IV.

DEFINITION AND NATURE OF MARRIAGE

FAMILY CODE
MARRIAGE
Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage
Article 1
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. (52a)

1987 CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE XV
The Family
SECTION 1
The State recognizes the Filipino family as the foundation of the nation. Accordingly, it shall strengthen its
solidarity and actively promote its total development.

SECTION 2
Marriage, as an inviolable social institution, is the foundation of the family and shall be protected by the
State.

SECTION 3
The State shall defend:
(1) The right of spouses to found a family in accordance with their religious convictions and the demands
of responsible parenthood;

(2) The right of children to assistance, including proper care and nutrition, and special protection from all
forms of neglect, abuse, cruelty, exploitation, and other conditions prejudicial to their development;

(3) The right of the family to a family living wage and income; and

(4) The right of families or family associations to participate in the planning and implementation of policies
and programs that affect them.

SECTION 4
The family has the duty to care for its elderly members but the State may also do so through just programs
of social security.
A. Requisites of Marriage
FAMILY CODE
Article 2
No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present:
(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. (53a)

Article 3
The formal requisites of marriage 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. (53a, 55a)

CODE OF MUSLIM PERSONAL LAWS

Article 16
Capacity to contract marriage.
(1) Any Muslim male at least fifteen years of age and any Muslim female of the age of puberty or
upwards and not suffering from any impediment under the provisions of this Code may contract
marriage. A female is presumed to have attained puberty upon reaching the age of fifteen.
(2) However, the Shari'a District Court may, upon petition of a proper wali, order the solemnization
of the marriage of a female who though less than fifteen but not below twelve years of age, has
attained puberty.
(3) Marriage through a wali by a minor below the prescribed ages shall be regarded as betrothal
and may be annulled upon the petition of either party within four years after attaining the age of
puberty, provided no voluntary cohabitation has taken place and the wali who contracted the
marriage was other than the father or paternal grandfather.

Article 17
Marriage ceremony. No particular form of marriage ceremony is required but the ijab and the gabul in
marriage shall be declared publicly in the presence of the person solemnizing the marriage and two
competent witnesses. This declaration shall be set forth in an instrument in triplicate, signed or marked by
the contracting parties and said witnesses, and attested by the person solemnizing the marriage. One copy
shall be given to the contracting parties and another sent to the Circuit Registrar by the solemnizing officer
who shall keep the third.

Article 18
Authority to solemnize marriage. Marriage may be solemnized:
(a) By the proper wali of the woman to be wedded;
(b) Upon authority of the proper wali, by any person who is competent under Muslim law to
solemnize marriage; or
(c) By the judge of the Shari'a District Court of Shari'a Circuit Court or any person designated by the
judge, should the proper wali refuse without justifiable reason, to authorize the solemnization.
 1987 CONSTITUTION
Section 22, Article 2 Declaration of Principles and State Policies
The State recognizes and promotes the rights of indigenous cultural communities within the framework of
national unity and development.

Section 17, Article 14 Arts and Culture

The State shall recognize, respect, and protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to preserve
and develop their cultures, traditions, and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of
national plans and policies.

REPUBLIC ACT NO. 8371 – The Indigenous Peoples Rights Act of 1997
Section 2. Declaration of State Policies.
The State shall recognize and promote all the rights of Indigenous Cultural Communities/Indigenous
Peoples (ICCs/IPs) hereunder enumerated within the framework of the Constitution:

c) The State shall recognize, respect and protect the rights of ICCs/IPs to preserve and develop their
cultures, traditions and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of national laws and
policies;

CHAPTER VI
CULTURAL INTEGRITY

Section 29. Protection of Indigenous Culture, traditions and institutions.

The state shall respect, recognize and protect the right of the ICCs/IPs to preserve and protect their culture,
traditions and institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of national plans and policies.

Section 32. Community Intellectual Rights. - ICCs/IPs have the right to practice and revitalize their own
cultural traditions and customs. The State shall preserve, protect and develop the past, present and future
manifestations of their cultures as well as the right to the restitution of cultural, intellectual, religious, and
spiritual property taken without their free and prior informed consent or in violation of their laws, traditions
and customs.
 RULES OF COURT
RULE 103
Change of Name
Section 1. Venue.
A person desiring to change his name shall present the petition to the Court of First Instance of the province
in which he resides, or, in the City of Manila, to the Juvenile and Domestic Relations Court.

Section 2. Contents of petition.

A petition for change of name shall be signed and verified by the person desiring his name changed, or
some other person on his behalf, and shall set forth:
(a) That the petitioner has been a bona fide resident of the province where the petition is filed for
at least three (3) years prior to the date of such filing;
(b) The cause for which the change of the petitioner's name is sought;
(c) The name asked for.

Section 3. Order for hearing.

If the petition filed is sufficient in form and substance, the court, by an order reciting the purpose of the
petition, shall fix a date and place for the hearing thereof, and shall direct that a copy of the order be
published before the hearing at least once a week for three (3) successive weeks in some newspaper of
general circulation published in the province, as the court shall deem best. The date set for the hearing
shall not be within thirty (30) days prior to an election nor within four (4) month after the last publication
of the notice.

Section 4. Hearing.
Any interested person may appear at the hearing and oppose the petition. The Solicitor General or the
proper provincial or city fiscal shall appear on behalf of the Government of the Republic.

Section 5. Judgment.
Upon satisfactory proof in open court on the date fixed in the order that such order has been published as
directed and that the allegations of the petition are true, the court shall, if proper and reasonable cause
appears for changing the name of the petitioner, adjudge that such name be changed in accordance with
the prayer of the petition.

Section 6. Service of judgment.

Judgments or orders rendered in connection with this rule shall be furnished the civil registrar of the
municipality or city where the court issuing the same is situated, who shall forthwith enter the same in the
civil register.

RULE 108
Cancellation Or Correction Of Entries In The Civil Registry
Section 1. Who may file petition. — Any person interested in any act, event, order or decree concerning the
civil status of persons which has been recorded in the civil register, may file a verified petition for the
cancellation or correction of any entry relating thereto, with the Court of First Instance of the province
where the corresponding civil registry is located.
Section 2. Entries subject to cancellation or correction. — Upon good and valid grounds, the following
entries in the civil register may be cancelled or corrected: (a) births: (b) marriage; (c) deaths; (d) legal
separations; (e) judgments of annulments of marriage; (f) judgments declaring marriages void from the
beginning; (g) legitimations; (h) adoptions; (i) acknowledgments of natural children; (j) naturalization; (k)
election, loss or recovery of citizenship; (l) civil interdiction; (m) judicial determination of filiation; (n)
voluntary emancipation of a minor; and (o) changes of name.

Section 3. Parties. — When cancellation or correction of an entry in the civil register is sought, the civil
registrar and all persons who have or claim any interest which would be affected thereby shall be made
parties to the proceeding.

Section 4. Notice and publication. — Upon the filing of the petition, the court shall, by an order, fix the time
and place for the hearing of the same, and cause reasonable notice thereof to be given to the persons
named in the petition. The court shall also cause the order to be published once a week for three (3)
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the province.

Section 5. Opposition. — The civil registrar and any person having or claiming any interest under the entry
whose cancellation or correction is sought may, within fifteen (15) days from notice of the petition, or from
the last date of publication of such notice, file his opposition thereto.

Section 6. Expediting proceedings. — The court in which the proceeding is brought may make orders
expediting the proceedings, and may also grant preliminary injunction for the preservation of the rights of
the parties pending such proceedings.

Section 7. Order. — After hearing, the court may either dismiss the petition or issue an order granting the
cancellation or correction prayed for. In either case, a certified copy of the judgment shall be served upon
the civil registrar concerned who shall annotated the same in his record.
 REPUBLIC ACT NO. 9048
Section 2. Definition of Terms
As used in this Act, the following terms shall mean:
(1) "City or Municipal civil registrar" refers to the head of the local civil registry office of the city or
municipality, as the case may be, who is appointed as such by the city or municipal mayor in
accordance with the provisions of existing laws.

(2) "Petitioner" refers to a natural person filing the petition and who has direct and personal
interest in the correction of a clerical or typographical error in an entry or change of first name or
nickname in the civil register.

(3) "Clerical or typographical error" refers to a mistake committed in the performance of clerical
work in writing, copying, transcribing or typing an entry in the civil register that is harmless and
innocuous, such as misspelled name or misspelled place of birth or the like, which is visible to the
eyes or obvious to the understanding, and can be corrected or changed only by reference to other
existing record or records: Provided, however, That no correction must involve the change of
nationality, age, status or sex of the petitioner.

(4) "Civil Register" refers to the various registry books and related certificates and documents kept
in the archives of the local civil registry offices, Philippine Consulates and of the Office of the Civil
Registrar General.

(5) "Civil registrar general" refers to the Administrator of the National Statistics Office which is the
agency mandated to carry out and administer the provision of laws on civil registration.

(6) "First name" refers to a name or nickname given to a person which may consist of one or more
names in addition to the middle and last names.

Section 3. Who May File the Petition and Where.

Any person having direct and personal interest in the correction of a clerical or typographical error in an
entry and/or change of first name or nickname in the civil register may file, in person, a verified petition
with the local civil registry office of the city or municipality where the record being sought to be corrected
or changed is kept.

In case the petitioner has already migrated to another place in the country and it would not be practical for
such party, in terms of transportation expenses, time and effort to appear in person before the local civil
registrar keeping the documents to be corrected or changed, the petition may be filed, in person, with the
local civil registrar of the place where the interested party is presently residing or domiciled. The two (2)
local civil registrars concerned will then communicate to facilitate the processing of the petition.

Citizens of the Philippines who are presently residing or domiciled in foreign countries may file their
petition, in person, with the nearest Philippine Consulates.

The petitions filed with the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall be processed in
accordance with this Act and its implementing rules and regulations.

All petitions for the clerical or typographical errors and/or change of first names or nicknames may be
availed of only once.
Section 4. Grounds for Change of First Name or Nickname.
The petition for change of first name or nickname may be allowed in any of the following cases:
(1) The petitioner finds the first name or nickname to be ridiculous, tainted with dishonor or
extremely difficult to write or pronounce.
(2) The new first name or nickname has been habitually and continuously used by the petitioner
and he has been publicly known by that by that first name or nickname in the community: or
(3) The change will avoid confusion.

Section 5. Form and Contents of the Petition.

The petition shall be in the form of an affidavit, subscribed and sworn to before any person authorized by
the law to administer oaths. The affidavit shall set forth facts necessary to establish the merits of the
petition and shall show affirmatively that the petitioner is competent to testify to the matters stated. The
petitioner shall state the particular erroneous entry or entries, which are sought to be corrected and/or
the change sought to be made.

The petition shall be supported with the following documents:

(1) A certified true machine copy of the certificate or of the page of the registry book containing
the entry or entries sought to be corrected or changed.
(2) At least two (2) public or private documents showing the correct entry or entries upon which
the correction or change shall be based; and
(3) Other documents which the petitioner or the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul
general may consider relevant and necessary for the approval of the petition.

In case of change of first name or nickname, the petition shall likewise be supported with the documents
mentioned in the immediately preceding paragraph. In addition, the petition shall be published at least
once a week for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation. Furthermore, the
petitioner shall submit a certification from the appropriate law enforcement agencies that he has no
pending case or no criminal record.

The petition and its supporting papers shall be filed in three (3) copies to be distributed as follows: first
copy to the concerned city or municipal civil registrar, or the consul general; second copy to the Office of
the Civil Registrar General; and third copy to the petitioner.

Section 6. Duties of the City or Municipal Civil Registrar or the Consul General.
The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general to whom the petition is presented shall examine
the petition and its supporting documents. He shall post the petition in a conspicuous place provided for
that purpose for ten (10) consecutive days after he finds the petition and its supporting documents
sufficient in form and substance.

The city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general shall act on the petition and shall render a decision
not later than five (5) working days after the completion of the posting and/or publication requirement. He
shall transmit a copy of his decision together with the records of the proceedings to the Office of the Civil
Registrar General within five (5) working days from the date of the decision.
Section 7. Duties and Powers of the Civil Registrar General.
The civil registrar general shall, within ten (10) working days from receipt of the decision granting a petition,
exercise the power to impugn such decision by way of an objection based on the following grounds:
(1) The error is not clerical or typographical;
(2) The correction of an entry or entries in the civil register is substantial or controversial as it
affects the civil status of a person; or
(3) The basis used in changing the first name or nickname of a person does not fall under Section
4.

The civil registrar general shall immediately notify the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general
of the action taken on the decision. Upon receipt of the notice thereof, the city or municipal civil registrar
or the consul general shall notify the petitioner of such action.

The petitioner may seek reconsideration with the civil registrar general or file the appropriate petition with
the proper court.

If the civil registrar general fails to exercise his power to impugn the decision of the city or municipal civil
registrar or of the consul general within the period prescribed herein, such decision shall become final and
executory.

Where the petition is denied by the city or municipal civil registrar or the consul general, the petitioner may
either appeal the decision to the civil registrar general or file the appropriate petition with the proper court.