Law Summary
Legal Capacity
- Males must be at least 16 years old; females must be at least 14 years old.
- Persons under specified exceptions are disqualified.
Consent and Ceremony Formalities
- Parties must declare their consent before the solemnizing officer and two witnesses.
- The declaration must be documented in triplicate.
- Special rules apply if the marriage occurs on the point of death.
Authorized Solemnizers
- Includes Supreme Court justices, judges, municipal judges, justices of the peace, and authorized religious officiants.
Place of Solemnization
- Must be held publicly in designated locations such as courts or places of worship.
- Exceptions exist for marriages on the point of death or in remote locations.
Definition of Places of Worship
- Buildings open at suitable hours for religious services and solemnization.
Marriage License Requirement
- Necessary except for marriages of an exceptional character.
- Issued by municipal secretary or municipal court clerk based on sworn applications.
- Application must include comprehensive personal and familial information.
Documentary Requirements
- Original or certified copies of baptismal or birth certificates required.
- Provisions for affidavits when certificates are unavailable.
Special Requirements for Widows, Divorcés, and Minors
- Death certificates or divorce decrees must be presented.
- Minors require written consent of parents or guardians.
Issuance and Posting of Marriage License
- Public notice of applications for ten consecutive days.
- Immediate issuance in certain cases where religious rules or parental consent apply.
Fees and Validity of License
- Two pesos fee payable to municipal treasury.
- License valid throughout the Philippines for 120 days.
Grounds for Refusal of License
- Legal impediments such as prohibited degrees of consanguinity or insufficient age.
Licenses for U.S. Military and Foreigners
- Certificate of legal capacity required from Governor-General, consuls, or military commanders.
Habitual Residence Definition
- For females under 18, residence of parents or guardians.
- For females over 18, the place of uninterrupted residence for one year.
Contents of Marriage Certificate
- Names, domiciles, ages, license issuance statement, and parental consent if applicable.
Duties Regarding Marriage Certificate
- The solemnizing officer must distribute and file triplicate copies within 15 days.
Registration and Fees Duties
- Municipal officials prepare documents and administer oaths without charge.
- Applications and licenses must be registered in order.
Recognition of Marriages Abroad
- Foreign marriages valid if legally performed and recognized in place of solemnization.
Exceptional Marriages: In Articulo Mortis and Remote Places
- License not required if one party is dying or place is remote.
- Official affidavit is necessary detailing circumstances.
Reporting and Fees for Exceptional Marriages
- Affidavits and documents must be sent within 30 days with fee payment.
Marriages During Religious Revivals
- Parties cohabiting as concubines for two years may marry without full compliance.
- Sworn statement required from clergy reporting revival and marriages.
Religious Ratification
- Ratification ceremonies do not require formal compliance and are purely religious.
Marriages Among Newly Converted Non-Christians
- No license required if baptized within five years and solemnized by authorized ministers.
- Sworn statements required and filing without fees.
Marriages Among Mohammedans and Pagans
- Exemption from formal requirements under certain conditions.
- Transitional rules apply with a twenty-year limitation.
Mixed Marriages
- Christian male with Mohammedan/pagan female governed by general rules.
- Mohammedan/pagan male with Christian female may marry under respective exemptions.
Grounds for Annulment
- Incestuous marriages void ab initio.
- Illegal subsequent marriages during a valid prior marriage are void.
- Annulment possible for legal incapacity, unsound mind, fraud, force, and physical incapacity.
- Good faith exceptions for solemnization defects.
Time Limits for Nullity Actions
- Varied limitations depending on specific cause.
Legitimacy and Custody of Children
- Children remain legitimate despite annulment for specific causes.
- Care and maintenance ordered by court from guilty party if annulment due to fraud or force.
Authorization and Regulation of Religious Solemnizers
- Priests and ministers must register annually and obtain authorization.
- Director of Philippine National Library handles registration and maintains records.
Cancellation of Authorization
- Grounds include loss of good repute or requests by church authorities.
Fees and Regulatory Oversight
- Fees prescribed for authorization, renewal, cancellation, certification, and duplicates.
- Secretary of Justice empowered to issue regulations.
Penal Provisions
- Misdemeanors for influencing marrying parties religiously.
- Penalties for illegal issuance or refusal of licenses.
- Sanctions for unauthorized or improper solemnization of marriage.
- Penalties for solemnizing marriage in improper venues.
- Punishment for failure to deliver marriage certificates timely.
- Fines and imprisonment for failure to comply with exceptional marriage reporting.
- Prohibitions on unauthorized advertising of solemnization authority.
- Disqualification of clergy convicted of offenses, especially those involving moral turpitude.
Repealing Clause and Effectivity
- Prior inconsistent laws and orders repealed.
- Act effective six months after approval.