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The following post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices (or any of its lawyers) and the reader. It is still best for you to engage the services of a lawyer or you may directly contact and consult Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices to address your specific legal concerns, if there is any.
Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.
AT A GLANCE:
Marriage is a special contract, their terms and conditions are not merely subject to the stipulations of the contracting parties but are governed by law. The Family Code provides for the essential as well as formal requisites for the validity of marriage. (Tilar v. Tilar, G.R. No. 214529, July 12, 2017)
Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the State. (Section 2, Article XV, 1987 Constitution)
In Tilar v. Tilar (G.R. No. 214529, July 12, 2017), the Supreme Court held that our Constitution clearly gives value to the sanctity of marriage. Marriage in this jurisdiction is not only a civil contract, but it is a new relation, an institution the maintenance of which the public is deeply interested. Thus, the State is mandated to protect marriage, being the foundation of the family, which in turn is the foundation of the nation. The State has surrounded marriage with safeguards to maintain its purity, continuity and permanence. The security and stability of the State are largely dependent upon it. It is the interest of each and every member of the community to prevent the bringing about of a condition that would shake its foundation and ultimately lead to its destruction.
Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code. (Article 1, Family Code of the Philippines)
As marriage is a special contract, their terms and conditions are not merely subject to the stipulations of the contracting parties but are governed by law. The Family Code provides for the essential as well as formal requisites for the validity of marriage.
What are these requisites?
Articles 2 and 3 of the Family Code provides for the essential and formal requisites of a valid marriage.
The essential requisites are:
(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and
(2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer.
While the formal requisites are:
(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title; and
(3) A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age.
The Family Code stipulates that marriages lacking any essential or formal requisite are void ab initio (with the exception of marriages solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages where either or both parties believed in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so), marriages attended by a defective essential requisite are voidable, and marriages attended by an irregularity as to formal requisites are valid, subject to the potential criminal, civil, or administrative liability of those responsible for the irregularity. (Ado-An-Morimoto v. Morimoto, G.R. No. 247576, March 15, 2021)
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Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding legal services, you may reach us at info@alburolaw.com, or dial us at (02)7745-4391/ 0917-5772207/ 09778050020.
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