In the Philippines, marriage is a special contract and the foundation of the family, as declared in the 1987 Constitution (Article XV, Section 2) and the Family Code of the Philippines (Executive Order No. 209, as amended). The country does not recognize absolute divorce for Filipinos except in limited cases involving Muslims under Presidential Decree No. 1083 or foreign divorces obtained by Filipinos under specific conditions recognized by jurisprudence. As a result, the only remedies to end a marriage are the declaration of absolute nullity of void marriages and the annulment of voidable marriages. These judicial processes declare the marriage invalid or dissolve a defective but initially valid union, allowing the parties to remarry.

The Family Code strictly regulates the validity of marriages through essential and formal requisites. Article 2 lists the essential requisites: (1) legal capacity of the contracting parties, who must be a male and a female, and (2) consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer. Article 3 enumerates the formal requisites: (1) authority of the solemnizing officer, (2) a valid marriage license (subject to exceptions), and (3) a marriage ceremony with the personal appearance of the parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of at least two witnesses of legal age. Absence of any essential or formal requisite generally renders the marriage void, though good-faith exceptions apply in certain cases.

Philippine law draws a clear distinction between void marriages (which are invalid from the beginning and produce no legal effects) and voidable marriages (which are valid until annulled by final court decree). Void marriages may be attacked collaterally or directly by any interested party and are generally imprescriptible. Voidable marriages may be annulled only by the aggrieved party within prescribed periods and are subject to ratification by continued cohabitation.

I. Void Marriages (Declaration of Absolute Nullity)

Void marriages are deemed never to have existed. The grounds are provided in Articles 35, 36, 37, and 38 of the Family Code.

A. Grounds under Article 35
The following marriages are void from the beginning:

Those contracted by any party below eighteen (18) years of age, even with parental consent.
Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages, unless the parties or either of them believed in good faith that the solemnizing officer had legal authority.
Those solemnized without a license, except marriages in articulo mortis or other exempt cases under Articles 27 to 34.
Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not falling under Article 41 (remarriage after presumptive death).
Those contracted with a mistake as to the identity of the contracting party.
Those subsequent marriages declared void under Article 53 (failure to record a previous judgment of annulment or nullity, or the death of the former spouse, before contracting a new marriage).

B. Psychological Incapacity under Article 36
A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations is void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after solemnization. Psychological incapacity must be grave (serious and not merely a difficulty), juridically antecedent (existing at the time of marriage), and incurable (or appears to be incurable). It refers to the inability to assume the basic marital obligations of living together, observing love, respect, fidelity, and mutual support. Jurisprudence, beginning with Santos v. Court of Appeals and refined in Republic v. Molina, requires clear and convincing evidence, often including expert psychiatric or psychological testimony, to establish the incapacity. The Supreme Court examines the totality of evidence, including the parties’ behavior before and after the marriage, without rigid adherence to all Molina guidelines in every case. Article 36 applies prospectively and retroactively to marriages before the Family Code’s effectivity.

C. Incestuous Marriages under Article 37
The following marriages are void:

Between ascendants and descendants of any degree, whether legitimate or illegitimate.
Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half-blood.

D. Marriages Against Public Policy under Article 38
The following marriages are void:

Between collateral blood relatives up to the fourth civil degree.
Between step-parents and step-children.
Between parents-in-law and children-in-law.
Between the adopting parent and the adopted child.
Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child.
Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter.
Between an adopted child and the legitimate or illegitimate child of the adopter.
Between adopted children of the same adopter.
Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed the latter’s spouse or his or her own spouse.

Article 41 provides a special rule: a subsequent marriage after four or seven years of absence with a well-founded belief that the absent spouse is dead is valid unless the absent spouse reappears and the second marriage is not judicially annulled or declared void.

II. Voidable Marriages (Annulment)

Voidable marriages are valid until set aside by a competent court. Only the aggrieved party (or the parent/guardian in the case of lack of parental consent) may file the petition. Article 45 enumerates the exclusive grounds existing at the time of the marriage:

The party seeking annulment was eighteen years of age or over but below twenty-one, and the marriage was solemnized without the consent of the parents, guardian, or person having substitute parental authority, unless after attaining twenty-one, the party freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife.
Either party was of unsound mind, unless after coming to reason, the party freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife.
The consent of either party was obtained by fraud.
The consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation, or undue influence, unless the same having disappeared, the party freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife.
Either party was physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the other, and the incapacity continues and appears to be incurable.
Either party was afflicted with a sexually transmissible disease found to be serious and appears to be incurable.

Article 46 limits the fraud in Number 3 above to the following specific concealments:
(1) Non-disclosure of a previous marriage by any party even if such previous marriage has been terminated;
(2) Concealment by the wife that at the time of the marriage she was pregnant by another man;
(3) Concealment of a sexually transmissible disease;
(4) Concealment of being a drug addict, habitual alcoholic, homosexual, or transsexual by any party.

III. Prescription and Ratification

Actions for annulment are subject to strict prescriptive periods under Article 47:

For lack of parental consent: within five years after attaining twenty-one years of age.
For unsound mind: at any time before death by the sane spouse or guardian; after regaining sanity, the party may not file if cohabitation occurred.
For fraud: within five years after discovery of the fraud.
For force, intimidation, or undue influence: within five years from the time the force, intimidation, or undue influence ceased.
For physical incapacity or serious incurable STD: within five years after the marriage.

Voidable marriages may be ratified by free cohabitation after the defect ceases, extinguishing the action for annulment.

IV. Procedural Aspects

Petitions for declaration of nullity or annulment are filed exclusively with the Family Courts (Regional Trial Courts designated as Family Courts) of the province or city where the petitioner or respondent has resided for at least six months prior to filing, or in the place of the marriage if neither resides in the Philippines. The 2003 Rule on Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Void Marriages and Annulment of Voidable Marriages (A.M. No. 02-11-10-SC) governs the procedure. The petition must allege the facts constituting the ground and be verified. The State, through the Office of the Solicitor General or public prosecutor, must participate to prevent collusion and ensure the evidence is not fabricated. A certificate of marriage, birth certificates of parties and children, and other documentary evidence are required. For psychological incapacity, expert testimony is ordinarily presented. The case proceeds to pre-trial, trial, and judgment. The judgment becomes final after the period for appeal and must be registered in the local civil registry.

V. Effects of Declaration of Nullity or Annulment (Articles 50–54)

A final decree of nullity or annulment restores the parties to the status of single persons and allows them to remarry. Children conceived or born before the final judgment are considered legitimate. Property relations are governed by the regime of absolute community or conjugal partnership, which is dissolved and liquidated. If one party is in bad faith, that party forfeits any share in the net profits and may be required to forfeit donations propter nuptias. Custody and support of children are determined by the best interest of the child and the provisions on support. The wife may resume her maiden name or the surname of her previous marriage if applicable. In cases of good-faith void marriages, Articles 147 and 148 apply to property relations, treating the union as a special co-ownership.

VI. Other Relevant Considerations

Foreign marriages are valid if valid under the law of the place of celebration (lex loci celebrationis), but capacity is governed by the personal law of the parties (lex patriae). Recognition of foreign annulments or divorces is subject to the rules on comity and public policy. Legal separation (Articles 55–67) is a separate remedy that does not dissolve the marriage bond but allows separation of property and living arrangements for specified causes such as repeated physical violence or moral pressure. Annulment proceedings are often protracted and expensive, frequently requiring multiple court appearances and expert witnesses. Psychological incapacity remains the most commonly invoked ground because of its flexibility in addressing irreconcilable marital breakdowns. The law upholds the sanctity of marriage while providing equitable relief where a union never attained or cannot sustain the essential obligations required by law.