A Frequently asked question that is often unclear as to the precise answer is answered here for you on the FilipinoUK forum.
“Is it legal in the Philippines for Philippine women to be matched to Western men for the purpose of courtships or marriage”.
There has been recent legislation enacted in the Philippines regarding the solicitation of Philippine women to be trafficked into marriage as mail order brides, however this is not to be a mis-understood piece of legislation, in fact it is illegal for Philippine women to be trafficked in this manner, however if this is true, does that mean then that your relationship with a Philippine woman is in fact illegal.
Let me help by answering it this way:
It is perfectly legal for anyone to pursue a Filipino either as a pen-friend, or in a courtship, or a form of relationship, with a view to marriage.
Republic Act 6955 which has been passed by the Philippine Congress in 1990 appears to be often mis-interpreted, I have read the act closely and can confirm that the act refers in its entirety to the practice of “Offering a mail order bride service” let me explain further.
The Act does not prohibit a relationship between a Philippine national and a non-Philippine national of which the relationship has been achieved through the medium of correspondence, nor does it prohibit non Filipinos contacting Filipinos for the purposes of entering into such a relationship.
What the act does deal with, is the Setting up of Agencies within the jurisdiction of the Philippines for the purposes of making profits for the selection and matching of Filipinos to Non Filipinos for the purposes of marriage, this is known in the Philippines as “Mail order brides”.
An extract of Republic Act 6955 is as follows:
“It is illegal for the practice of any body, agency, company, or group of people, to set up and run for profit, a service which seeks to advertise, publish materials, flyers, brochures, to distribute or promote the matching of Filipino nationals to foreign men for the purposes of marriage”
Specifically, anyone must not set up, have any involvement in, the making of profits, relating to a business, promoting materials, publishing, distribution of brochures, of which may cause that person or body to promote the prohibited acts.
So that the act is clear, the act goes further as to the business aspect of the prohibited acts, where it says “It is illegal to solicit or enlist the services of Filipinos to engage in or act as candidates in a marriage bureau, to charge for such services to charge introduction fees, or any other fees for such a service.
Therefore, providing that you yourself, are not operating a marriage introduction agency within the jurisdiction of the Philippine authorities, or you yourself are not making profits, or taking introduction fees for matching of Philippine women to Western men, then as far as Republic Act 6955 is concerned, it does not concern you, nor does it have any jurisdiction over your personal relationship with a Filipino.
Of course one may ask, why does the Congress of the Philippines seek to make such a law, and try to enforce it, considering that if a Legal entity seeks to match a man and a woman for a small fee, does not interfere in the relationship, leaves the two parties to continue on their courtship, should they choose to do so, and the two parties to the introduction are not bound to each other by the introductory fee, then what is the problem with this.
The Act it seems is to protect Philippine women from being trafficked into marriages, with unsuitable men, who in many circumstances are old enough to be their Father’s, this does happen frequently, many Filipino’s are attracted to better life chances through marriage to Japanese men, and end up nothing more than slaves and concubines, the Act seeks to prevent the management and profit making out of marriage introductions.
The Act does not however prohibit voluntary meeting places, such as our forum which has a free contact area for those who may wish to develop a friendship, that can lead to courtship and ultimately marriage, the Act is only concerned with business activities and the making of profits.
So anyone who is in a relationship with a Filipino through self introduction, correspondence, and e mails, phone calls, etc, can relax, it is perfectly legal, and Republic Act 6955 does not have any jurisdiction over it.
Just to clarify these points if you would like to see the full Act here it is:
SECTION 1. It is the policy of the state to ensure and guarantee the enjoyment of the people of a decent standard of living. Towards this end, the State shall take measures to protect Filipino women from being exploited in utter disregard of human dignity in their pursuit of economic upliftment.
Sec. 2. Pursuant thereto it is hereby declared unlawful:
(a) For a person, natural or juridical, association, club or any other entity to commit, directly or indirectly, any of the following acts:
(1) To establish or carry on a business which has for its purpose the matching of Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals either on a mail order basis or personal introduction; chan robles virtual law library
(2) To advertise, publish, print or distribute or cause the advertisement, publication, printing or distribution of any brochure, flier or any propaganda material calculated to promote the prohibited acts in the preceding sub-paragraph;
(3) To solicit, enlist or in any manner attract or introduce any Filipino woman to become a member in any club or association whose objective is to match women for marriage to foreign nationals either on a mail order basis or through personal introduction for a fee;
(4) To use the postal service to promote the prohibited acts in subparagraph 1 hereof.
(B) For the manager or officer in charge or advertising manager of any newspaper, magazine, television or radio station, or other media, or of an advertising agency, printing company or other similar entities to knowingly allow, or consent to the acts prohibited in the preceding paragraph.
Sec. 3. In case of violation of this Act by an association, club, partnership, corporation or any other entity, the incumbent officers thereof who have knowingly participated in the violation of this Act shall be held liable. chan robles virtual law library
Sec. 4. Any person found guilty by the court to have violated any of the acts herein prohibited shall suffer an imprisonment of not less than six (6) years and one (1) day but not more than eight (8) years and a fine of not less than Eight thousand pesos (P8000) but not more than Twenty thousand pesos (20000): Provided, that if the offender is a foreigner, he shall immediately be deported and barred forever from entering the country after serving his sentence and payment of fine.
Sec. 5. Nothing in this Act shall be interpreted as a restriction on the freedom of speech and of association for purposes not contrary to law as guaranteed by the Constitution.
Sec. 6. All laws, decrees, orders, instructions, rules and regulations, or parts thereof inconsistent with this Act are thereby repealed or modified accordingly.
Sec. 7. This Act shall take effect upon its publication for two (2) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation.
The act is quite clear, that it does not prohibit the use of free speech, and for association for purposes not contrary to law as guaranteed by the constitutuion, this indicates of course, that you may have an association with a Filipino, as long as you did not operate a mail order agency, with the intention of profiting from such an association, therefore as you yourself are unlikely to be in this position, your courtship is perfectly legal.
I hope this clarifies the position of any interested readers.
