Divorce

[Gary]

I cant find my last post on this subject.http://news.yahoo.co...religiondivorce

[Call me bubba]

How to split when divorce is banned (article from BBC news) With the strong influence of the Catholic faith, divorce is illegal in the Philippines. But couples who have fallen out of love find novel ways to split - including multiple annulments. For a country which does not allow divorce, there seems to be an awful lot of people in the Philippines who have ex-wives or ex-husbands. It is not something that is often talked about openly, but in any gathering of professional Filipinos, you can be fairly sure that at least one is onto their second or maybe even third marriage. This is because - as in many aspects of life here - people have found ways to get around the rules. The main way, if you have got the money to do it, is to get your marriage annulled. It is as if someone waves a magic wand, and both the wedding and the unhappy-ever-after simply never happened. All you need is a psychiatrist to say that there is something wrong with either you or your partner, leaving you unable to fulfil the essential obligations of marriage. Exactly what those obligations are remains somewhat vague - a loophole that has not gone unnoticed by warring couples and their lawyers. Plead insanity Joey's story is typical. He works in PR in Manila's business district, and is bright, articulate and confident. “ The result is a two-tier system, where rich people can marry again and poor people cannot ” Yet in order for his first marriage to be annulled, he had to declare that he was psychologically incapacitated. Now I am no expert, but Joey does not look psychologically incapacitated to me. He has a broad smile and a ready wit - and he even manages to find our meeting place despite my appalling directions. But a psychiatrist said he was psychologically incapacitated, and a judge agreed. Six months later, and more than $1,000 (£600) poorer, Joey was free to marry again. It is a legal fudge that seems to work quite well. Many celebrities have gone down the same route, sometimes more than once, but success is not guaranteed. I have heard of cases mired in the courts for years, others which have cost $5,000 (£3,000) or even more, and some which have been refused outright. And it is hardly an option available to everyone. This is a country where a third of the population live on less than a dollar a day. An annulment is simply too expensive for the vast majority of people. The result is a two-tier system, where rich people can marry again and poor people cannot. I have visited many of Manila's slums in the course of my job. Almost everyone is Catholic, and almost everyone attends Sunday worship - large families filing out of the rabbit warren of precarious structures they call home and piling into the churches. But, even here, it is not hard to find people who have circumvented the church's rules. Many of those whose marriages have fallen apart simply move on to live with someone else. “ When the bishops say that divorce is anti-Filipino and to legalize it would be to cheapen the institution of marriage, people take that message seriously ” And I have met some people who say there is little incentive to get married in the first place. One woman I found sitting in a doorway cleaning vegetables - a 22-year-old pregnant with her fourth child - looks at me with bewilderment when I ask if she's married to the man standing with his arm around her. This is not really on the agenda for now, she says - they have too many other things to worry about. Faith 'trap' There are undoubtedly people who feel trapped by the lack of a divorce law - those whose first partners are long gone and who would dearly love to marry someone else, and the children born out of wedlock and into stigma because their parents cannot get married. Supporters for legal divorce also point to the high number of battered wives who feel trapped, unable to leave their husbands. A small percentage of Filipinos are already allowed to divorce - the 5% of the population who are Muslim, and also some Filipinos married to foreigners. So why does the government not just accept that some marriages fail, like they do everywhere else - and that divorce is sometimes the only option? Because that would be to ignore the strong feelings people have toward their faith. The majority of people here are not just lip-service Catholics, but fasting, praying, regular-attending members of the church. And when the bishops say that divorce is anti-Filipino, and to legalize it would be to cheapen the institution of marriage, people take that message seriously. What really surprises me is that out of all the people I've spoken to who are separated, or have had their marriages annulled, few say the Philippines is ready for a divorce law. Annulment should be accessible to everyone, they say - laws should be passed to make it quicker and simpler, broadening the criteria for when it can be granted, and dispensing with the need for a psychiatrist. So, basically, divorce by another name - a uniquely Philippine solution. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/programmes/from_our_own_correspondent/9509519.stm added link

Edited June 12, 2011 by ed villas

[Call me bubba]

an update on divorce from the manila times legal column divorce from american & philippine citizenDear PAO,For 5 years I had been married to an American Mexican. He is now 74 years old. We did not have a good relationship and he wants to get a divorce. My query is, can he file a divorce in America?M. Rosell Dear M. Rosell,Anent your query if your American Mexican husband can get a divorce in America, the answer is yes. Pertinent law subject of your query are the New Civil Code and the Family Code of the Philippines, thus: “Article 15, New Civil Code.-Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad.” “Article 17, New Civil Code.-The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and other public instruments shall be governed by the laws of the country in which they are executed. Xxx” “Article 26, Family Code. XxxWhere a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall likewise have capacity to remarry under Philippine law.” Status is the sum total of a person’s rights, duties, and legal capacities. The rights and obligations of a person may be governed by his law of domicile or national law. The rights and obligations of Filipinos are governed by the law of the Philippines regardless of their place of residence. Article 15 of the New Civil Code is a rule of private international law. It is the so-called conflicts rule for it refers to a foreign element such as a foreign country or national. For Filipinos, insofar as Philippine laws are concerned, the same are applicable to Filipinos even though residing abroad, thus, a Filipino wife or a Filipino husband remains as a husband or a wife, wherever he or she may reside or go. On the other hand, nationals of other countries are considered to be governed by their own national law. Thus, the acts of your American Mexican husband are governed by the laws of America which is his national law. In America, divorce is allowed, thus, your husband can file a divorce anytime he wants to. However, the Congress, by virtue of Article 26 of the Family Code, accorded relief to Filipinos who are spouses of foreigners to get the same benefit as what the foreigner spouse will get from the granting of the divorce, to the end that such Filipino spouse can also remarry under Philippine law. The intent of the framers of the law is to avoid unfairness to the Filipino spouse. After your foreigner husband gets a divorce in his country, such divorce is valid here as if the same has been obtained here in the Philippines, thus, capacitating you to remarry should you want to after complying some legal requirements and start moving on and living your own life. In GRACE J. GARCIAAAAa.k.a. GRACE J. GARCIA-RECIO vs. REDERICK A. RECIO,[G.R. No. 138322. October 2, 2001], the Supreme Court through Justice J. Panganiban states that “A divorce obtained abroad by an alien may be recognized in our jurisdiction, provided such decree is valid according to the national law of the foreigner. However, the divorce decree and the governing personal law of the alien spouse who obtained the divorce must be proven. Our courts do not take judicial notice of foreign laws and judgments; hence, like any other facts, both the divorce decree and the national law of the alien must be alleged and proven according to our law on evidence”. Thus, A Divorce Decree that may be obtained in America can be recognized in Philippine jurisdiction through a Petition for Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree under Rule 39, Section 48 of the Rules of Court Further, in Republic v. Cipriano Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005, the Supreme Court spelled out the twin elements for the applicability of the second paragraph of Art. 26, thus: x x x [W]e state the twin elements for the application of Paragraph 2 of Article 26 as follows: 1. There is a valid marriage that has been celebrated between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner; and 2. A valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry. The reckoning point is not the citizenship of the parties at the time of the celebration of the marriage, but their citizenship at the time a valid divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating the latter to remarry. http://www.manilatim...fe-can-remarry/

Edited July 11, 2011 by ed villas

[Call me bubba]

Historically, divorce was once part of the Philippine legal system. In the 16th century, before the Spanish colonial rule, absolute divorce was practiced widely among certain tribes such as the Tagbanwas of Palawan, the Gadangs of Nueva Vizcaya, the Sagadans and Igorots of the Cordilleras, as well as the Manobos, Bila-ans and Moslems of the Visayas and Mindanao. Divorce was also available during the American period starting 1917, and during the Japanese occupation until 1950. When the New Civil Code took effect in 1950, divorce was disallowed under Philippine Law, which allows only legal separation. This was adopted by the Family Code of 1988, although the code introduced the concept of “psychological incapacity” as a basis for declaring a marriage void. The 1987 Constitution is silent, thereby not prohibiting the legalization of divorce. In the Philippines, the options to end bad marriages legally are restricted to three. 1. Legal separation, which allows the couple to separate on the basis of repeated violence and physical abuse, sexual infidelity, conviction of a criminal offense with a penalty of more than six years, and abandonment. But this option does not allow the couple to re-marry and requires that they maintain fidelity. So individuals legally separated from their spouses should not have any sexual relations, lest they be charged with concubinage or adultery. 2. Declaration of nullity of marriage declares a marriage void from the very beginning. Children in this type of marriage are considered illegitimate. This legal option is available to minors who married without parental consent and those who were married by an unauthorized person. Bigamous marriages, mistaken identity, and incestuous marriages may also be declared void from the very beginning. 3. An annulment declares the marriage legal until it is declared void. This legal option is available to minors married without parental consent and to individuals who may have been of unsound mind at the time of the marriage. Couples married under deceitful circumstances such as the failure to inform the other party of a sexually transmitted disease, a pregnancy involving another man, criminal conviction, addiction, impotence, or homosexuality may also file for annulment. Article 36 of the Family Code states that a marriage can be declared void if one of the parties is psychologically incapacitated to perform his or her marital obligations. This has often been used by couples seeking a way out of marriages and is sometimes dubbed as the “Philippine de facto divorce law.”http://lifestyle.inquirer.net/5183/is-the-philippines-ready-for-divorce

[beegee]

I'm just embarking on the annulment journey, been with the lady I call my Wife for 10 years, she was married to a Hong Kong Chinese guy and has two children but hasn't seen him for 15 years, he lives in the Philippines where they got married. I thought this would be relatively simple but apparently not, the few legal guys I spoke with seem to be having a problem with how to handle this. Need to sort it out though as we want to get married before we come to the Philippines.

[schwechat]

How is that if a foreigner has married in philippines - he can obtain divorce elsewhere than in philippines and this is better accepted then doing in philippines..?

[Jollygoodfellow]

How is that if a foreigner has married in philippines - he can obtain divorce elsewhere than in philippines and this is better accepted then doing in philippines..?

Because there is no such thing as divorce in the Philippines, only annulment. Other countries have divorce so you can divorce a wife in your own legal system as you are a citizen and come under your own countries laws. Not sure if that answered your question. :thumbsup:

[Old55]

How is that if a foreigner has married in philippines - he can obtain divorce elsewhere than in philippines and this is better accepted then doing in philippines..?

Because there is no such thing as divorce in the Philippines, only annulment. Other countries have divorce so you can divorce a wife in your own legal system as you are a citizen and come under your own countries laws. Not sure if that answered your question. :thumbsup:

What Bossman said is correct the Philippines no divorce statutes only applies between two married Filipino citizens.