Marriage Law of the Philippines, 1929

Age capacity for contracting parties

Section 2 fixes minimum ages: male—16 years and up; female—14 years and up, subject to Sections 28 and 29 exceptions.
Section 9 adds a consent requirement for minors: if a contracting party is male under 20 or female under 18, consent of the father, mother, or guardian/person having legal charge must be shown in the order stated.
Section 9 requires minor consent to be in writing under oath before the proper municipal officer, or in affidavit form before two witnesses and attested by an authorized priest or minister, or before an official authorized to administer oaths.
Section 15 requires that when stating ages in the marriage certificate, the certificate must include a statement of parental consent when the male is under 20 or the female is under 18.

Consent and evidence in marriage instruments

Section 3 requires the marriage declaration to be made in the presence of the solemnizing officer and two legal-age witnesses, and to be executed in an instrument in triplicate.
Section 3 requires signatures or marks by contracting parties and both witnesses, with attestation by the solemnizing person.
Section 16 requires the person solemnizing the marriage to furnish each contracting party with one of the three copies in triplicate and to send another copy to the municipal court/secretary.
Section 15 requires the marriage certificate to state that the marriage license was issued under the Act and that parental consent exists for minors under the age thresholds.

Who may solemnize marriages

Section 4 allows marriage to be solemnized by:
- the Chief Justice and Associate Justices of the Supreme Court;
- judges and auxiliary judges of Courts of First Instance;
- municipal judges of Manila and justices of the peace; and
- priests or ministers of the gospel of any denomination/church/sect/religion, and chaplains of the Army or Navy of the United States, provided they are registered/authorized as required in Chapter IV.
Section 34 requires authorized priests or ministers to send to the Philippine National Library a sworn statement of their full name and domicile and their authority to solemnize marriage, attaching a certified copy of their appointment.
Section 34 requires the Director of the Philippine National Library to record the name in a register and issue an authorization to solemnize marriage only after satisfaction that the church/sect/religion is in good repute.
Section 34 requires the priest or minister to exhibit the authorization to contracting parties and their parents, grandparents, guardians, or persons in charge.
Section 34 prohibits priests or ministers from solemnizing without the required authorization.

Place and form of solemnization

Section 5 requires marriage to be solemnized publicly either:
- in the office of the justice or court (for officials), or
- in a church, chapel, or temple (for priests/ministers),
  and not elsewhere.
Section 5 allows exceptions for point of death, remote places, and when a parent/guardian (or the female if over 18) requests in writing in the proper sworn statement, allowing solemnization at the house/place designated.
Section 6 defines a church, chapel, or temple as a building constructed of strong, mixed, or light materials, open at suitable hours for religious services and set aside for celebrating religious services and solemnizing marriages and other sacred ceremonies.

Marriage license and documentary requirements

Section 7 provides the general rule: no marriage is solemnized in the Philippine Islands without a license issued by the municipal secretary of the municipality where the female has her habitual residence (or by the clerk of the Municipal Court if in the City of Manila).
Section 7 makes issuance dependent on each contracting party swearing separately to an application in writing that they have the necessary qualifications to contract marriage, made before the municipal secretary/clerk or any public official authorized to administer oaths or an authorized priest/minister.
Section 7 requires the application to contain, insofar as possible, the following data: full name; place of birth; age/date of birth; civil status; if divorced, how/when dissolved; present residence; degrees of relationship; father’s name and residence; mother’s name and residence; and guardian/person in charge details where applicable.
Section 8 requires exhibition of original baptismal or birth certificates (or duly attested certified copies) and states that such certificates/copies need not be sworn to and are exempt from documentary stamp tax; the issuer’s signature and official title prove authenticity.
Section 8 allows substitutes if certificates are lost/destroyed or not yet received at least 15 days before application: the party may furnish a sworn instrument before the clerk of the Municipal Court of Manila, the municipal secretary, or any public official authorized to solemnize marriage, supported by sworn witness declarations and nearest kin preferred as witnesses.
Section 8 exempts the certificate requirement when the parent and the contracting parties appear personally and swear to the correctness of the parties’ age before the municipal secretary or the clerk of the Municipal Court of Manila.

Special documentary rules for widows, divorcees, and minors

Section 9 requires widowed/divorced parties to furnish the death certificate of the deceased spouse or the decree of the divorce court instead of baptismal/birth certificates.
Section 9 provides an affidavit substitute if the death certificate cannot be found, stating the circumstance, the actual civil status, and the name and date of death of the deceased spouse.
Section 9 requires written, under-oath consent of father, mother, or guardian/person having legal charge for minors below the age thresholds (male under 20; female under 18) in the order mentioned.
Section 9 requires minor consent to be either in writing under oath before the proper municipal officer, or as an affidavit with specified formalities including attestation by an authorized priest or minister.

Marriage license posting, issuance, and validity

Section 10 requires the municipal secretary/clerk to post for ten (10) consecutive days in a conspicuous place a notice showing applicants’ full names and domiciles, ages, and names of parents/guardians if living or otherwise.
Section 10 provides that the license issues at the expiration of the ten (10) days posting period.
Section 10 permits immediate issuance if a priest or minister of the applicant’s religion and the applicant state in writing and under oath that their church/sect/religion requires banns/publications and has obtained the proper certificate from the Director of the Philippine National Library; the municipal officer then issues immediately and the license states the church/sect/religion.
Section 10 also permits issuance without the posting requirement if the father/mother/guardian/person in charge of each contracting party accompanies the applicants when they apply; in that case the municipal officer issues immediately after preparing a document in duplicate signed by the persons, attaching the duplicate to the license and filing the original.
Section 11 requires payment of PHP 2.00 for each license into the municipal treasury, accruing to the municipality’s school funds.
Section 11 provides that the license is valid anywhere in the Philippines but is good for no more than one hundred twenty (120) days from issuance and is deemed cancelled at expiration if not used.

Limits on licensing and alternative legal capacity certificates

Section 12 makes licensing ministerial upon compliance with Sections 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, and 13, but prohibits issuance if the municipal secretary/clerk is convinced, from authentic documentary evidence, that:
- the applicants are related in the degrees specified in Section 28, or
- the applicants have not attained the legal age in Section 2.
Section 13 provides licensing exceptions for certain Americans/foreigners and non-habitual residents: a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage must be secured before the marriage license can issue.
Section 13 requires citizens of the United States or its territories not habitually resident in the Philippines to apply to the Governor-General for a certificate, empowering investigation for legal impediments and issuance if none exists.
Section 13 requires foreign subjects to apply to their respective consuls, empowers consuls to issue certificates after investigation, and provides that when applicants are not subjects of the same country, certificates from both consuls are required for the marriage license.
Section 13 provides that if either applicant is a member of the United States Army or Navy, regardless of citizenship and habitual residence, the certificate must be obtained from the post commander or other commander under whose immediate orders the person is serving.
Section 13 requires that upon delivery of the certificate and payment of the fees in Section 11, the clerk of the Municipal Court of Manila or municipal secretary shall forthwith issue the marriage license.

Habitual residence rule for the female

Section 14 deems the female’s habitual residence as:
- the residence of her parents or guardian if she is less than 18 years of age; or
- the place where she lived uninterruptedly for at least one year prior to the marriage license application if she is over that age.

Marriage certificate, distribution, and recordkeeping

Section 15 requires the marriage certificate to state the marriage declaration and to additionally contain:
- full names and domiciles of parties;
- each party’s age; and
- a statement that the proper license was issued and that parental consent was obtained when the male is under 20 or the female under 18.
Section 16 requires the solemnizing person to furnish each contracting party one copy from the triplicate and to send another copy to the municipal court or municipal secretary within 15 days after the marriage.
Section 16 requires the solemnizing officer to retain the third copy of the marriage contract, the marriage license, and any affidavit regarding solemnization outside the place authorized in Section 5 if such an affidavit exists.
Section 18 requires the clerk of the Municipal Court of Manila and municipal secretaries to enter applications in a register strictly in receipt order, and to record applicants’ names, date of issuance, and other data required by regulations of the Secretary of Justice.

Validity of marriages performed abroad

Section 19 validates marriages performed outside the Philippines if the marriages were performed under the laws in force in the country where performed and were valid there.

Exception marriages: deathbed and remote places

Section 20 allows solemnization without a marriage license when either party is on the point of death or when the female’s habitual residence is more than 15 kilometers from the municipal building and there is no railroad or provincial/local highway communication between the locations.
Section 20 requires the solemnizing official/priest/minister to state in an affidavit before the municipal secretary or any person authorized to administer oaths that the marriage was performed in articulo mortis, or (for remote places) at a place more than 15 kilometers away and specify the barrio where solemnized.
Section 20 requires the affidavit to state that the solemnizing person took necessary steps to ascertain the parties’ age and relationship and found no legal impediment at the time of solemnization.
Section 21 requires that within 30 days after performance, the original affidavit plus a copy of the marriage contract must be sent to the clerk of the Municipal Court of Manila or the municipal secretary of the place where performed.
Section 21 requires the clerk/municipal secretary to require payment into the municipal treasury of the legal fees in Section 11 before filing the papers.

Religious revival marriages and leader reporting

Section 22 authorizes solemnization without observing the Chapter I requirements when an extraordinary religious revival occurs due to intensive and extensive gospel preaching for at least three (3) consecutive days, by a group of priests/ministers of an existing Philippine church/sect/religion that went expressly to bring about the revival.
Section 22 covers men and women who, as a direct consequence, desire legalization of a union after having lived together publicly in concubinage for not less than two (2) years.
Section 22 requires only payment of the PHP 2.00 fee established in Section 11; the receipt must be filed with the municipal secretary by the officiating priests/ministers prior to filing the marriage documents.
Section 22 imposes a reporting duty on the revival leader within 15 days via sworn statement sent to the clerk of the Municipal Court of Manila or the municipal secretary, including:
- the revival held in accordance with the section;
- the number of marriages solemnized with names, ages, and places/barrios of residence;
- that the marriages are exceptional with concubinage residence for at least two (2) years;
- that investigations showed no legal impediment;
- certainty that the persons are residents of the municipality where the revival was held;
- that marriage certificates referred to in Section 16 were sent to the proper municipal authority; and
- that the leader delivered a copy of the marriage certificate to each couple.

Religious ratification of a marriage

Section 23 provides that when two persons married under the Act desire to ratify their union according to the rites/practices of any church/sect/religion, compliance with Chapter I is no longer required.
Section 23 provides that such ratification is a purely religious ceremony.

Marriage involving non-Christians converted

Section 24 waives prior license requirements for marriages between Igorots, Ifugaos, Negritos, Moros, or other non-Christians converted to the Christian faith and baptized not over five (5) years before the marriage.
Section 24 requires solemnization by priests/ministers of the gospel of any denomination/church/sect/religion properly registered under the Act.
Section 24 requires a sworn statement by the officiating priest or minister stating the qualifying identity, conversion/baptism within five (5) years, steps to ascertain age and relationship, and the minister’s judgment of no legal impediment at the time.
Section 24 requires the sworn statement and a copy of the marriage contract to be sent within 30 days to the proper municipal secretary, who must file it without requiring any payment of fees.

Mohammedan and pagan marriages and future application

Section 25 provides that marriages between Mohammedans may be performed under their religious rites and are exempt from Chapter I’s formal requirements.
Section 25 provides that marriages between persons who do not profess Mohammedan or Christian religion nor any particular religion, inhabiting regions under the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes, may also be performed under religious rites or tribal customs and are exempt from Chapter I’s formal requirements.
Section 25 states that persons solemnizing under this exemption are not obliged to comply with Section 34.
Section 25 provides a future rule: twenty (20) years after approval of the Act, all marriages performed between Mohammedans or pagans must be solemnized under Chapter I, and all provisions of the Act are in full force and effect.
Section 25 empowers the Governor-General, upon recommendation by the Secretary of the Interior, by proclamation, to make Chapter I provisions applicable before the 20-year period for provinces under the Bureau of Non-Christian Tribes when the state of culture and civilization warrants it.

Mixed marriages between Christians and others

Section 26 provides that mixed marriages between a Christian male and a Mohammedan or pagan female are governed by the general provisions of the Act and not by Section 25’s exemption.
Section 26 allows mixed marriages between a Mohammedan or pagan male and a Christian female to be performed under Section 25 if the contracting parties so desire, subject to the last paragraph of Section 25.

Grounds for invalidity and annulment

Section 27 prevents invalidity for missing formal requirements when, at the time of performance, the spouses or one of them believed in good faith that the solemnizing person was empowered and that the marriage was perfectly legal.
Section 28 declares incestuous marriages between listed relatives void from their performance, whether legitimate or illegitimate:
- ascendants and descendants of any degree;
- brothers and sisters (including step relationships);
- uncles and nieces and aunts and nephews by consanguinity up to the third civil degree.
Section 28 also declares void additional relationship categories, including step- and adoptive-law relationships and relationships involving condemnation as authors or author and accomplice of the death of a spouse.
Section 29 declares illegal a subsequent marriage during the lifetime of the first spouse with any person other than the first spouse, unless exceptions apply:
- the first marriage was annulled or dissolved; or
- the first spouse was absent for seven (7) consecutive years with no news and was generally considered dead and believed so by the spouse at the time, with validity until declared null and void by a competent court.
Section 30 provides annulment causes existing at the time of marriage, including:
- under-age marriage under Section 2, unless after attaining age the party freely cohabited and lived as husband and wife;
- a prior living former husband or wife with existing marriage;
- unsound mind, unless after coming to reason the party freely cohabited;
- consent obtained by fraud, unless later cohabitation with full knowledge of facts constituting fraud;
- consent obtained by force, unless later cohabitation after violence disappeared;
- physical incapacity to enter the married state that continues and appears incurable.

Filing deadlines for decrees of nullity

Section 31 requires actions for a decree of nullity to be commenced within the periods and by the parties specified.
Section 31(a) requires causes under Section 30(a) (under-age) to be filed:
- by the party married under the age required by law within four (4) years after attaining the age in Section 2; or
- by the father, guardian, or other person having charge of the non-aged male/female at any time before the minor reaches the age in Section 2.
Section 31(b) requires causes under Section 30(b) (former spouse living) to be filed by either party during the life of the other, or by the former husband or wife.
Section 31(c) requires causes under Section 30(c) (unsound mind) to be filed by the same spouse or any relative or guardian of the party of unsound mind at any time before the death of either party.
Section 31(d) requires causes under Section 30(d) (fraud) to be filed by the injured party within four (4) years after discovery of fraud.
Section 31(e) and Section 31(f) require causes under Section 30(e) (force) and Section 30(f) (physical incapacity) to be filed by the injured party within four (4) years after marriage.

Effects of annulment on children

Section 32 provides that when a marriage is annulled for causes under Section 30(a), (b), and (c), children who existed before the decree of nullity are considered legitimate.
Section 33 requires the court to place children of a marriage annulled because of fraud or force under the care of the innocent party, and the court may order education and maintenance to be made out of the guilty party’s property.

Authorization of priests: registration and renewal

Section 34 requires the Philippine National Library to record authorized ministers in a suitable register and issue an authorization after determining the church/sect/religion is in good repute.
Section 34 requires authorization renewal on or before the first day of May of each year, upon payment of the required fee.
Section 35 empowers the Director of the Philippine National Library to cancel authorization on initiative or at the request of an interested party if the church/sect/religion is no longer of good repute.
Section 35 requires cancellation of a priest/pastor/minister authorization upon request of the bishop/chief or lawful authorities of the church/sect/religion he belongs to.

Regulation forms, oversight, and fees

Section 36 authorizes the Secretary of Justice, upon recommendation of the Director of the Philippine National Library, to prepare forms and promulgate regulations for facilitating registration and enforcing the Act.
Section 36 places municipal court clerks and municipal secretaries under the authority and supervision of the Director of the Philippine National Library as to the duties imposed by the Act.
Section 36 requires the Director to collect specified fees:
- PHP 2.00 for each authorization to solemnize marriage;
- PHP 1.00 for each renewal of authorization;
- PHP 1.00 for each cancellation of an authorization at the request of an interested party;
- PHP 1.00 for each certification of any entry upon the register;
- PHP 2.00 for issuing a duplicate of the authorization.

Criminal offenses and penalties

Section 37 makes it a misdemeanor for a municipal secretary or clerk of the Municipal Court of Manila to directly or indirectly influence contracting parties to marry or refrain from marrying in any church/sect/religion or before civil authority, punishable by imprisonment for not more than one (1) month and a fine of not more than PHP 200.
Section 38 penalizes municipal secretaries/clerk of the Municipal Court of Manila who unlawfully issue or maliciously refuse to issue a license to a person entitled thereto, or fail to issue within 24 hours when proper by law, with imprisonment of not less than one (1) month nor more than two (2) years, or a fine of not less than PHP 200 nor more than PHP 2,000.
Section 39 penalizes:
- priests/ministers solemnizing without authorization or refusing to exhibit authorization when called upon;
- bishops/officers/priest/ministers who require banns/publications yet authorize immediate solemnization of a marriage later declared illegal; and
- any officer/priest/minister solemnizing in violation of the Act,
  with imprisonment of not less than one (1) month nor more than two (2) years, or a fine of not less than PHP 200 nor more than PHP 2,000.
Section 40 penalizes solemnization in an improper place with a fine of not less than PHP 25 nor more than PHP 300, or imprisonment for not more than one (1) month, or both, at court discretion.
Section 41 penalizes failure to deliver a contract copy or to forward the other copy within the legally fixed period with imprisonment for not more than one (1) month or a fine of not more than PHP 300, or both, at court discretion.
Section 42 penalizes failure to comply with Chapter II provisions for articulo mortis or other exceptional-character marriages with imprisonment of not less than one (1) month nor more than two (2) years, or a fine of not less than PHP 300 nor more than PHP 2,000, or both, at court discretion.
Section 43 penalizes any person not authorized to solemnize marriage who publicly advertises himself as authorized via signs/placards or newspapers with imprisonment of not less than one (1) month nor more than two (2) years, or a fine of not less than PHP 50 nor more than PHP 2,000, or both, at court discretion.
Section 44 provides a general penal clause: any violation of the Act provision not specifically penalized or of regulations promulgated by proper authorities is punishable by a fine of not more than PHP 200, or imprisonment of not more than one (1) month, or both, at court discretion.
Section 45 requires permanent disqualification from solemnizing marriage, in addition to penalties incurred in each case, for any priest or minister convicted of violating any provision of the Act or of a crime involving moral turpitude.

Repeal and effectivity

Section 46 repeals General Orders, Numbered Sixty-eight issued by the Office of the United States Military Governor on December eighteenth, eighteen hundred and ninety-nine; Act Numbered Fourteen hundred and fifty-one of the Philippine Commission; Act Numbered Thirty-four hundred and twelve of the Philippine Legislature; and all other inconsistent acts and provisions of law.
Section 47 provides that the Act takes effect six months after its approval.
The Act was Approved, December 4, 1929.