Judicial Recognition of a Foreign Divorce Decree

Published by Atty. Fred June 5th, 2009 in Annulment and Legal Separation. 15 omments 

!i"or#e is not allo$ed in the Philippines and di"or#e se#ured any$here by a Filipino is

not re#ogni%ed in this &urisdi#tion. 'e already ha"e a number o( dis#ussions on this )read

more here and here*. +n #ertain instan#es, ho$e"er, a di"or#e "alidly se#ured abroad by a

nonFilipino may be re#ogni%ed here in the Philippines.

What are circumstances that would make Article ( Family Code) applicale!

'e ha"e a basi# dis#ussion on Arti#le 2- o( the  Family ode )#li# here/  !i"or#e and

Annulment in the Philippines*. +n#luded in that dis#ussion are the t$o elements that must

 be sho$n be(ore the se#ond paragraph o( Arti#le 2- is applied/

1. here is a "alid marriage that has been #elebrated bet$een a Filipino #iti%en and a(oreigner and

2. A "alid di"or#e is obtained abroad by the alien spouse #apa#itating him or her to

remarry.

"s this provision applicale to former Filipinos!

es. See the dis#ussion here.

#his law provides that the divorce must e secured y the foreigner$spouse% What if 

the foreigner$spouse continually maltreats the Filipino&Filipina spouse' isnt it unfair

that the Filipino&Filipina cant initiate divorce!

+t may be un(air, but that3s the la$, #onsistent $ith the State3s poli#y o( not allo$ingdi"or#e (or Filipinos. his doesn3t mean, ho$e"er, that the Filipino4Filipina has no other 

re#ourse. +( the #ir#umstan#es (all under the grounds (or annulment4de#laration o( nullity,

then the marriage #ould still be annulled or de#lared null and "oid (rom the beginning.

"f theres already a divorce validly secured aroad (y the foreigner$spouse or the

Filipino spouse who ecame a foreign citien' losing his&her Filipino citienship in

the process)' can the Filipino spouse immediately remarry!

 o. he e6isten#e o( a "alid di"or#e de#ree, ho$e"er, does not automati#ally entitle theFilipino to remarry in the Philippines. he (oreign di"or#e de#ree must be &udi#ially

re#ogni%ed in the Philippines. his means that the proper a#tion or petition must be (iled

in a Philippine #ourt. For purposes o( remarriage, the di"or#e "alidly se#ured abroad is

not automati#ally re#ogni%ed here in the Philippines.

"snt it enough that " already forwarded the divorce decree to the *hilippine

+massy (or the Department of Foreign Affairs) and the ,ational -tatistics .ffice

(,-.)!

 o. he (oreign di"or#e de#ree must be re#ogni%ed here in the Philippines a pro#ess$hi#h may only be done through the #ourts.

Why should we waste money in filing a petition in court for the recognition of the

divorce decree!

his is the re7uirement o( la$, un(ortunately. he di"or#e de#ree must be pro"en, &ustlie any (a#t, in #ourt. he presentation o( the di"or#e de#ree is insu((i#ient. Proo( o( its

authenti#ity and due e6e#ution must be presented. his ne#essarily entails pro"ing the

appli#able la$s o( the &urisdi#tion $here the (oreignerspouse )$ho #ould be a (ormer 

Filipino* is a national. 8ne o( the re7uirements under Arti#le 2- is that the de#ree o( 

Filipino* is a national. 8ne o( the re7uirements under Arti#le 2- is that the de#ree o( di"or#e must be "alid a##ording to the national la$ o( the (oreigner.