and may even give rise to bigamy issues.

X. Criminal and Administrative Consequences of Forged Consent

Nullity of marriage based on forged consent can intersect with criminal law and administrative liability:

Falsification of public documents
- A marriage certificate and license are public documents.
- Forging signatures or fabricating their contents may constitute falsification under the Revised Penal Code.
- Persons who sign, cause the forgery, or knowingly use falsified documents can be liable.
Bigamy and related crimes
- If a forged marriage is used to create the appearance that someone is already married when contracting another marriage, issues of bigamy or attempted bigamy may arise.
- Conversely, if a person uses a void forged marriage to avoid liability for bigamy, courts will scrutinize the circumstances closely.
Liability of the solemnizing officer and public officials
- A priest, minister, judge, or mayor who knowingly participates in a fraudulent marriage could face administrative and possibly criminal consequences.
- Civil registry officials processing falsified documents may also be liable if they are complicit.

The civil nullity case and the criminal case are separate proceedings, although facts in one may influence the other.

XI. Good Faith, Bad Faith, and Putative Marriage

A critical concept in cases of forged consent is good faith:

A spouse who honestly believes they are entering into a valid marriage is in good faith.
A spouse or third party who knows that consent is forged, or that procedures are falsified, is in bad faith.

Consequences:

Good faith can affect the property regime, often leading to application of rules akin to co-ownership with equitable sharing of properties acquired through actual contributions.
Good faith also affects how the law treats children and may lean toward protecting their legitimacy or at least ensuring full rights as against both parents.
Bad faith can expose the person to criminal liability and may reduce or eliminate claims to benefits or property.

XII. Practical Guidance

A. For a Person Discovering a “Marriage” Based on Forged Consent

Secure official records
- Obtain certified copies of the marriage certificate from the local civil registrar and PSA.
Gather evidence
- Collect documents showing genuine signatures;
- Assemble travel and employment records that show you were elsewhere at the alleged date of marriage;
- Preserve communications showing absence of consent.
Consult a lawyer
- To evaluate whether to file a petition for declaration of nullity and, where appropriate, a criminal complaint for falsification.
Avoid acting inconsistently
- Do not behave as a spouse (e.g., representing yourself as married) if your legal position is that the marriage is void for lack of consent.

B. For Someone in a Real Relationship but Suspecting Forged Documents

Sometimes a couple had a real ceremony, but one later suspects alterations or falsifications in the paperwork. In such cases:

The marriage might still be valid, because personal consent and ceremony occurred;
The issue may be documentary fraud rather than nullity.
It is still advisable to seek legal advice because falsified documents can have other consequences (tax, property, inheritance issues).

XIII. Conclusion

In Philippine law, forged consent goes to the heart of marital validity. Where consent was never personally, freely, and lawfully given, the supposed marriage is typically void from the beginning, and a petition for declaration of nullity is the proper civil remedy.

However, the consequences are far-reaching:

They affect the status and rights of spouses,
The property regime between them,
The status and rights of children, and
Potential criminal liability for those responsible for the forgery.

Each case turns on specific facts: Was there a real ceremony? Did the parties personally appear? Was there any genuine consent at all, or only fabricated documents? Because these questions involve both Family Code principles and criminal law considerations, anyone confronted with a suspected forged marriage should seek individual legal advice from a Philippine lawyer or obtain guidance from the proper government offices such as the civil registrar or the courts.