ARTICLE 31:

A marriage in articulo mortis between passengers or crew members may also be solemnized by a ship captain or by an
airplane pilot not only while the ship is at sea or the plane is in flight, but also during stopovers at ports of call.


ARTICLE 32:

A military commander of a unit who is a commissioned officer, shall likewise have authority to solemnize marriages in
articulo mortis between persons within the zone of military operation, whether members of the armed forces or civilians.

I. Special Cases of Marriages in Articulo Mortis
a. The people referred to in Arts. 31 and 32 can celebrate the marriage only if it is in articulo mortis.
b. Of course, other people, like a judge or a consul, can perform a marriage in articulo mortis.

II. Re: Military Commander
a. must be a commissioned officer
b. marriage may be between civilians, also if in articulo mortis.


ARTICLE 33:

Marriages among Muslims or among members of the ethnic cultural communities may be performed validly
without the necessity of a marriage license, provided that they are solemnized in accordance with their customs,
rites or practices.

I. No Judicial Notice
No judicial notice can be taken of Mohammedan rites and customs for marriage. They must be alleged and proved
in court.

II. Consistency With the Constitution
Art. 33 is but consistent with the constitutional provision which provides that the State shall recognize, respect,
and protect the rights of indigenous cultural communities to preserve and develop their cultures, traditions, and
institutions. It shall consider these rights in the formulation of national plans and policies.


ARTICLE 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 5 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 and found no legal impediment to the marriage.

I. Ratification of Marital Cohabitation Requisites
a. The contracting parties must have lived together as husband and wife for at least 5 years before the marriage
they are entering into.
b. No legal impediment of any kind must exist between them. For example, they must not be first cousins, or
stepbrother and stepsister.
c. Requirements (a), (b) and (c) must be stated in an affidavit before any person authorized by law to administer
oaths.
d. The necessary affidavit of the person solemnizing the marriage. (The marriage is sometimes referred to as the
ratification of marital cohabitation.)
II. Effect of the New Majority Age of 18
Although A and B were merely 18 years old, they swore to an affidavit stating they were of legal age. Previously,
they had been living together for more than 5 years. If they marry without a marriage license on the strength of
such affidavit, the marriage should be considered as VALID because the age of majority is now 18.
III. Reason for the Article
The publicity attending the marriage license may discourage such persons from legalizing their status.


CHAPTER 3
VOID AND VOIDABLE MARRIAGES

I. Distinctions Between a Void and a Voidable Marriage

VOID VOIDABLE
Can never be ratified Can generally be ratified
Always void Valid until annulled
Can be attacked directly or collaterally Cannot be assailed collaterally;
there must be a direct proceeding
There is no conjugal partnership (Only a
co-ownership)
There is a conjugal partnership.

II. Two Kinds of Impediments in Marriages
a. Diriment impediments They make the marriage VOID.
Examples:
1) Close blood relationship
2) Prior existing marriage
b. Prohibitive impediments They do not affect the validity of the marriage, but criminal prosecution may
follow.
c. Another Classification of the Impediments
i. Absolute Here the person cannot marry at all.
Example: When one is below the required age of 18.
ii. Relative Here the prohibition is only with respect to certain persons.
Example: A brother cannot marry his sister.


ARTICLE 35:

The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:
1. Those contracted by any party below 18 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 w/ either or both parties believing in good faith that the solemnizing officer had legal authority to do so;
3. Those solemnized without a license, except those covered by the preceding Chapter;
4. Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not falling 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.

Void Marriages Enumerated

Set forth under Art. 35 are the void marriages found in Arts. 26, 27, 38, 44, and 53.

NOTA BENE: RA 6955 declares unlawful the practice of matching Filipino women for marriage to foreign nationals on
a mail-order basis and other similar practices, including advertisement, publication, printing or distribution of brochures,
fliers, and other propaganda materials in furtherance thereof.


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.

I . Psychological Incapacity As a Ground to Render the Marriage Void

This incapacity need not necessarily be manifested before or during the marriage although it is a basic requirement
that the psychological defect be existing during the marriage. Thus, 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.
[N.B.: Essential marital obligations are set forth under Art. 68 which provides that the husband and wife are obliged
to live together, observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render mutual help and support.]

I I . The Concept of Psychological Incapacity
- condition of a person who does not have the mind, will, and heart for the performance of marriage obligations.
- Said incapacity must be a lasting condition, i.e., the signs are clear that the subject will not be rid of his
incapacity, considering the peculiar socio-cultural milieu of his marriage, its actual situation, and the concrete
person of his spouse.
- incapacity must already be a condition in the subject at the time of the wedding, although its manifestation or
detection would occur later.

The inclusion in the Family Code of psychological incapacity had its bearings in the Canon Law Code. Thus, Canon
1095, paragraph 3, reads: They are incapable of contracting marriage, who are not capable of assuming the essential
obligations of matrimony due to causes of a psychological nature. In other words, psychological incapacity is now
accepted in civil law as ground for civil marriage annulment. Of course, it has already been for years favored in the
annulment of Catholic religion marriage.

Observe that if a marriage can be declared void by the church (such as the Catholic Church) on the ground of
psychological incapacity, the same ground may be given as cause for cancellation of a marriage in our civil courts
without the necessity of prior church cancellation. Please note CANCELLATION of the marriage, not legal separation,
and said cancellation will allow either or both parties to get married again to some other persons. Under church laws,
examples of psychological incapacity:
- a wrong concept of marital vows and marital infidelity,
- adamant refusal to give support,
- unbearable jealousy on the part of one party,
- indolence,
- extremely low intelligence,
- criminality (or the state of a person consistently getting into trouble with the law),
- sadism,
- epilepsy,
- habitual alcoholism,
- drug addiction,
- compulsive gambling,
- homosexuality in men or lesbianism in women,
- satyriasis in men or nymphomania in women.

And even if these causes should manifest themselves long after the wedding as already adverted to, said causes are
considered to be POTENTIALLY existing already











ARTICLE 37:

Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether the 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. (81a)


How Degrees of Generation Are Computed
(a) In the direct line, count ALL who are included, then minus one. Herein, a granddaughter is two degrees away from the
grandfather (GF-F GD=3-1=2 degrees).
(b) In the collateral line go up to the nearest common ancestor, then go down minus one. (Hence, brothers are 2
degrees apart [13,-F-B2 = 3-1=2].)


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 persons spouse, or his or her own
spouse. (82a)


ARTICLE 39:

The action or defense for the declaration of absolute nullity of a marriage shall not prescribe. (As amended by RA 8533,
dated Feb. 23, 1998)

There is need to declare a void marriage as void or invalid.


ARTICLE 40:

The absolute nullity of a previous marriage may be invoked for purposes of marriage on the basis solely of a final
judgment declaring such previous marriage void.