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SC says divorce acquired abroad valid in PHL


The Supreme Court on Tuesday ruled that divorce obtained by a Filipino outside of the country against a foreign spouse is considered valid in the Philippines.

SC voted 10-3-1 on G.R. No. 221029 (Republic of the Philippines v. Marelyn Tanedo Manalo) to rule "that a foreign divorce secured by a Filipino against a foreign spouse is also considered valid in the Philippines, even if it is the Filipino spouse who files for divorce abroad."

Prior to the ruling, a divorce abroad is only considered valid in the Philippines when it is initiated by the foreign spouse, according to SC spokesperson Theodore Te.

Those who dissented to the ruling were Justices Mariano del Castillo, Estela Perlas-Bernabe, and Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa.

Associate Justice Francis Jardeleza took no part in the voting due to his previous participation in the case as Solicitor General, while Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno was on leave.

A lower court had earlier ruled  Article 26 (2) of the Family Code did not apply in Marelyn Tanedo Manalo case because it was the Filipino spouse that initiated the divorce.

The provision states that "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 likewise have the capacity to remarry under Philippine law."

The Court of Appeals, however, overturned the lower court's decision, saying Article 26 of the Family Code applies even if it was the Filipino spouse who filed for divorce against the foreign spouse because the decree obtained makes the foreigner no longer married to the Filipino, enabling the foreigner to remarry.

The Supreme Court sided with the CA. —KBK, GMA News

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