Marriage Definition & Requisites-Essential & Formal | Family Code of the Philippines E.O. No. 209

Marriage in the Philippines is governed by Executive Order No. 209, also known as The Family Code of the Philippines. Article 1 defines marriage as a special contract of permanent union between a man and a woman, entered into according to law for conjugal and family life. It is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature, consequences, and incidents are governed by law, not subject to stipulation, except for marriage settlements within legal limits.

Article 2 outlines two essential requisites for a valid marriage: legal capacity of the contracting parties (male and female) and freely given consent in the presence of a solemnizing officer. Legal capacity, as per Article 5, means both parties must be 18 years or older and not under any impediments mentioned in Articles 37 and 38. Article 37 lists incestuous marriages (ascendants/descendants, brothers/sisters) as void from the beginning. Article 38 lists marriages void for public policy reasons, including those between collateral blood relatives up to the fourth civil degree, step-parents/step-children, parents-in-law/children-in-law, adoptive parent/adopted child, and others related to adoption or involving a party killing a spouse to marry another.

The second essential requisite is the consent of the contracting parties, which must be freely given and made in the presence of a solemnizing officer. Freely given consent implies a willing and deliberate entry into marriage, free from fraud, force, intimidation, or undue influence (as per Articles 45 and 46). Consent must also be conscious and intelligent, meaning parties understand the nature and consequences of their act, unaffected by insanity, intoxication, drugs, or hypnotism, as explained by the Supreme Court in Republic vs. Liberty Di Obios.

Article 3 lists the formal requisites of marriage: 1) authority of the solemnizing officer, 2) a valid marriage license (with exceptions in Chapter 2 of the title), and 3) a marriage ceremony where both parties declare their intent to take each other as husband and wife before the solemnizing officer and at least two witnesses of legal age.

Article 4 states that the absence of any essential or formal requisite renders the marriage void ab initio, except as noted in Article 35 (paragraph 2). A defect in any essential requisite makes the marriage voidable (Article 45). An irregularity in formal requisites does not affect marriage validity, but the responsible party or parties face civil, criminal, and administrative liability.