Case Digest (G.R. No. 234457)
Facts:
On December 18, 2005, Raemark S. Abel, then a United States citizen, and Mindy P. Rule, a Filipino citizen, married in Los Angeles. They jointly filed a petition for summary dissolution on November 18, 2008, and the Los Angeles Superior Court dissolved their marriage on July 31, 2009; Abel reacquired Philippine citizenship on December 3, 2008, and Rule naturalized as a U.S. citizen in 2012.
An authenticated California judgment was recorded in Manila on January 10, 2017, and Abel filed a petition for judicial recognition of the foreign divorce with the Regional Trial Court, which dismissed the petition as contrary to public policy; Abel sought relief by filing a Petition for Review on Certiorari with the Supreme Court.
Issues:
- Whether a divorce decree jointly obtained by a Filipino and their alien spouse can be judicially recognized in the Philippines?
Ruling:
The Supreme Court granted the Petition for Review on Certiorari. The Court reversed and set aside the July 5, 2017 and September 6, 2017 Orders of the Regional Trial Court and remanded the case for further proceedings and reception of evidence. The Court held that the jointly obtained California divorce fell within the exception of Article 26(2) of the Family Code and was capable of recognition.
Ratio:
The Court reaffirmed the principle in Republic v. Manalo that Article 26(2) requires only that a divorce be validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, and that the provision does not demand that the alien spouse be the sole initiator of the foreign proceeding. The Court relied on the purpose of Article 26 to prevent the anomaly of a Filipino remaining married domestically while an alien spouse is free to remarry abroad, and it harmonized that interpretation with the constitutional guarantee of equality (Art. II, Sec. 14) and Republic Act No. 9710 (Section 19) ensuring equal rights in marriage and family relations. Prior decisions, including Galapon v. Republic, supported recognizing divorces obtained jointly by the spouses.
Doctrine:
- Article 26(2) of the Family Code is satisfied when a divorce is validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse, irrespective of which spouse initiated the proceeding.
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