Occasionally there are posts relating to a girlfriend or boyfriend in the Philippines who is already married. With the Philippines being a Catholic country where many laws are based on Catholism, it is unsurprising to discover that it is illegal to obtain a divorce in the Philippines. There is the possibility to obtain an Annulment if it is proven that one of the parties in the marriage was psychologically incapacitated in complying with the obligations of marriage.

Annulment of a Civil Marriage
If the previous marriage was a civil wedding, then the annulment will be wholly completed through the court, but can be fraught with difficulties, delays and large costs (150,000 php is normal). The procedure takes between 12 and 24 months, but can be expedited in some circumstances, although this may involve additional costs.

Annulment of a Catholic Marriage
Once an annulment has been obtained through the courts, then an application will be made through the archdiocese for an annulment of the catholic marriage allowing you to be free to marry in a church. This is notoriously difficult to obtain.

Adultery in the Philippines
Carnal relation between a married person and a third party is a serious offense in the Philippines and can result in prison time for those involved. A quick search on google of ‘David Scott and Cynthia Delfino’ will show you how serious this is taken in the Philippines. It shouldn’t be taken lightly.
http://jlp-law.com/blog/a-brief-disc...ry-and-bigamy/

Annulment Procedure
An annulment must be filed in the Family Court, and generally that court is the one where the petitioner has previously resided for at least 6 months. Occasionally it is worthwhile filing the petition at a more favourable court, but if the respondent (spouse) wants to be difficult, he may apply for it to brought back to his local court.

For an annulment to occur a petition under Article 36 of Family Code shall specially allege the complete facts showing that either or both parties were psychologically incapacitated from complying with the essential marital obligations of marriages at the time of the celebration of marriage even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its celebration.
Some information on the annulment can be found here:

http://www.familymatters.org.ph/Proc...0Annulment.htm


The main hearings will be the following:
  • File Petition
  • Summons
  • Answer
  • Investigation Report of Public Prosecutor
  • Pre-Trial
  • Trial
  • Memoranda
  • Decision
  • Appeal
  • Issue of decree


There can be seperate hearings for the witnesses (pyschologists), and the trial and pre-trial can be split into seperate hearings depending on time restrictions. It's also quite normal for hearings to be cancelled or delayed at short notice. Even worse if your lawyer or psychologists are unreliable then they could fail to attend or be late causing you to have to reschedule.

If the respondent does not respond this can delay things considerably, as efforts will need to be made from the court to locate him and provide a summons, who then report back to the court, who then give 15 days to respond. This same process will be repeated again if he fails to attend the pre-trial.

Overseas Petitions
The petition must be signed personally by the petitioner. No petition may be filed solely by counsel or through an attorney-in-fact.
If the petitioner is in a foreign country, the verification and certification against forum shopping shall be authenticated by the duly authorized officer of the Philippine embassy or legation, consul general, consul or vice-consul or consular agent in said country.