There is no divorce in the Philippines, but when a divorce is validly obtained abroad by a foreign spouse from his or her Filipino spouse, the Filipino spouse shall have the capacity to remarry under Philippine law. However, the divorce obtained abroad must be passed upon judicially by a Philippine court to prove its validity before the Filipino spouse can remarry under Philippine law.
The decision of the Philippine Court shall become the basis for the annotation of civil registry document, i.e. the couple’s Report of Marriage or Marriage Certificate. The following guidelines shall be followed in the annotation of the foreign-issued divorce decree with the Office of the Civil Registrar General in the Philippines:
- The foreign divorce decree must be judicially enforced or confirmed in the Philippines by filing the proper civil action at the Regional Trial Court in the Philippines. Those concerned are advised to seek advice from a private lawyer/counsel on the required steps to undertake this process.
- The court decision shall be registered in the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) where the concerned RTC functions.
- The registered document shall be submitted to the Local Civil Registrar where the marriage is registered. If the marriage was registered overseas, the registered document shall be submitted to the City Civil Registry Office at the Manila City Hall (CCRO Manila).
- The following documents shall be submitted to CCRO Manila in annotating a civil registry document:
- Original or Certified True Copy of the foreign judgment or order duly registered at the City Civil Registry Office at the Manila City Hall (CCRO Manila).
- Original or Certified True Copy of the Certificate of Finality of the decision of Regional Trial Court (RTC-Phil).
- Certificate of Registration of the decision of Regional Trial Court (RTCPhil) at the Local Civil Registry Office (LCRO) where the concerned RTC-Phil functions.
- After the annotation at the Local Civil Registrar’s Office (LCRO), the annotated documents and its requirements must be submitted to the Office of the Civil Registrar-General (OCRG) in Manila.
NOTE: All documents sourced or obtained in Singapore for submission to Philippine authorities must be Apostilled by the Singapore Academy of Law. More information about the legal procedures or hiring the services of a lawyer in the Philippines may be obtained from the Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP) or the Public Attorneys’ Office (PAO) in Manila.
Integrated Bar of the Philippines (IBP)
IBP Building
No.15 Doña Julia Vargas Avenue,
Ortigas Center, Pasig City,
Philippines 1600.
Information Desk: Tel no.: (02) 8-634-4696
Email: ibp_national@yahoo.com / tech@ibp.ph
Public Attorney’s Office (PAO)
4F and 5F DOJ Agencies Building
NIA Rd.,Corner East Avenue,
Diliman, Quezon City
Tel. No. 929-94-36; 924-13-97 loc. 157
Contact and e-mail addresses can be found on this link
