Dear IBP Davao,
I am married to Pedro since 1975 and we have one child. He left me even before I gave birth and I do not have any contact from him since he left us in 1976. When I went to the National Statistics Office (NSO) to get a copy of our marriage certificate, NSO said that they do not have a copy of our marriage certificate. The local civil registrar (LCR) also does not have copy of our marriage certificate. All my employment and government records reflect my marriage to Pedro. In fact, my child and I uses Pedro’s family name. Can I declare myself as “not married” anymore considering that I do not have a copy of our marriage certificate?
Melba
Dear Melba,
Under our Family Code, below are the essential and formal requisites of marriage:
1. Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be male and female (Article 2 of Family Code)
2. Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer (Article 2 of Family Code)
3. Authority of the solemnizing officer (Article 3 of Family Code)
4. A valid marriage license except in cases under Chapter 2 of Family Code (Article 3 of Family Code)
5. 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 (Article 3 of Family Code)
Based on your letter, I assume that all of the above formal and essential requisites of a valid marriage are present in your case. The only problem here is that there is no copy of your marriage certificate was submitted before the LCR where the marriage took place and the NSO.
As early as 1930, the Supreme Court already ruled that the marriage certificate is not an essential or formal requisite of marriage without which the marriage will be void. In Madridejo v. De Leon [G.R. No. 32473; October 6, 1930], the Supreme Court ruled that, “the mere fact that the parish priest of Siniloan, Laguna, who married Pedro Madridejo and Flaviana Perez, failed to send a copy of the marriage certificate to the municipal secretary does not invalidate the marriage in articulo mortis, it not appearing that the essential requisites required by law for its validity were lacking in the ceremony, and the forwarding of a copy of the marriage certificate is not one of said essential requisites.”
This was reiterated in the case of Mariategui v. Court of Appeals [G.R. No. 57062. January 24, 1992], where the Supreme Court wrote “Lupo Mariategui and Felipa Velasco were alleged to have been lawfully married in or about 1930. This fact is based on the declaration communicated by Lupo Mariategui to Jacinto who testified that ‘when (his) father was still living, he was able to mention to (him) that he and (his) mother were able to get married before a Justice of the Peace of Taguig, Rizal.’ The spouses deported themselves as husband and wife, and were known in the community to be such. Although no marriage certificate was introduced to this effect, no evidence was likewise offered to controvert these facts. Moreover, the mere fact that no record of the marriage exists does not invalidate the marriage, provided all requisites for its validity are present.”
In view of the above cases, you may need to coordinate with NSO and LCR where the marriage took place and complete the registration of your marriage with Pedro before these two offices.
IBP Davao Corner is a weekly column of Integrated Bar of the Philippines- Davao Chapter, giving legal advice as part of its legal aid program. The above legal opinion is based solely on the appreciation of the facts and problem given and stated above. The opinion may vary when other facts, circumstances, and situations are stated. You may send your comments and questions to ibpdavao@gmail.com.
