House OKs foreign divorce bill on final reading
The House of Representatives on Wednesday approved on third and final reading a bill recognizing foreign divorce in the Philippines.
Voting 202-3 with no abstentions, the lower Chamber approved House Bill 7185, which seeks to amend the Family Code of the Philippines or Executive Order 209, to eliminate the need for judicial recognition of a foreign decree of termination of marriage or divorce.
The proposed measure also allows the Filipino spouse to remarry under Filipino laws as soon as the divorce decree has been granted by the foreign country.
The other key provisions of the bill include the following:
– Provides that the Filipino spouse need not seek judicial recognition or enforcement of the foreign decree of termination of marriage duly authenticated by the Philippine Embassy or Consular Office in the country where the decree was obtained;
– Provides that the registration of the foreign decree of termination of marriage in the Philippine civil registry shall be sufficient proof of capacity to remarry;
– Provides that the Filipino spouse is capacitated to remarry when a foreign decree of termination of marriage is validly obtained abroad by either spouse and subsequently registered in the Philippine civil registry.
The bill was authored by Taguig City-Pateros 2nd District Rep. Pia Cayetano.
Last Monday, the lower House also overwhelmingly approved on third and final reading House Bill 7303, which seeks to legalize absolute divorce and dissolution of marriage in the country. /je
READ: House approves divorce bill on 3rd and final reading
