SC rules foreign divorce recognized in Philippines

MANILA – Filipinos who obtained divorce in other countries can remarry in the Philippines, the Supreme Court (SC) said.

In a 10-3-1 voting, the high court ruled that a foreign divorce secured by a Filipino against a foreign spouse is considered valid in the Philippines, SC spokesperson Theodore Te said.

Prior to the ruling, Te said, a divorce abroad is only considered valid in the Philippines when it is initiated by the foreign spouse.

The high court noted in the case of Marelyn Tanedo Manalo that Article 26 (2) of the Family Code states that “where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall likewise have the capacity to remarry under Philippine law.”

In the said case, a lower court had ruled that the mentioned provision of the Family Code did not apply in the case because it was the Filipino spouse that initiated the divorce.

But the Court of Appeals overturned the decision, holding that Article 26 of the Family Code applies even if it was the Filipino spouse who filed for divorce against the foreign spouse because the decree obtained makes the foreigner no longer married to the Filipino, enabling the foreigner to remarry.

The appellate court held that it would be unjust to consider the Filipino still married to the foreigner who is no longer considered married to the Filipino.

Philippines and the Vatican remained the only states in the world where there is no divorce. Annulments are legal in the Philippines but the process is costly and could take years./PN