6 Grounds for Annulment in the Philippines 

In the Philippines, marriage is a contract of permanent union between a man and a woman, the foundation of the family, and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law (Article 1, Family Code). 

Although absolute divorce remains unavailable to the non-Muslim majority, the law allows a marriage to be dissolved either by declaring it void from the beginning or by annulling it. 

Many people use “annulment” as a catch-all term for ending a marriage, but Philippine law recognizes two distinct remedies for marriages between two Filipino citizens: annulment and declaration of nullity of marriage.

Annulment is a judicial process that dissolves a voidable marriage—one that is legally valid until annulled by a court due to defects existing at the time of its celebration. As provided under Article 4, “A defect in any of the essential requisites shall render the marriage voidable.”  

It differs from a declaration of absolute nullity of marriage, which applies to void marriages that were never legally valid from the start (void ab initio). 

The grounds for annulment are strictly provided under Article 45 of the Family Code and include lack of parental consent, unsound mind or insanity, fraud, force or undue influence, physical incapacity, and sexually-transmissible disease. 

“Article 45. A marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes, existing at the time of the marriage:

(1) That the party in whose behalf it is sought to have the marriage annulled was eighteen years of age or over but below twenty-one, and the marriage was solemnized without the consent of the parents, guardian or person having substitute parental authority over the party, in that order, unless after attaining the age of twenty-one, such party freely cohabited with the other and both lived together as husband and wife;

(2) That either party was of unsound mind, unless such party after coming to reason, freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;

(3) That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless such party afterwards, with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;

(4) That the consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue influence, unless the same having disappeared or ceased, such party thereafter freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;

(5) That either party was physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the other, and such incapacity continues and appears to be incurable; or

(6) That either party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease found to be serious and appears to be incurable” (emphasis supplied). 

Fraud as a ground is further discussed in Article 46. Accordingly, only specific concealments may be considered fraud as a ground for annulment. These include prior conviction involving moral turpitude, pregnancy by another man, a sexually transmissible disease, or certain conditions, e.g., drug addiction, alcoholism, and homosexuality or lesbianism, existing at the time of marriage.

No other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health, rank, fortune, or chastity constitutes such fraud as will give grounds for action for the annulment of marriage.

“Article 46. Any of the following circumstances shall constitute fraud referred to in Number 3 of the preceding Article:

(1) Non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final judgment of the other party of a crime involving moral turpitude;

(2) Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the marriage, she was pregnant by a man other than her husband;

(3) Concealment of sexually transmissible disease, regardless of its nature, existing at the time of the marriage; or

(4) Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism or homosexuality or lesbianism existing at the time of the marriage” (emphasis supplied). 

It must be noted, however, that if the spouses continue to cohabit after the discovery of fraud, the right of the aggrieved spouse to file a petition for annulment is deemed waived.

Ultimately, it is essential to consult an experienced family or annulment lawyer to assess the facts of the case, determine the appropriate legal grounds, and obtain a clear understanding of the judicial process.

Duran & Duran-Schulze Law (“DDS Law”) is a family law firm in BGC, Taguig, Philippines, specializing in annulments of voidable marriages. For legal consultations and service inquiries, call us at (02) 8478-5826 (landline) or +639171940482 (mobile), or email info@duranschulze.com.