Requisites of Marriage

Before entering into the portal of marriage, one should take a look into the requisites provided by the Family Code of the Philippines inorder to have a valid marriage.  

The Family Code provides the essential as well as the formal requisites of marriage entered into by the contracting parties in the Philippines.  Before going into the details of the said requisites, we have to define what marriage is under the same Family Code.

Definition of Marriage:

Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life.

It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation, except that marriage settlements may fix the property relations during the marriage within the limits provided by this Code.

Essential Requisites:

If these essential requisites are not satisfied, the marriage is NOT VALID:

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.

Thus, the contracting parties in a marriage must be at least 18 years of age.  It is the age when a person acquires a legal capacity to contract.  Please note also, that the parties must be a MALE and a FEMALE.  Thus, same sex marriage under the Family Code is not yet valid unless our lawmakers would amend this provision.

The consent also shall be given FREELY in the presence of the solemnizing officer.  Gone are those days where consent was obtained through shut-gun.  Shut-gun marriage or known as PIKOT is already not recognized to be a valid marriage.

Formal Requisites:

1.  Authority of the solemnizing officer;

2.  A valid marriage license except in the cases provided in this code; 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.

The absence of any of the ESSENTIAL or FORMAL requisites shall render the marriage VOID AB INITIO (void from the very beginning), except those:

"contracted marriages with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officers had the legal authority to do so."

A defect in any of the ESSENTIAL requisites shall render the marriage voidable.

An irregularity in the formal 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.