Marriage Visa Change in Notarization Requirements for Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage

No, I'm not an attorney although I have had to represent myself in law suits. Would this document be shown to PSA, or only to the LGU issuing marriage licenses (and the notary, of course)?

Also, if the last divorce ended a marriage here in the Philippines (but the decree was was issued in the US) would there be anything else I would need to add? The Family Code says no, the foreigner is now single; only the Filipino spouse needs to follow up with an ROD case in RTC.

Apparently since 2018 foreigners need CENOMARs when applying for marriage licenses, and some LGUs claim I need to have the divorce recognized with RTC but no one knows the procedure; considering that the RTC says foreigners have no legal standing and cannot file cases, I find this info remarkably contradictory . It also violates what's written in the Family Code. Go figure, huh?

 

Confidence goes a long way.

 

I can see why they might want even foreigners to get the CENOMAR. That way they know for sure you have not been married in the Philippines, whereas they have to take your word for the abroad. Maybe CENOMAR can be acquired online. Or at least, your partner or agent can get both at once.

I would think twice about even mentioning past marriage and divorce. You state truthfully that you are not married. Nothing else matters.

There's an attorney on the same alleyway as Dumaguete Immigration. I have several times used her for notarial services. Never on an immigration matter, but she might b e able to answer your questions.

This is not a great time to visit government offices, with the disease surging. But when you are able, just give it a try. It's not like you have to go to Cebu or Manila.

 

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The main reason I listed the divorces is because that's what the Consulate did last time. I WILL have to list the LAST divorce, however because it ended the marriage that will show up on my CENOMAR.

While I can understand that most average Filipinos don't know their own laws (some don't even know the Constitution was revised in 1987), it's absolutely amazing how many government employees don't know the laws of the Philippines; some don't even know the law of their own departments.

As such, I have received some of the most ridiculous answers from otherwise intelligent people.

I think I'll modify the marriage/divorce clause and not list all of the marriages/divorces. I will, however, list the divorce for the marriage that will show up on the CENOMAR, and quote the appropriate section of the Family Code to account any problems in case I run into another ignorant know-it-all.

That reminds me of an old tagline from back in the zip-packet email days, “People who think they know everything are a real pain in the rear for those of us who really do!”.

Of course, my all-time favorite tagline was “In Spanish, La Quinta means 'RIGHT NEXT TO DENNY'S'”. Second place was
“Karaoke is the Japanese word for 'TONE DEAF!'” (It actually means 'Empty Orchestra' so I coined the phrase 'Kara WIFI' meaning empty WiFi; ie., No internet!)

 

That's a very good question. If you ask anyone in government this question they will say, "Why, ALL of them, of course!" .

However one would imagine that, for each subsequent marriage, the records were checked to insure the person was single at the time of the new marriage. So, based on that, and the fact that the Anti-Red Tape Authority (ARTA) emphasizes the necessity of streamlining and simplifying the procedural and documentary requirements for government transactions under the new normal (QUOTED DIRECTLY FROM THE MEMORANDUM), it should be sufficient to only list either the last one, or any divorces that ended marriages that will show up on a CENOMAR. Of course, that's just my opinion; YMMV!

 

I made what I hope is the final modification of the Affidavit to only include the one marriage that will show up on a CENOMAR. I also added the exact wording from Article 26 of the Family Code so there can be no question that the divorce is supported by the article.

On a funny note, it was actually more difficult to anonymize this Affidavit than it was to write the original

Taking cues from what I've read that a Recognition of Divorce case would require, I included the same authorities as well as where to locate the statutes.

Specifically, an ROD case would want proof that both the court and the judge had the legal right to hear, rule and grant Divorces, and that the divorce itself allowed remarriage.

One would assume that a divorce decree that clearly states that both parties have all the rights of single, unmarried persons would be sufficient, to allow marrying again, but, unfortunately, some judges would love to argue that the sky wasn't really blue; it only appears to be blue because of the diffraction of the sunlight though the various chemical elements in the atmosphere, and the angle of the light as we view it.... Yadda yadda yadda...

Therefore I included two additional statutes; the first was the qualifications to get married where I'm from, and, since it said "without a living spouse" I added the US CODE'S LEGAL DEFINITION OF "SPOUSE". [SEE, YOUR HONOR, BY DEFINITION, THE SKY REALLY IS BLUE WITH
OR WITHOUT ANY DIFFRACTION!]

I'll either add the name of the Filipina later, or just put it on the license application, since it isn't really necessary to be part of this particular Affidavit, as I would have the right to marry any single Filipina over 18 by mutual consent of both parties.

Any suggestions other than being too literal (and long)? (I'm always very literal when it comes to any type of court document. I also make sure to repeat any special verbage found in statutes. After all, English is an unusually vague language )

AFFIDAVIT
I, (Affiant) , a citizen of the United States of America, of legal age, single, and a resident of City, State, USA, and the holder of US PASSPORT #xxxxxxxxxx, Expiry date: xx XXX 20xx, after having been duly sworn in accordance with law, hereby depose and say:

That....
1. I have no legal impediments to prevent me from contracting marriage in the Philippines with a single Filipino woman, in accordance with the Family Code of the Philippines as I am currently Divorced, and legally free to marry again.

2. My recent marriage was to a Filipina in City, Province, Philippines on Sunday, 01 Month 20xx. This exact same marriage appears on my current CENOMAR.

3. The above-mentioned marriage has subsequently been wholly dissolved by a divorce validly obtained abroad in my home country; Divorce case #XXXXXX filed and granted by the Divorce Court in City of ????, County of ????, State of ????, USA, by Divorce Court Judge ???? ????? on XX Month, 20??.

4. The Divorce Court in City of ????, of ????, State of ????, USA, and Divorce Court Judge ???? ????? both have the legal authority to grant divorces in accordance with State law as laid out in the STATE LAW TITLE ?? “DOMESTIC LAW”, CHAPTER XXX, DIVORCE: DIVORCE”, LAW #123.123 “Court may grant divorce...” and LAW #123.133 “Decree of divorce final and absolute”. [https://www.leg.state.XX.us/LAW/123.html]

4. Divorce Decree case #XXXXXX further states that said marriage is “wholly dissolved and both parties are hereby restored to the rights and privileges of single, unmarried persons”. In accordance with STATE LAW TITLE ?? - DOMESTIC LAW; CHAPTER XXX - MARRIAGE, LAW #123.023, “two persons, regardless of gender, who are at least 18 years of age, not nearer of kin than second cousins or cousins of the half blood, and not having a spouse living, may be joined in marriage.” [https://www.leg.state.XX.us/LAW/123.html]

5. Additionally, in Accordance with 1 U.S. Code § 7 - Definition of “marriage” and “spouse”: “the word “spouse” only refers to a person who is a husband or a wife.” Single, unmarried persons have no spouses. [https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/1/7]

6. Therefore, in accordance with the Family Code of the Philippines, ARTICLE 26, Divorce case #XXXXXX which was filed, ruled upon, and granted in the STATE OF ????, USA is a divorce which was validly obtained abroad and has wholly dissolved said marriage, and, as per the decree, the status of the Affiant has been officially restored to that of a single person who is free to marry again.

7. A certified copy of said Divorce Decree accompanies this Affidavit. URL Links to the foreign authorities listed within this affidavit appear immediately after each authority.

Further Affiant sayeth none.

Blah blah blah

 

Okay, here is the definitive answer regarding the Affidavit directly from the US Embassy:

“Thank you for your email regarding the Affidavit in Lieu of the Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Mariage. The Affidavit is a self-certification and can be written in any form that contains the necessary information. You can find samples with the basic information on the internet, but we recommend contacting the Local Government Unit (LGU) where you intend to get married to ask for their specific requirements. These requirements vary slightly throughout the Philippines”

Unfortunately this does not clearly states how many prior marriages must be listed. The two best answers to this question I have received are 1) Just the last one as every marriage/divorce automatically proves the validity of the one preceding it.

&

2) Same as answer as #1 plus any marriages that were solemnized in the Philippines, or will show up on your CENOMAR as the marriages on your CENOMAR need explanations.

Also, your Affidavit will be considered to be an “Affidavit in Lieu of the Certificate of Legal Capacity to Contract Marriage”

 

On the Consulate version of the "Affidavit In Lieu Of..." they list the woman the affiant is planning to marry. Quite frankly, I cannot see any valid legal reason another person's name should EVER be on a self-declaring affidavit designed to declare ONE'S OWN LEGAL CAPACITY TO CONTRACT MARRIAGE.

My other consideration is much more serious. The Philippines is a country that considers adultery to be an actual crime one can be imprisoned for (and a foreigner can be deported for). Both my Affidavit and my CENOMAR list a divorce from a previous marriage that took place HERE IN THE PHILIPPINES,

If my Affidavit is rejected for any reason, listing another woman's name on my Affidavit would be the equivalent of a written admission of having had an adulterous relationship!

Does anyone know of any legal requirement to list the woman's name on the Affidavit?

I've decided to leave the name off and, if asked why I'll simply state that her name goes on the license application. Also, since this is a legal document, I wanted to get her CENOMAR and Birth Cert first to make sure I was spelling the name correctly.

As I mentioned earlier, I got a nice reply from the first person at the Embassy who answered my email. However on my follow-up question I got someone else who never even bothered to read past the subject line and rudely repeated the first person's reply. (He isn't gonna like my reply to him, ESPECIALLY if a supervisor reads it first. It is SO BLATANTLY OBVIOUS that he never read the actual email )