Puwedeng ikasal nang walang lisensiya kung mahigit limang taon na nagli-live in

ni Atty. Persida Rueda-Acosta - @Magtanong Kay Attorney | June 13, 2022

Dear Chief Acosta,

Mayroon akong kasintahan at nagsimula kaming magsama sa iisang bahay noong 2017. May asawa siya noon, ngunit nakapaghain na siya ng annulment case. Noong 2020, nagkaroon na diumano ng annulment decree ang kasal niya ngunit, walang maipakita ang aking kasintahan.

Napag-alaman ko na sa ating batas, kinakailangan muna ang marriage license upang magkaroon ng bisa ang kasal maliban na lamang kung may limang taon nang nagsasama bilang mag-asawa ang ikakasal. Maaari na ba kaming magpakasal ngayong taong ito nang hindi kumukuha ng marriage license dahil mahigit limang taon na rin naman kaming nagsasama at kahit wala pa kaming kopya ng annulment niya? - Sassa

Dear Sassa,

Para sa inyong kaalaman, malinaw sa Article 34 ng Family Code of the Philippines, na hindi na kinakailangang kumuha ng marriage license ang dalawang magkasintahan na nagsasama bilang mag-asawa sa loob ng limang taon, sa oras na sila ay magpakasal. Nakasaad sa nasabing Artikulo ang sumusunod:

“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.”

Gayunman, nakasaad din sa batas na sa loob ng nasabing limang taon na pagsasama, nararapat na walang legal impediment na magsisilbing hadlang sa kanilang kasal. Ipinaliwanag ito ng Kagalang-galang na Korte Suprema sa kaso ng Niñal vs. Bayadog (G.R. No. 133778, March 14, 2000, Ponente: Retired Honorable Associate Justice Consuelo Ynares-Santiago):

“In other words, the five-year common-law cohabitation period, which is counted back from the date of celebration of marriage, should be a period of legal union had it not been for the absence of the marriage. 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.” (Binigyang-diin)

Sa inyong sitwasyon, ang limang taon na pagsasama ninyo ng inyong kasintahan ay hindi maaaring ituring na eksklusibo dahil siya ay kasal sa ibang babae hanggang noong 2020, kung kailan lamang, ayon sa inyong kasintahan, nag-isyu ang hukuman ng decree of annulment of marriage. Samakatwid, hindi kayo maaaring magpakasal nang walang marriage license dahil hindi akma sa batas bilang exception ang inyong naging pagsasama ng inyong kasintahan.

Sana ay nabigyan namin ng linaw ang inyong katanungan. Ang payong aming ibinigay ay base lamang sa mga impormasyon na inyong inilahad at maaaring magbago kung mababawasan o madaragdagan ang mga detalye ng inyong salaysay.

Maraming salamat sa inyong patuloy na pagtitiwala.