ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta @Magtanong Kay Attorney | December 12, 2023
Dear Chief Acosta,
Ako ay ikinasal noong taong 2015, ngunit tuwing kukuha ako ng kopya ng aming Marriage Certificate mula sa Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) ay walang lumalabas na record nito. Gusto kong malaman kung may bisa ba ang aking kasal gayong wala itong record? - Lumen
Dear Lumen,
Ang batas na sasaklaw patungkol sa iyong katanungan ay ang Executive Order No. 209, s. 1987 o mas kilala bilang The Family Code of the Philippines. Nakasaad sa Articles 2,3, at 4 nito na:
“Art. 2. No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present:
(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and
(2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer.
Art. 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.
Art. 4. The absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2).
A defect in any of the essential requisites shall not affect the validity of the marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable.”
Kaugnay nito, inilahad rin ng Korte Suprema sa kaso ng Balogbog vs. Hon. Court of Appeals, G.R. No. 83598 March 7, 1997, Ponente: Honorable Associate Justice Vicente V. Mendoza na:
“xxx Indeed, although a marriage contract is considered primary evidence of marriage, the failure to present it is not proof that no marriage took place. Other evidence may be presented to prove marriage. Here, private respondents proved, through testimonial evidence, that Gavino and Catalina were married in 1929; that they had three children, one of whom died in infancy; that their marriage subsisted until 1935 when Gavino died; and that their children, private respondents herein, were recognized by Gavino’s family and by the public as the legitimate children of Gavino.”
Samakatuwid, ang bisa ng isang kasal na ginanap sa Pilipinas ay nakasalalay sa mga rekisitong itinalaga ng batas. Ang nasabing pagtatala ay hindi isa sa mga essential o formal na rekisito ng isang lehitimong kasal. Kaya naman, ang hindi pagrehistro o kawalan ng tala ng iyong Marriage Certificate sa Philippine Statistics Authority o PSA ay hindi nangangahulugan na ang iyong kasal ay walang bisa. Ang kawalan nito ay hindi nangangahulugan na walang kasal na naganap, alinsunod sa mga nabanggit na probisyon ng batas at ng deklarasyon ng Korte Suprema.
Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang iyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na iyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng iyong salaysay.
Maraming salamat sa iyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.
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