Dear PAO,

I have been married to a French national for 15 years. Unfortunately, our marriage has recently broken down due to irreconcilable differences. We have decided to part ways, but due to a dispute over the custody of our children, our relationship has turned sour. Recently, I obtained a copy of my Cenomar and discovered that I was previously married to a certain man, in year 1990s, when I was only 14 years old. It appears that someone used my name to illegally contract marriage with another person. I am scared that my husband will use this fact to charge me with bigamy.

Angie

Dear Angie,

While at first glance, a person may be charged with a case of bigamy for contracting a second marriage while a previous marriage is still legally valid and subsisting, our Philippine laws and jurisprudence have established certain exceptions and defenses that may be invoked by an accused to contest the charge and, in appropriate cases, secure an acquittal.

In the recent case of Ma. Fe Imelda Lapira y Tungcol v. Jimmy Fariscal and People of the Philippines (GR 233512, Feb. 26, 2026; penned by Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin Caguioa), the Supreme Court held that a void ab initio marriage can be used as a defense in bigamy even without a separate judicial declaration of absolute nullity. It clarified that the charge of bigamy is wanting if one of the elements to the crime, such as a prior subsisting marriage, is missing. An excerpt from the decision reads:

“Under Article 349 of the Revised Penal Code, the elements of Bigamy are: (1) the offender has been legally married; (2) the first marriage has not been legally dissolved, or in case his or her spouse is absent, the absent spouse has not been judicially declared presumptively dead; (3) he contracts a subsequent marriage; and (4) the subsequent marriage would have been valid had it not been for the existence of the first. Stated otherwise, one of the essential elements of Bigamy is a prior valid marriage. If the supposed “first marriage” was void ab initio, it is inexistent from the beginning, and thus, an element of the felony would be lacking. In which case, the acquittal of the accused for the felony of Bigamy is warranted.”

Applying the foregoing to your case, you may put up as a defense that said first marriage was void, as you have not contracted this marriage, and you were still a minor at the time the supposed marriage was celebrated. You may present testimonial or documentary evidence (i.e., a birth certificate) to substantiate that you were not the person that entered into the sham marriage and to rebut the presumed regularity of the marriage certificate.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice was solely based 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.