Tingog Party-list Reps. Yedda Marie K. Romualdez and Jude A. Acidre have filed a bill seeking civil recognition of church annulment to make it accessible and inexpensive to many Filipinos.
Section 2 of House Bill (HB) 1593 or the “Church Nullity Act of 2022” proposes that a marriage duly and legally solemnized by a priest, imam, rabbi, or presiding elder of an established church or religion in the Philippines, which is subsequently annulled, dissolved or declared a nullity in a final judgment or decree in accordance with the canons and precepts of the church or religious sect, “shall have the same effect as a decree of annulment, dissolution or declaration of nullity issued by a competent court.”
“A marriage solemnized by the Church therefore should have not only canonical but civil effects as well. Priests, pastors, imams, and rabbis who solemnize marriage must have the authority to solemnize granted by the State,” Romualdez and Acidre said in the explanatory note of the bill.
The measure was referred to House Committee on Population and Family Relations.
While safeguarding the sanctity of marriage, the lawmakers said their proposal was an offshoot of Pope Francis’s position to simplify the procedures for annulling marriages in the Catholic Church.
“If a marriage can be legitimately contracted under the laws of the Church, then it follows that under the same laws, such marriage can also be nullified or annulled,” they added.
The Tingog solons noting Pope Francis’ issuance of “Mitis Iudex Dominus lesus,” which streamlined the process of the declaration of nullity of marriage.
Section 3 of the bill states that “the status of children of marriages subject of a decree of annulment or declaration of nullity by the church or religious sect shall be determined in accordance with the provisions of Executive Order No. 209, otherwise known as the Family Code of the Philippines.”
In case the grounds for the church annulment or declaration of nullity is not similar to any of the grounds provided in the Family Code, their common children born or conceived before the issuance of the decree of annulment or declaration of nullity shall be considered legitimate, according to the bill.
HB 1593 also proposes that, without prejudice to the conditions set forth by the church or religious sect, either of the former spouses may marry again after complying with the requirements of the bill’s Section 5 and Article 52 of the Family Code, “otherwise the subsequent marriage shall be null and void.”
In securing a marriage license, the spouse involved must present a true certified copy of the decree of annulment or declaration of nullity issued by the church or religious sect and registered with the appropriate civil registry.
Section 5 provides that the decree of annulment or declaration of nullity issued by the church or religious sect shall be recorded in the appropriate civil registry, together with the agreement of the spouses required in the preceding section within 30 days from the issuance of the said final judgment or decree of annulment or declaration of nullity, subject to the conditions that may be imposed by the church or religious sect.
“The Family Code of the Philippines recognizes as valid a marriage solemnized under the laws of the Church. If marriages so solemnized are recognized by the State, it is only proper that the very church that solemnized the marriage should also have the power to rule that attendant infirmity that rendered a marriage null, and its effects binding on the State. This is also same to all other established churches and religions,” the authors stated.
Under Presidential Decree (PD) 1083, the State recognizes divorce under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines, which is based on Sharia, or Islamic law.
“In fact, it is noteworthy, Presidential Decree 1083 has incorporated aspects of the Shariah as part of Philippine law, therefore, nullity as well as divorce, according to the Quran have effects for the State as well,” Romualdez and Acidre said.
“Under the principle of equality before the law, if a Muslim divorce is recognized, there can be no serious objections towards the recognition of the civil effects of a marriage by an established and duly recognized religious denomination. In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought,” they added.