Sotto bill seeks inexpensive, streamlined recognition of foreign divorce

MANILA, Philippines— Recognizing foreign divorce decrees involving a Filipino spouse need not be complicated or expensive in the Philippines if a measure filed in the Senate is approved.

The recognition process, not including the appeal, should be resolved within 180 days or six months as proposed in Senate President Pro Tempore Vicente “Tito” Sotto III’s Senate Bill No. 2388 known as  the “Administrative Recognition of Foreign Divorce.”

In filing the bill,  Sotto cited a provision in the Family Code, which states that, “Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law.” 

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Sotto, however, lamented that to this date, the process of recognizing foreign divorce decrees remains within the Philippine courts,  which he said is “taking space from the already voluminous dockets and consuming time and resources from other matters that indeed necessitates it.”

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READ: SC urged to recognize foreign divorces to reduce broken marriages

“Thus, this bill aims to provide for a more accessible and streamlined manner of recognizing foreign divorce decrees validly obtained abroad to ensure that Filipinos in dissolved mixed marriages will not be at a disadvantage and remains to be protected by the State,” he said  in explaining the recently filed bill.

To streamline the process and make it more inexpensive, the proposed law would authorize the Office of the Chief State Counsel of the Department of Justice (DOJ)  to legally recognize foreign divorce decrees and its legal effects in the Philippines.

“Provided, that it shall allow a mechanism for appeals by the other party and for the Republic,” according to the bill.

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“Provided further, that the recognition process, not including the appeal, shall be resolved within one hundred and eighty (180) days from filing of the petition determined to be sufficient in form and in substance, and the submission of the complete requirements,” it further said.

Once a final decision is made,  the DOJ should issue a Certificate of Administrative Recognition. 

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The certificate, along with the resolution promulgated by the DOJ recognizing the foreign divorce decree,  would then be submitted to the Local Civil Registrar where the marriage was recorded and to the Philippine Statistics Authority for annotation to the marriage certificate.

“If the divorce decree allows the Filipino spouse to remarry, the annotation shall reflect a change in the civil status, capacitating him or her to remarry,” Sotto said in the bill. /jpv