REPUBLIC ACT NO.

8533
AN ACT AMENDING TITLE I, CHAPTER 3, ARTICLE 39 OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209,
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, NULLIFYING THE
PRESCRIPTIVE PERIOD FOR ACTION OR DEFENSES GROUNDED ON PSYCHOLOGICAL
INCAPACITY

The Civil Code of the Philippines - At

a Glance
Preliminary Title
Articles 1-36
Book One
Articles 37-413
Book Two
Articles 414-711
Book Three
Articles 712-1155
Book Four
Articles 1156-2270

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209

THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES July 6, 1987

I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers

vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and promulgate the Family
Code of the Philippines, as follows:

TITLE I
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)
Art. 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)
Art. 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)

Art. 4. The absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the
marriage void ab initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2).

A defect in any of the essential requisites shall not affect the validity of the
marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly,
criminally and administratively liable. (n)
Art. 5. Any male or female of the age of eighteen years or upwards not under
any of the impediments mentioned in Articles 37 and 38, may contract
marriage. (54a)
Art. 6. No prescribed form or religious rite for the solemnization of the marriage
is required. It shall be necessary, however, for the contracting parties to appear
personally before the solemnizing officer and declare in the presence of not less
than two witnesses of legal age that they take each other as husband and wife.
This declaration shall be contained in the marriage certificate which shall be
signed by the contracting parties and their witnesses and attested by the
solemnizing officer.
In case of a marriage in articulo mortis, when the party at the point of death is
unable to sign the marriage certificate, it shall be sufficient for one of the
witnesses to the marriage to write the name of said party, which fact shall be
attested by the solemnizing officer. (55a)
Art. 7. Marriage may be solemnized by:
(1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court's jurisdiction;
(2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly
authorized by his church or religious sect and registered with the civil registrar
general, acting within the limits of the written authority granted by his church
or religious sect and provided that at least one of the contracting parties
belongs to the solemnizing officer's church or religious sect;
(3) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in the case mentioned in Article 31;

(4) Any military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned, in the

absence of the latter, during a military operation, likewise only in the cases
mentioned in Article 32;
(5) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul in the case provided in Article
10. (56a)
Article. 8. The marriage shall be solemnized publicly in the chambers of the
judge or in open court, in the church, chapel or temple, or in the office the
consul-general, consul or vice-consul, as the case may be, and not elsewhere,
except in cases of marriages contracted on the point of death or in remote
places in accordance with Article 29 of this Code, or where both of the parties
request the solemnizing officer in writing in which case the marriage may be
solemnized at a house or place designated by them in a sworn statement to
that effect. (57a)

Art. 9. A marriage license shall be issued by the local civil registrar of the city
or municipality where either contracting party habitually resides, except in
marriages where no license is required in accordance with Chapter 2 of this
Title. (58a)
Art. 10. Marriages between Filipino citizens abroad may be solemnized by a
consul-general, consul or vice-consul of the Republic of the Philippines. The
issuance of the marriage license and the duties of the local civil registrar and of
the solemnizing officer with regard to the celebration of marriage shall be
performed by said consular official. (75a)
Art. 11. Where a marriage license is required, each of the contracting parties
shall file separately a sworn application for such license with the proper local
civil registrar which shall specify the following:
(1) Full name of the contracting party;
(2) Place of birth;
(3) Age and date of birth;
(4) Civil status;
(5) If previously married, how, when and where the previous marriage was
dissolved or annulled;
(6) Present residence and citizenship;
(7) Degree of relationship of the contracting parties;
(8) Full name, residence and citizenship of the father;
(9) Full name, residence and citizenship of the mother; and
(10) Full name, residence and citizenship of the guardian or person having
charge, in case the contracting party has neither father nor mother and is
under the age of twenty-one years.
The applicants, their parents or guardians shall not be required to exhibit their
residence certificates in any formality in connection with the securing of the
marriage license. (59a)

Art. 12. The local civil registrar, upon receiving such application, shall require
the presentation of the original birth certificates or, in default thereof, the
baptismal certificates of the contracting parties or copies of such documents
duly attested by the persons having custody of the originals. These certificates
or certified copies of the documents by this Article need not be sworn to and
shall be exempt from the documentary stamp tax. The signature and official
title of the person issuing the certificate shall be sufficient proof of its
authenticity.
If either of the contracting parties is unable to produce his birth or baptismal
certificate or a certified copy of either because of the destruction or loss of the
original or if it is shown by an affidavit of such party or of any other person that
such birth or baptismal certificate has not yet been received though the same
has been required of the person having custody thereof at least fifteen days
prior to the date of the application, such party may furnish in lieu thereof his
current residence certificate or an instrument drawn up and sworn to before the
local civil registrar concerned or any public official authorized to administer
oaths. Such instrument shall contain the sworn declaration of two witnesses of
lawful age, setting forth the full name, residence and citizenship of such
contracting party and of his or her parents, if known, and the place and date of
birth of such party. The nearest of kin of the contracting parties shall be
preferred as witnesses, or, in their default, persons of good reputation in the
province or the locality.
The presentation of birth or baptismal certificate shall not be required if the
parents of the contracting parties appear personally before the local civil
registrar concerned and swear to the correctness of the lawful age of said
parties, as stated in the application, or when the local civil registrar shall, by
merely looking at the applicants upon their personally appearing before him, be
convinced that either or both of them have the required age. (60a)
Art. 13. In case either of the contracting parties has been previously married,
the applicant shall be required to furnish, instead of the birth or baptismal
certificate required in the last preceding article, the death certificate of the
deceased spouse or the judicial decree of the absolute divorce, or the judicial
decree of annulment or declaration of nullity of his or her previous marriage.
In case the death certificate cannot be secured, the party shall make an
affidavit setting forth this circumstance and his or her actual civil status and the
name and date of death of the deceased spouse. (61a)
Art. 14. In case either or both of the contracting parties, not having been
emancipated by a previous marriage, are between the ages of eighteen and
twenty-one, they shall, in addition to the requirements of the preceding
articles, exhibit to the local civil registrar, the consent to their marriage of their
father, mother, surviving parent or guardian, or persons having legal charge of
them, in the order mentioned. Such consent shall be manifested in writing by
the interested party, who personally appears before the proper local civil
registrar, or in the form of an affidavit made in the presence of two witnesses
and attested before any official authorized by law to administer oaths. The
personal manifestation shall be recorded in both applications for marriage
license, and the affidavit, if one is executed instead, shall be attached to said
applications. (61a)
Art. 15. Any contracting party between the age of twenty-one and twenty-five
shall be obliged to ask their parents or guardian for advice upon the intended
marriage. If they do not obtain such advice, or if it be unfavorable, the
marriage license shall not be issued till after three months following the
completion of the publication of the application therefor. A sworn statement by
the contracting parties to the effect that such advice has been sought, together
with the written advice given, if any, shall be attached to the application for
marriage license. Should the parents or guardian refuse to give any advice, this
fact shall be stated in the sworn statement. (62a)
Art. 16. In the cases where parental consent or parental advice is needed, the
party or parties concerned shall, in addition to the requirements of the
preceding articles, attach a certificate issued by a priest, imam or minister
authorized to solemnize marriage under Article 7 of this Code or a marriage
counselor duly accredited by the proper government agency to the effect that
the contracting parties have undergone marriage counseling. Failure to attach
said certificates of marriage counseling shall suspend the issuance of the
marriage license for a period of three months from the completion of the
publication of the application. Issuance of the marriage license within the
prohibited period shall subject the issuing officer to administrative sanctions but
shall not affect the validity of the marriage.
Should only one of the contracting parties need parental consent or parental
advice, the other party must be present at the counseling referred to in the
preceding paragraph. (n)
Art. 17. The local civil registrar shall prepare a notice which shall contain the
full names and residences of the applicants for a marriage license and other
data given in the applications. The notice shall be posted for ten consecutive
days on a bulletin board outside the office of the local civil registrar located in a
conspicuous place within the building and accessible to the general public. This
notice shall request all persons having knowledge of any impediment to the
marriage to advise the local civil registrar thereof. The marriage license shall be
issued after the completion of the period of publication. (63a)
Art. 18. In case of any impediment known to the local civil registrar or brought
to his attention, he shall note down the particulars thereof and his findings
thereon in the application for marriage license, but shall nonetheless issue said
license after the completion of the period of publication, unless ordered
otherwise by a competent court at his own instance or that of any interest
party. No filing fee shall be charged for the petition nor a corresponding bond
required for the issuances of the order. (64a)
Art. 19. The local civil registrar shall require the payment of the fees prescribed
by law or regulations before the issuance of the marriage license. No other sum
shall be collected in the nature of a fee or tax of any kind for the issuance of
said license. It shall, however, be issued free of charge to indigent parties, that
is those who have no visible means of income or whose income is insufficient
for their subsistence a fact established by their affidavit, or by their oath before
the local civil registrar. (65a) chan robles virtual law library
Art. 20. The license shall be valid in any part of the Philippines for a period of
one hundred twenty days from the date of issue, and shall be deemed
automatically canceled at the expiration of the said period if the contracting
parties have not made use of it. The expiry date shall be stamped in bold
characters on the face of every license issued. (65a)
Art. 21. When either or both of the contracting parties are citizens of a foreign
country, it shall be necessary for them before a marriage license can be
obtained, to submit a certificate of legal capacity to contract marriage, issued
by their respective diplomatic or consular officials.
Stateless persons or refugees from other countries shall, in lieu of the
certificate of legal capacity herein required, submit an affidavit stating the
circumstances showing such capacity to contract marriage. (66a)
Art. 22. The marriage certificate, in which the parties shall declare that they
take each other as husband and wife, shall also state:
(1) The full name, sex and age of each contracting party;
(2) Their citizenship, religion and habitual residence;
(3) The date and precise time of the celebration of the marriage;
(4) That the proper marriage license has been issued according to law, except
in marriage provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title;
(5) That either or both of the contracting parties have secured the parental
consent in appropriate cases;
(6) That either or both of the contracting parties have complied with the legal
requirement regarding parental advice in appropriate cases; and
(7) That the parties have entered into marriage settlement, if any, attaching a
copy thereof. (67a)
Art. 23. It shall be the duty of the person solemnizing the marriage to furnish
either of the contracting parties the original of the marriage certificate referred
to in Article 6 and to send the duplicate and triplicate copies of the certificate
not later than fifteen days after the marriage, to the local civil registrar of the
place where the marriage was solemnized. Proper receipts shall be issued by
the local civil registrar to the solemnizing officer transmitting copies of the
marriage certificate. The solemnizing officer shall retain in his file the
quadruplicate copy of the marriage certificate, the copy of the marriage
certificate, the original of the marriage license and, in proper cases, the
affidavit of the contracting party regarding the solemnization of the marriage in
place other than those mentioned in Article 8. (68a)

Art. 24. It shall be the duty of the local civil registrar to prepare the documents
required by this Title, and to administer oaths to all interested parties without
any charge in both cases. The documents and affidavits filed in connection with
applications for marriage licenses shall be exempt from documentary stamp
tax. (n)
Art. 25. The local civil registrar concerned shall enter all applications for
marriage licenses filed with him in a registry book strictly in the order in which
the same are received. He shall record in said book the names of the
applicants, the date on which the marriage license was issued, and such other
data as may be necessary. (n)
Art. 26. All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance with
the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as
such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under Articles
35 (1), (4), (5) and (6), 3637 and 38. (17a)
Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated
and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse
capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to
remarry under Philippine law. (As amended by Executive Order 227)

Chapter 2. Marriages Exempted from License Requirement

Art. 27. In case either or both of the contracting parties are at the point of
death, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage license
and shall remain valid even if the ailing party subsequently survives. (72a)

Art. 28. If the residence of either party is so located that there is no means of
transportation to enable such party to appear personally before the local civil
registrar, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage
license. (72a)
Art. 29. In the cases provided for in the two preceding articles, the solemnizing
officer shall state in an affidavit executed before the local civil registrar or any
other person legally authorized to administer oaths that the marriage was
performed in articulo mortis or that the residence of either party, specifying the
barrio or barangay, is so located that there is no means of transportation to
enable such party to appear personally before the local civil registrar and that
the officer took the necessary steps to ascertain the ages and relationship of
the contracting parties and the absence of legal impediment to the
marriage. (72a)
Art. 30. The original of the affidavit required in the last preceding article,
together with the legible copy of the marriage contract, shall be sent by the
person solemnizing the marriage to the local civil registrar of the municipality
where it was performed within the period of thirty days after the performance
of the marriage. (75a)
Art. 31. A marriage in articulo mortis between passengers or crew members
may also be solemnized by a ship captain or by an airplane pilot not only while
the ship is at sea or the plane is in flight, but also during stopovers at ports of
call. (74a)
Art. 32. A military commander of a unit, who is a commissioned officer, shall
likewise have authority to solemnize marriages in articulo mortis between
persons within the zone of military operation, whether members of the armed
forces or civilians. (74a)
Art. 33. Marriages among Muslims or among members of the ethnic cultural
communities may be performed validly without the necessity of marriage
license, provided they are solemnized in accordance with their customs, rites or
practices. (78a)
Art. 34. No license shall be necessary for the marriage of a man and a woman
who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years and without
any legal impediment to marry each other. The contracting parties shall state
the foregoing facts in an affidavit before any person authorized by law to
administer oaths. The solemnizing officer shall also state under oath that he
ascertained the qualifications of the contracting parties are found no legal
impediment to the marriage. (76a)

Chapter 3. Void and Voidable Marriages

Art. 35. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:

(1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the
consent of parents or guardians;
(2) Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform
marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties
believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do
so;
(3) Those solemnized without license, except those covered the preceding
Chapter;
(4) Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not failing under Article 41;
(5) Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the
identity of the other; and
(6) Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53.

Art. 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration,
was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital
obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes
manifest only after its solemnization. (As amended by Executive Order 227)