Demystifying Annulments/Declaration of Nullity of Marriage (Part No. 2): ANNULMENT OF VOIDABLE MARRIAGES

In our previous blogpost, we emphasized that Filipinos generally use the term “annulment” for both classes of Petitions, that is,  Petition for Annulment of Voidable Marriage and Petition for Declaration of Nullity of Marriage. To a layman, both may mean the same thing: the dissolution of marriage, but they are technically and legally different as the grounds cited are not the same. 

Let's take a look at ANNULMENT OF VOIDABLE MARRIAGES. This is where the term ANNULMENT is used in the proper legal context and is referred to as ANNULMENT. 

Right off the bat, Voidable Marriages are those that are VALID until the court decides to set it aside. Art. 45 of the Family Code provides for the grounds while Sec. 3 of AM No. 02-11-10-SC provides for the proper person who may file a Petition for Annulment of Voidable Marriages using such grounds. These persons and the grounds are as follows:

1.) The contracting party whose parent, or guardian, or person exercising substitute parental authority did not give his or her consent, within five years after attaining the age of twenty-one unless, after attaining the age of twenty-one, such party freely cohabitated with the other as husband or wife; or the parent, guardian or person having legal charge of the contracting party, at any time before such party has reached the age of twenty-one;

 Comment: 

One of the basic requirements for persons between the ages of 18 and below 21 to get married is for them to secure parental consent. If the marriage was solemnized without such parental consent, the same may be raised a ground but only within 5 years after attaining the age of 21 otherwise this ground can no longer be used by the offended spouse. If your spouse is 21 and above when you got married, parental consent is no longer required for that person, but if you are between 18 and below 21, you really need it. All the same, you can ask for Annulment if you weren't able to get parental consent but only within 5 years after becoming 21. 

2.) The sane spouse who had no knowledge of the other's insanity; or by any relative, guardian, or person having legal charge of the insane, at any time before the death of either party; or by the insane spouse during the a lucid interval or after regaining sanity, provided that the petitioner, after coming to reason, has not freely cohabited with the other as husband or wife;

Comment:

You did not know your spouse was suffering from some form of insanity when you got married to him or her. The person who can file the petition using this ground is the offended spouse. That means that the spouse who is sane can file the petition, or any relative of the insane spouse, or any person which has been legally declared by the court as the insane spouse's legal guardian. When can the petition be filed? Obviously, the petition may be filed before the deaths of either spouses. The petition may even be filed by the insane spouse during a lucid interval (when there is clarity of thought and the insane spouse has become sane or has regained control of his mental faculties). 

3.) The injured party whose consent was obtained by fraud, within five years after the discovery of the fraud, provided that said party, with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, has not freely cohabited with the other as husband or wife;

Comment:

You were duped. Gi-ilad ka and you said yes after having been scammed. This ground can only be used within 5 years from discovery of the fraud which was committed. Not everything which is fraudulent may be used as a ground. The Family Code provides for certain types of fraud which may be used in support of the petition under Art. 46, and these are the following:

(1) Non-disclosure of a previous conviction by final judgment of the other party of a crime involving moral turpitude;

(2) Concealment by the wife of the fact that at the time of the marriage, she was pregnant by a man other than her husband;

(3) Concealment of sexually transmissible disease, regardless of its nature, existing at the time of the marriage; or

(4) Concealment of drug addiction, habitual alcoholism or homosexuality or lesbianism existing at the time of the marriage.

No other misrepresentation or deceit as to character, health, rank, fortune or chastity shall constitute such fraud as will give grounds for action for the annulment of marriage.

Take note, these grounds are exclusive, hence, if not stated above, no matter how fraudulent you feel it may be, tough luck, that’s not considered fraud under the law. In fact, the law makes it clear that if you were duped that your wife or husband is a haciendero/haciendera, a prince or princess with amazing treasures, of that he/she is a virgin (when in fact his/her body count runs in to the hundreds), that is not the type of fraud which that law will accept. You just got scammed.

4. The injured party whose consent was obtained by force, intimidation, or undue influence, within five years from the time the force, intimidation, or undue influence disappeared or ceased, provided that the force, intimidation, or undue influence having disappeared or ceased, said party has not thereafter freely cohabited with the other as husband or wife;

Comment:

Imagine a shotgun wedding. Or your mom, brother, sister, relative, or dog was held hostage and at gun-point such that if you won't marry him/her, you will soon receive body parts sent to you in small parcels. This is what we usually call pikot. Your consent to marry is secured because you were forced. You can file a petition using this ground once the threat, force, intimidation will disappear, but you can only do so within 5 years after it is gone. 

5. The injured party where the other spouse is physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the other and such incapability continues and appears to be incurable, within five years after the celebration of marriage; and

Comment:

Prior to getting married YOU decided that you would be saving yourselves for marriages, but it turns out, that your then partner, now spouse cannot do it with you. Let's be blunt: consummation refers to sexual union, sexual congress, intercourse, sex, etc., but in this case, your spouse cannot have sex by reason of physical inability to do so. Examples would be an imperforate vagina (there is no vulva to accept the penis during intercourse); a penis which is bent at an angle that is is physically impossible to enter the vulva. So on and so forth. Think, physical inability to have sex. No matter how much you want to, it just aint gonna happen. You can file a petition using this ground if nothing is happening down there but only within 5 years after getting married. If you decide to file it 5 years after, you can't, and you are stuck with a sexless existence with your spouse. 

6. The injured party where the other party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease found to be serious and appears to be incurable, within five years after the celebration of marriage. 

Comment:

This is self explanatory. Your spouse got a sexually transmitted infection from someone and it doesn't appear to clear or go away and appears to be incurable. This may be HIV or AIDS or any serious incurable sexually transmitted infection. The petition may be filed within 5 years after celebration of marriage. 

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I hope I was able to simplify and clarify what ANNULMENT OF VOIDABLE MARRIAGES are in the proper legal context and in a manner that may be understood by those without legal backgrounds. 

But really, when people say "annulment", this could refer to either Annulment of Voidable Marriages which we have discussed or Declaration of Nullity of Void Marriage. Sounds the same, but they are not. We'll discuss Declaration of Nullity of Void Marriage in our next blogpost. Topics such as psychological incapacity would now take center stage.