Digests

Philippine law, under the nationality principle of Article 15 of the Civil Code, does not permit absolute divorce for its citizens. However, Article 26, Paragraph 2 of the Family Code provides an exception for a Filipino spouse married to a foreigner. Historically, this exception was strictly interpreted to apply only when the foreign spouse initiated and obtained the divorce. This case arose from the need to address the "absurd situation" where a Filipino remains married to a foreign ex-spouse who, by virtue of a foreign divorce, is no longer married to the Filipino and is free to remarry.

A foreign divorce decree, whether initiated by the Filipino or the alien spouse, is recognizable in the Philippines, provided it was validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry; the Filipino spouse shall likewise have the capacity to remarry under Philippine law.