Grounds for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage in the Philippines

Under Articles 2 and 3 of the Family Code (E.O. 209), a valid marriage in the Philippines requires the presence of distinct essential and formal requisites. These essential requisites mandate the contracting parties to be a man and a woman possessing the legal capacity to marry and give willful consent in the presence of a solemnizing officer. Formal requisites, on the other hand, dictate the procedural and ceremonial legality of the union. 

In the absence of any of these requisites, a marriage can be rendered void ab initio or void from the beginning (Article 4, Family Code), serving as a statutory basis for a petition for nullity of marriage. 

Thus, a Declaration of Absolute Nullity of Marriage is a judicial process that declares a marriage void ab initio, as if it were legally non-existent from the start. 

Under Articles 35 to 38 of the Family Code, grounds for declarations of nullity of marriage include the absence of legal requisites, bigamy or polygamy, psychological incapacity, incestuous marriages, and marriages contrary to public policy. 

“Article 35. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:

(1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of parents or guardians;

(2) Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so;

(3) Those solemnized without license, except those covered the preceding Chapter;

(4) Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not failing under Article 41;

(5) Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the other; and

(6) Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53.

Article 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization. (As amended by Executive Order 227)

Article 37. Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether relationship between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:

(1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and

(2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood.

Article 38. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning for reasons of public policy:

(1) Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth civil degree;

(2) Between step-parents and step-children;

(3) Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;

(4) Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;

(5) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child;

(6) Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;

(7) Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter;

(8) Between adopted children of the same adopter; and

(9) Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other person’s spouse, or his or her own spouse” (emphasis supplied). 

Additionally, under Article 41,

“Article 41. A marriage contracted by any person during subsistence of a previous marriage shall be null and void, unless before the celebration of the subsequent marriage, the prior spouse had been absent for four consecutive years and the spouse present has a well-founded belief that the absent spouse was already dead. In case of disappearance where there is danger of death under the circumstances set forth in the provisions of Article 391 of the Civil Code, an absence of only two years shall be sufficient” (emphasis supplied). 

Equally, under Article 53,

“Article 53. Either of the former spouses may marry again after compliance with the requirements of the immediately preceding Article; otherwise, the subsequent marriage shall be null and void.”

Psychological incapacity under Article 36 is one of the most litigated grounds for a declaration of nullity of marriage. Through the years, jurisprudence has evolved from a rigid medical approach to a more holistic legal assessment of marital relationships. 

Beginning with the landmark case of Santos vs. Court of Appeals (CA) and Bedia-Santos, G.R. No. 112019 (01-04-1995), the Supreme Court has continually clarified the meaning, evidentiary requirements, and proper application of Article 36 to ensure that it is interpreted in accordance with legislative intent. 

Today, psychological incapacity is recognized as a legal—not strictly medical—concept. It refers to an enduring personality structure that renders a spouse truly incapable of complying with the essential marital obligations of marriage, as explained in Tan-Andal vs. Andal, G.R. NO. 196359 (05-11-2021). 

For annulment of voidable marriages under Article 45 of the Family Code, read about the legal grounds here >>>