Corpuz v. Sto. Tomas (2010): Registering a Foreign Divorce

Gerbert Corpuz was a former Filipino who became a Canadian citizen in 2000. In January 2005 he married Daisylyn Sto. Tomas, a Filipina, in Pasig City. He soon went back to Canada for work. When he returned in April 2005 to surprise her, he found out she was having an affair.

Gerbert went back to Canada and filed for divorce. A Canadian court in Windsor, Ontario, granted it in December 2005, and the divorce took effect in January 2006.

Two years later Gerbert wanted to marry a new Filipina fiancée in the Philippines. He went to the Pasig City Civil Registry Office, which recorded the Canadian divorce on his marriage certificate. But an official of the National Statistics Office (NSO) told him that, under Philippine law, his marriage to Daisylyn still existed. A Philippine court had to recognize the divorce first.

Gerbert then asked the Regional Trial Court of Laoag City to recognize the divorce. Daisylyn did not oppose. She even said she wanted the same thing. The trial court still denied the petition. It said only the Filipino spouse can use the second paragraph of Article 26, and Gerbert was a Canadian. Gerbert appealed directly to the Supreme Court. The Solicitor General supported him.

Does the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code give a foreign spouse the right to ask a Philippine court to recognize a foreign divorce decree?

The Supreme Court granted Gerbert's petition, reversed the trial court and sent the case back for further proceedings. Its reasoning had four parts.

Article 26 protects the Filipino spouse. Philippine family law does not recognize absolute divorce between Filipino citizens. The second paragraph of Article 26, added by Executive Order No. 227, is an exception made for the Filipino spouse. It avoids the situation where the Filipino stays married to a foreigner who, after the divorce, is no longer married to the Filipino. So the Court agreed with the trial court that "only the Filipino spouse can invoke the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code; the alien spouse can claim no right under this provision."

But a foreigner can still ask for recognition. That was not a reason to dismiss Gerbert's case. Under Section 48, Rule 39 of the Rules of Court, a foreign judgment against a person is presumptive evidence of a right between the parties. The Court said that being directly involved in, or the subject of, the foreign judgment is enough interest to ask a Philippine court to recognize it.

The decree and the foreign law must be proven. The Court stressed that "our courts do not take judicial notice of foreign judgments and laws." The divorce decree and its authenticity must be proven as facts, together with the foreign spouse's national law. Gerbert had attached the decree and certificates of its authenticity, but not a copy of the Canadian divorce law. The Court could have dismissed the petition for that gap. It chose to send the case back to the trial court, given Daisylyn's support for the petition. A new hearing also lets others oppose the decree on grounds such as lack of jurisdiction, lack of notice, collusion, fraud or clear mistake.

Registering the decree without recognition is void. The Pasig City Civil Registry Office had annotated the divorce on the marriage certificate on the strength of the decree alone. The Court said the law requires divorces to be recorded, but only after a court recognizes the foreign judgment. A registration without that recognition "is patently void and cannot produce any legal effect."

The Court added two practical points:

• Recognizing the divorce does not, by itself, cancel the entry in the civil registry. Under Article 412 of the Civil Code, a civil registry entry can be changed only by a court order, through the procedure in Rule 108 of the Rules of Court. Rule 108 requires, among other things, filing in the Regional Trial Court of the province where the civil registry is located, making the civil registrar and all interested persons parties, and publishing the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation.
• This does not mean two separate cases. The recognition may be made in the Rule 108 case itself.

Only the Filipino spouse can invoke the second paragraph of Article 26 of the Family Code, but a foreign spouse may petition a Philippine court to recognize a foreign divorce decree, which is presumptive evidence of a right; the decree and the foreign law must be proven as facts, and a civil registry annotation made without court recognition is void.

Some people try to "register" a foreign divorce at the local civil registry without going to court. Corpuz says this does not work: a registration made without a Philippine court's recognition is void and has no legal effect. In Corpuz, Gerbert himself told the Court he feared a bigamy charge if he married his fiancée in the Philippines, because two marriage certificates involving him would be on file.

Corpuz also explains who may file. The Filipino spouse uses Article 26 to have the right to remarry declared. The foreign spouse, as someone directly involved in the foreign judgment, may still ask for recognition of the decree itself. In a footnote, the Court added that a Filipino who wants to remarry must still go to court for a declaration of authority to remarry.

Made-up illustration: Liza, a Filipina, married Tom, an Australian, in Cebu. Tom later obtained a divorce in Australia and wants to marry again in the Philippines. Under Corpuz, Tom cannot use Article 26, but he may ask a Philippine court to recognize the Australian decree. He must prove both the decree and the Australian law on divorce. Liza, as the Filipino spouse, is the one who may use Article 26 to have her own capacity to remarry declared.

Corpuz builds on Republic v. Orbecido. Later cases went further: Fujiki v. Marinay applied its Rule 108 reasoning to a foreign judgment voiding a bigamous marriage, and Republic v. Manalo held that it does not matter which spouse filed for the divorce abroad. For the full picture, see is a foreign divorce valid in the Philippines. How to request a marriage certificate from the PSA is explained in the PSA marriage certificate guide.

The decision describes how foreign documents were proven under the Rules of Court in 2010. The rules on evidence may have changed since then. A lawyer can explain how foreign documents are proven today; see where to find legal help.