Q. First of all, may God bless you for helping people in all their problems? I am divorced and planning to get married soon. My first marriage was in the Philippines. My question is, am I allowed to marry again in the Philippines. I am a Canadian citizen, by the way. I don’t know if that matters. Thank you very much. MM
1. Hi MM, thank your for writing. Just to clarify things. You claimed to be a divorcee. This column assumes that at the time you were able to secure your divorce you were already a Canadian Citizen. And that this divorce pertains to your first marriage in the Philippines.
Your divorce in effect dissolved your first marriage in the Philippines. If the assumption hereof is true, then you may legally get married in the Philippines. Just be sure to make handy proof of your citizenship and the Divorce Decree/Judgment duly authenticated by the Court who issued it and as well as by the Philippine consulate in Canada.
Thus, in your case, and where the divorce is validly obtained in Canada, whether contested or uncontested, it follows therefore that your marriage in the Philippines, both under the Canadian and Philippine laws, are deemed severed and for all legal intents and purposes.
What is paramount in your situation is that at the time you were able to secure your divorce, you were already a Canadian citizen. Otherwise, that divorce cannot have a binding and legal effect in Philippine jurisdiction. Good luck and best wishes. Thank you for writing.
And if the one you are marrying there is a Filipino citizen, you will also be required to secure from the Canadian Consulate in the Philippines, a Certificate of Capacity to Marry under Canadian law. This certificate will be required when applying for marriage license in the Philippines.
As a rule, there is NO NEED for your to initiate annulment of your previous marriage in the Philippines should you decide to get married there. However, and considering that you will be sponsoring your spouse later to Canada, it is more prudent for immigration purposes, to file a petition in court in the Philippines, for judicial recognition of your divorce decree issued by the Canadian Court.
This process could save you a lot of time and hassle in dealing with the bureaucracy in the Philippines more particularly in your application for the issuance of marriage license.
This procedure is summary in nature and will not take much time. Once, the Philippine court issue the recognition of the Divorce Judgment or Decree issued by the Canadian court, it will also order the Civil Register General of the Philippines, through National Census and statistics Office (NCSO) to enter into record that your previous marriage, as a Canadian Citizen has been terminated or resolved by virtue of your divorced in Canada.
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