Question: My husband and I have been separated for more than 5 years now and he already has a new family back in his hometown in Philippines. I have a boyfriend that I want to marry someday, how do I get divorced? – Ms. Moving On

Hello Ms. Moving On,

It is great to hear that you are doing well and have moved on with the heartbreak and the headache that comes with the breakdown of a marriage. It can be a tough road to recovery, one that can be painful, not only emotionally and psychologically, but also financially and legally.

On February 4, 2020, a bill proposing the legalisation of divorce in the Philippines was approved by the Committee on Population and Family Relations of the Philippine House of Representatives. Unfortunately, at the time of writing, the Philippines and the Vatican are the only two sovereign states in the world that still prohibit divorce.

There are ways you can have your marriage legally annulled, depending on how you and your civil partner/husband parted ways. Although, let me state now that the cost of having your marriage legally dissolved can incur a heavy financial burden and the process can go on for years. The process involves presenting witnesses and evidence, psychological evaluation, and a trial.

Before you consider going down this path, you should begin by contacting a lawyer who specializes in Marriage Law, to get his professional opinion and see if any of the situations below could apply to you:

Declaration of Nullity of Marriage: The following marriages may apply for a Declaration of Nullity of Marriage:

·       Those contracted by any party below the age of 18, even with the consent of parents or guardians

·       Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform a marriage, unless either or both parties believed in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so

·       Those solemnized without a marriage license, except those expressly exempted by law to secure a marriage license

·       Those bigamous or polygamous marriages

·       Those contracted through mistake of one of the contracting parties as to the identity of the other

·       Incestuous marriages, as defined in Article 37 of the FC

·       Void marriages by reason of public policy (i.e. between step-parents and step-children, between adopting parent and adopted child)

Annulment of Marriage: In an Action for Annulment of Marriage, the following marriages may be annulled:

·       That the party in whose behalf it is sought to have the marriage annulled 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 over the party, in that order, unless after attaining the age of twenty-one, such party freely cohabited with the other and both lived together as husband and wife

·       That either party was of unsound mind, unless such party after coming to reason, freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife

·       That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud unless such party afterward, with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife

·       That the consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue influence, unless the same having disappeared or ceased, such party thereafter freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife

·       That either party was physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the other, and such incapacity continues and appears to be incurable

·       That either party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease found to be serious and appears to be incurable

Legal Separation: Legal separation is merely the separation of spouses from co-habitation. While it permits the partial suspension of marital relations, the marriage bond still exists as the marital bonds are not severed as in the case of annulment or petition for nullity. The grounds for legal separation are:

·       Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner

·       Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation

·       Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement

·       Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years, even if pardoned

·       Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent

·       Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent

·       Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippine or abroad

·       Sexual infidelity or perversion

·       Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner

·       Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one year. (Article 55 of the Family Code of the Philippines)

Best of luck and wishing you a bright future!

- Aileen

(Source: Sapalo Velez Bundang & Bullian Law Offices)