1) Core idea: one spouse cannot marry twice (while the first marriage subsists)

Under Philippine law, a person who is already married generally cannot validly contract a second marriage while the first marriage is still valid and existing. If they do, the second marriage is void from the beginning (void ab initio) because of a legal impediment (a prior subsisting marriage).

Two different legal tracks often arise from the same set of facts:

Family law track: the second marriage is void, so parties typically seek a judicial declaration of absolute nullity (a court case that declares the marriage void).
Criminal law track: the act may constitute bigamy (a crime) if the elements are present.

These tracks can run independently of each other.

2) Void vs. voidable: why a prior marriage makes the second marriage “void”

A. Void marriages (absolute nullity)

A marriage is void when the defect is so fundamental that the marriage is treated as if it never legally existed, even if a ceremony occurred and a marriage certificate was issued.

A second marriage contracted during the subsistence of a prior marriage is typically void under the Family Code (commonly discussed under the provisions on marriages void for lack of legal capacity/impediment, including the rule against bigamous marriages).

B. Voidable marriages (annulment)

A voidable marriage is valid until annulled (e.g., lack of parental consent in certain age ranges, fraud, intimidation, impotence, serious sexually transmissible disease, psychological incapacity is not voidable—it's treated as void under Art. 36).

A marriage that is bigamous is not merely voidable—it is treated as void.

3) “But the PSA says CENOMAR”: what a CENOMAR is—and what it is not

A. Definition and purpose

A CENOMAR (Certificate of No Marriage Record), issued by the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), is a certification that based on PSA’s database, no marriage record appears for the person as of the date of issuance.

It is widely used for:

marriage license applications,
immigration and visa matters,
employment and benefits requirements,
proof of civil status in transactions.

B. Not conclusive proof of “no marriage”

A CENOMAR is not a guarantee that the person was never married. It is database-based and can be incomplete due to:

late/delayed registration of a marriage,
encoding errors (name spelling, middle name, suffixes, birthdate mismatches),
missing transmissions from Local Civil Registrars to PSA,
marriages celebrated abroad not reported/registered in the Philippine civil registry,
use of aliases, different names, or erroneous personal data.

C. “CENOMAR issues” in bigamy/void marriage disputes

A common scenario:

Person A previously married.
Person A later obtains a CENOMAR (because the first marriage is not reflected in PSA) and marries Person B.
Later, the first marriage record surfaces—or is proven by other documents/witnesses.
The second marriage becomes legally vulnerable: void, and potentially bigamy if the elements are met.

Key point: A CENOMAR may support good faith (important for property consequences and sometimes for evaluating culpability), but it does not legalize a second marriage if a prior valid marriage truly exists.

4) Bigamy (Revised Penal Code): when the situation becomes a crime

A. Elements (typical framework)

Bigamy is generally established when:

the offender is legally married;
the first marriage has not been legally dissolved (by death, final judgment of nullity/annulment with proper effects, or recognized divorce where applicable), and the spouse is not legally presumed dead in a way that allows remarriage;
the offender contracts a second or subsequent marriage; and
the second marriage would have been valid but for the existence of the first.

B. “Void second marriage” is not automatically a defense

A frequent misconception is: “If the second marriage is void, there’s no bigamy.” Philippine doctrine has repeatedly treated the act of contracting a second marriage while the first subsists as punishable, even if the second marriage is later declared void, because the law penalizes the contracting of the second marriage under the prohibited circumstance.

Narrow exceptions exist in situations where there was no marriage at all in the eyes of the law (e.g., absence of essential requisites such as no marriage ceremony or no authority of solemnizing officer in a way that prevents a marriage from coming into existence). Those situations are highly fact-specific.

C. Timing matters: you generally can’t “fix” bigamy by later nullifying the first marriage

Another common misconception: “If I later get my first marriage declared null, the bigamy disappears.” As a general rule, criminal liability is assessed based on the status at the time the second marriage was contracted.

D. Who can file and what evidence is used

A complaint may be initiated by an offended party (often the first spouse), sometimes supported by public records.
Evidence commonly includes:
- marriage certificates (PSA/LCR copies),
- witnesses, photos, invitations, admissions,
- proof that the first marriage subsisted when the second occurred,
- lack of final judgment or lack of recognized dissolution.

5) The “judicial declaration” rule: why you still need a court case (even for a void marriage)

A. Void “in theory” vs. void “in the registry and in practice”

Even if a marriage is void ab initio, parties generally seek a Judicial Declaration of Absolute Nullity because:

government offices, banks, insurers, employers, and registries often require a court decree to treat the marriage as void for official purposes;
it clarifies civil status for remarriage, property liquidation, inheritance issues, and legitimacy/filial status issues;
it enables annotation of the decree on the marriage record.

B. Requirement before remarriage

Philippine family law emphasizes that before contracting a subsequent marriage, one typically needs the proper final judgment and compliance with recording/annotation requirements (including entries in the civil registry). Skipping these steps can create further invalidity and property consequences, and can complicate criminal exposure.

6) Remedies and strategies when a prior marriage exists (or is discovered)

A. If you are the second spouse who discovers the prior marriage

1) File a petition for Declaration of Absolute Nullity (second marriage).

Ground: prior subsisting marriage (legal impediment).
Result: a court declares the second marriage void and orders annotation.

2) Consider criminal remedies (bigamy) against the spouse who married you.

Particularly if there was concealment.
This is separate from the nullity case.

3) Consider civil remedies (damages). Depending on the facts (fraud, bad faith, deception), claims may be explored under civil law principles on damages. These are fact-intensive and depend on proof of wrongful conduct and injury.

4) Protect children’s interests (support, custody, parental authority). Regardless of the marriage’s validity:

children have rights to support;
custody and parental authority rules apply;
the child’s status (legitimate/illegitimate) affects surname, inheritance shares, and some family law incidents, but does not erase the child’s fundamental rights.

5) Property protection. Property outcomes can vary sharply depending on good faith:

If one or both parties acted in good faith, property acquired during cohabitation may be governed by co-ownership rules under the Family Code provisions on unions without a valid marriage (commonly discussed under Art. 147/148 frameworks).
Bad faith can reduce or forfeit a party’s share in certain contexts.

B. If you are the first spouse

1) Bigamy complaint may be pursued (if the second marriage occurred while your marriage subsisted). 2) Civil actions (support, property protection, injunction-like relief in specific contexts) may be relevant. 3) Clarify your own marriage status (if there are nullity/annulment issues in the first marriage).

C. If you are the spouse who contracted the second marriage

Your exposure depends on whether:

the first marriage truly existed and subsisted,
you had knowledge,
there were circumstances like presumptive death (see next section),
the second marriage meets the elements of bigamy.

Even if you relied on a CENOMAR, the main legal question remains: did a valid first marriage exist at the time of the second marriage?

7) Special situation: “presumptive death” and remarriage

There is a lawful pathway for remarriage if a spouse has been absent for the period required by law and is well and truly presumed dead, but this requires:

a judicial declaration of presumptive death (a court case), and
good faith in contracting the subsequent marriage.

Without the proper court declaration, a subsequent marriage is vulnerable to being treated as void, and criminal exposure may remain.

8) CENOMAR errors and civil registry corrections: practical fixes (and limits)

A. Getting better PSA documentation

Because CENOMAR can be incomplete, parties often also request:

an Advisory on Marriages (a PSA annotation-based advisory that may reveal indexed marriages),
PSA certificates under different name variations (maiden name, alternative spellings),
Local Civil Registrar (LCR) certification/search.

B. Correcting records: administrative vs judicial routes

Philippine practice distinguishes:

Clerical/minor errors (often correctible administratively under civil registry correction laws), versus
Substantial changes (often requiring a judicial proceeding, commonly under Rule 108).

Marriage record issues that involve substantive status (existence/validity of marriage, legitimacy implications, identity disputes beyond typographical mistakes) are typically not solved by simple administrative correction.

C. Late registration and “missing” marriages

If a marriage was celebrated but not properly registered or transmitted:

it may later appear through late registration procedures,
but the legal fact of the marriage can also be proven by competent evidence even before PSA reflects it, depending on context and rules of evidence.

9) Effects of a void bigamous marriage: children, property, donations, succession

A. Children

Children’s rights to support are protected regardless of the marriage’s validity. However, the civil status of children (legitimate/illegitimate) depends on the specific legal provisions and the nature of the void marriage. Bigamous marriages (void due to prior subsisting marriage) can lead to classification as illegitimate, unless a specific legitimizing rule applies (which is limited and depends on whether the parents were free to marry at the time of conception and later validly marry, among other requirements).

B. Property relations

Where a marriage is void, the Family Code’s rules on property relations in unions without a valid marriage often govern:

Good faith matters.
Contributions, actual acquisition, and proof of participation affect shares.
Bad faith can have adverse consequences.

C. Donations and benefits “by reason of marriage”

Benefits and transfers premised on a valid marriage—such as some donations propter nuptias—can be affected or revoked, depending on the governing rules and the presence of bad faith.

D. Succession (inheritance)

Spousal inheritance rights depend on a valid marriage. If the second marriage is void, the “spouse” in that void union generally does not inherit as a lawful spouse, though other claims (e.g., on co-ownership property) may exist.

10) Litigation roadmap: what cases are commonly filed and why

A. Declaration of Absolute Nullity (Family Court)

Purpose:

obtain a court decree declaring the second marriage void,
enable annotation,
settle property and child-related issues (as needed).

Typical components:

proof of first marriage,
proof of second marriage,
proof first marriage subsisted at time of second,
good/bad faith facts for property consequences.

B. Bigamy (Criminal prosecution)

Purpose:

criminal accountability for contracting a second marriage while the first subsisted.

Key proof themes:

existence and validity of first marriage,
non-dissolution at time of second,
existence of second marriage.

C. Civil actions for damages (where supported by facts)

Purpose:

compensation for deception, injury, humiliation, economic harm, etc., depending on evidence and applicable civil law doctrines.

11) Common myths and hard truths

“A CENOMAR makes me single.” No. It reflects what PSA has on record; it does not override reality if a valid marriage exists.
“If the second marriage is void, there’s no bigamy.” Not generally. Bigamy focuses on contracting the second marriage while the first subsisted.
“I can remarry once I file a nullity case.” Filing is not enough. Remarriage is typically tied to final judgment and required recording/annotation.
“If my first marriage was ‘void’ anyway, I can ignore it.” Even void marriages often require a court declaration for legal certainty and for purposes of remarriage and civil status.

12) Practical due diligence before marrying in the Philippines (risk control)

Because civil registry systems can be imperfect, prudent verification often includes:

requesting PSA CENOMAR and Advisory on Marriages,
checking the Local Civil Registrar where the person resides/where prior events may have occurred,
verifying identity details (exact names, birthdates, prior residences),
asking about prior marriages abroad and whether they were reported/recognized.

This does not eliminate all risk, but it reduces the chance of “surprise” prior marriage discoveries.

13) Bottom line

When a person contracts a marriage while a prior valid marriage is still in force, the later marriage is typically void from the beginning and may expose the contracting spouse to bigamy, regardless of a clean CENOMAR. The legal system addresses this through family law remedies (declaration of nullity, registry annotation, property and child-related adjudication) and criminal law enforcement (bigamy), with outcomes heavily influenced by proof of the prior marriage’s existence, the parties’ good or bad faith, and compliance with judicial and civil registry requirements.