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House OKs bill legalizing church-sanctioned annulment

The House of Representatives has approved a law which seeks to recognize the civil effects of church-decreed annulment on its third and final reading.

The House Bill 6779, or “An Act Recognizing the Civil Effects of Church Annulment Decrees,” “provides that whenever a marriage, duly and legally solemnized by a priest, minister, rabbi or presiding elder of any church or religious sect in the Philippines is subsequently annulled, dissolved or declared a nullity in a final judgment or decree in accordance with the canons or precepts of the church or religious sect,” according to press release by the Congress.

The bill eliminates the costly judicial process for marriage annulment as it will enable church-annulled marriages have the same effect as an annulment granted by the court.

The final decree on the annulment or dissolution of marriage must be recorded in the appropriate civil registry within 30 days.

Meanwhile, either of the spouses may remarry provided that they present a certified true copy of the declaration of nullity, as per the certain requirements stated in Article 52 of the Family Code of the Philippines.

In addition, the bill provides the determination of the legal status of the spouses’ children, their proper custody, and the support of their spouses to them.

The bill likewise covers the mode of liquidation, partition, and distribution of properties of the spouses.

Authors of the bill are Deputy Speaker Gwendolyn Garcia and Rep. Yedda Marie Romualdez.

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