Dear PAO,

My boyfriend and I are planning to get married this year, and we have been in a relationship for more than 10 years. During weekends and holidays, I stay at my boyfriend’s condominium. Are we still required to secure a marriage license, or are we exempt from such requirement according to our law? Thank you for your response.

Vina

Dear Vina,

In the Philippines, the law requires couples to secure a marriage license before they can legally marry. However, there are exceptions to this rule under certain circumstances. The general purpose of the marriage license requirement is to ensure that the parties are legally capable of marrying, to prevent bigamous or illegal marriages, and to promote a sound public policy related to the institution of marriage.

One of the formal requisites of marriage is a valid marriage license according to Article 3 of the Family Code (FC) of the Philippines, which provides:

“Article 3. The formal requisites of marriage are:

“(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;

“(2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title; and

“(3) 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.”

With regard to the exceptions in securing a marriage license, these cases or circumstances are provided for in Articles 27, 28, 31, 32, 33, and 34 of the FC, viz.:

“Art. 27. In case either or both of the contracting parties are at the point of death, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage license and shall remain valid even if the ailing party subsequently survives.

“Art. 28. If the residence of either party is so located that there is no means of transportation to enable such party to appear personally before the local civil registrar, the marriage may be solemnized without necessity of a marriage license. xxx

“Art. 31. A marriage in articulo mortis between passengers or crew members may also be solemnized by a ship captain or by an airplane pilot not only while the ship is at sea or the plane is in flight, but also during stopovers at ports of call.

Art. 32. A military commander of a unit, who is a commissioned officer, shall likewise have authority to solemnize marriages in articulo mortis between persons within the zone of military operation, whether members of the armed forces or civilians.

“Art. 33. Marriages among Muslims or among members of the ethnic cultural communities may be performed validly without the necessity of marriage license, provided they are solemnized in accordance with their customs, rites or practices.

“Art. 34. No license shall be necessary for the marriage of a man and a woman who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five 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. The solemnizing officer shall also state under oath that he ascertained the qualifications of the contracting parties are found no legal impediment to the marriage.” (Emphasis supplied)

In the case of Niñal vs Bayadog, GR 133778, March 14, 2000, penned by Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago, the five-year cohabitation requirement for couples without any legal impediment to marry each other was explained thoroughly. It was stated in the said case that:

“This 5-year period should be the years immediately before the day of the marriage and it should be a period of cohabitation characterized by exclusivity — meaning no third party was involved at any time within the 5 years and continuity — that is unbroken. Otherwise, if that continuous 5-year cohabitation is computed without any distinction as to whether the parties were capacitated to marry each other during the entire five years, then the law would be sanctioning immorality and encouraging parties to have common law relationships and placing them on the same footing with those who lived faithfully with their spouse. Marriage being a special relationship must be respected as such and its requirements must be strictly observed.”

In your case, you and your boyfriend are required to obtain a marriage license because nothing in your situation indicates that you have been cohabiting as husband and wife for five years. Even though you have been in a relationship for over 10 years, this does not satisfy the cohabitation requirement under Article 34 of the Family Code, which stipulates that the period of cohabitation must be characterized by exclusivity and continuity.

We hope that we are able to answer your queries. 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.

Thank you for your continued trust and support.

Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to [email protected]