A MANILA Congressman said that under the divorce bill or HB 9349, the recognition of divorce obtained from other countries is now made easier compared to what is provided for under the Family Code.
Congressman Joel Chua (3rd district) underscored that “the recognition of a divorce validly obtained abroad is more convenient and faster because the Philippine court is no longer part of the process. Only the Philippine consul overseas and the Philippine local civil registrar are in the process, aside from the divorce process overseas.”
“I clarify this to the Filipino public in light of the divorce between Tom Rodriguez and Carla Abellana that was recognized by the court here in the Philippines,” he pointed out.
Chua said that the House through HB 9349 made the ‘recognition of a valid foreign divorce’ in the country faster and easier since it no longer has to involve the Philippine courts.
According to him, it would now be enoigh for the divorce to be authenticated by a Philippine consul in the country where it was obtained, or any nearby country where there is a Philippine consul.
Once authenticated by the consul, Chua said that the next step would be to register the ‘authenticated divorce’ with the local civil registrar where the records of the spouses concerned are kept.
“Mlaking tulong ang probisyong ito ng HB 9349 sa mga Pilipinong nakapangasawa ng ‘citizen’ ng ibang bansa na dini-diborsyo ng kanilang asawang foreigner, kasama na ang mga OFW at mga Pilipinong residente na ng ibang bansa,” he said.
“The Supreme Court of the Philippines said in an August 10, 2022 decision pointed out that the divorce law of the foreign country must be properly cited. The Family Code allows recognition of foreign divorce because is justice for the Filipino spouse, It would be unjust to the Filipino spouse if only the foreign spouse gains the freedom to marry while the Filipino spouse does not,” Chua added.
“In summary, in the Family Code, the divorce validly obtained abroad simply has to be recorded in a Philippine local civil registrar and thereafter filed with a regional trial court,” Chua stated further.
HB 9349, he stressed, shortened and expedited the process since the procedure in the Philippines should only be ministerial and clerical, with no need to pass through courts.
The Congressman cited as an example the ‘divorce process’ in California in the case of estranged couple Carla Abellana and Tom Rodriguez, which he said, lasted longer in the Philippines, having to pass through a regional trial court.
“According to news reports, Tom Rodriguez, an American citizen, filed for divorce in California in 2022, and it was done by June. Then, in 2023, Carla Abellana asked an RTC to recognize the divorce in California. The whole process took just two years,” Chua pointed out.
