Dear PAO,
I married last July 7, 2011. I was 24 years old at that time, but I was
not able to get parental advice from my parents. Also, we did not secure
a marriage license. Instead, my wife and I executed an affidavit which
states that we have been living together as husband and wife for five
years. This is not true because we married less than one year after we
met. Can I have my marriage annulled or declared void?
Michael
Dear Michael,
You mentioned two defects in your marriage. The first is lack of
parental advice which is required by Article 15 of the Family Code for
persons marrying between the ages of twenty-one (21) and twenty-five
(25). However, its absence is not a valid cause to have your marriage
annulled or declared void. Lack of parental advice is not mentioned in
Article 45 of the Family Code which enumerates the grounds for annulment
of marriage. Neither is parental advice an essential or formal
requisite of marriage, whose absence renders the marriage void ab
initio. The rule is settled that every intendment of the law or fact
leans toward the validity of the marriage, the indissolubility of the
marriage bonds (Sevilla vs. Cardenas, G.R. No. 167684, July 31, 2006).
The annulment or declaration of nullity of marriage is only an exception
to this rule allowed in certain instances specifically provided by law.
The second defect in your marriage concerns the falsity of the period
of cohabitation stated in your affidavit of cohabitation. The general
rule is that the future spouses are required to secure a marriage
license before their marriage. Without a marriage license, which is a
formal requisite of marriage, the marriage would be void. There are
exceptions to this rule, one of which is found in Article 34 of the
Family Code which states that no marriage license is necessary if the
future spouses have lived together as husband and wife for at least five
(5) years and without any legal impediment to marry each other. The
contracting parties shall state the foregoing facts in an affidavit
before any person authorized by law to administer oaths.
It should be pointed out that under this exception, what exempts the
future spouses from the requirement of securing a marriage license is
not the execution of the affidavit of cohabitation, but rather, the fact
of cohabitation for at least five (5) years without legal impediment to
marry each other. Its purpose is to avoid exposing the parties to
humiliation, shame and embarrassment concomitant with the scandalous
cohabitation of persons outside a valid marriage due to the publication
of every applicant’s name for a marriage license, which could discourage
such persons from legitimizing their status (Niñal v. Bayadog, G.R. No.
133778, March 14, 2000 citing The Report of the Code Commission). The
affidavit merely sets forth such fact, which if found false would only
be a mere scrap of paper, without force and effect (Republic vs. Dayot,
G.R. No. 175581, March 28, 2008).
You mentioned that you married your wife less than one (1) year after
you met her. If this is true, then it is impossible to comply with the
requirement of 5-year cohabitation. Therefore, the exception does not
apply and you are required to secure a marriage license. Because there
is none, your marriage is void ab initio. You may file a petition in
court to have your marriage declared void.
We hope that we were able to enlighten you on the matter. Please be
reminded that this advice is based solely on the facts you have narrated
and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts
are changed or elaborated.
source: Manila Times' Column of Atty. PERSIDA ACOSTA
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