For the Philippine courts to recognize foreign divorce, the Filipino spouse must only prove that the divorce is allowed by law in the place where it was granted, the Supreme Court (SC) declared.

In a decision written by Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul B. Inting, the SC said a Filipino spouse needs to prove the law of the country where the divorce decree was obtained and not the law of the country of his or her foreign spouse.

The SC decision granted partly the petition filed by the Filipino wife who married a Peruvian citizen.  It remanded the case to the Court of Appeals (CA) for further proceedings.

The names of the persons involved in the case denominated as GR No. 253527 and posted today, June 5, in the SC website – sc.judiciary.gov.ph – were redacted by the SC.

The wife filed before the RTC her petition for recognition of foreign divorce.  On appeal, the CA reversed the trial court’s ruling.  The reversal prompted the Filipino wife to elevate the case to the SC.

In a summary of the decision, the SC’s Office of the Spokesperson said that the couple was married in New Jersey, United States of America (USA). They later lived in Kentucky, also in USA.

The summary stated that due to marital issues, the husband ended the marriage by obtaining a divorce decree from a Kentucky court.

The Filipina then filed a petition before the RTC in the Philippines to have the divorce recognized.

She submitted a copy of the divorce decree, along with printouts of Kentucky and Peruvian marriage laws.  The RTC granted her petition, but the CA reversed the ruling.

The CA ruled that she failed to prove that the divorce complied with Kentucky law and that Peruvian law allowed her husband to divorce and remarry.  It also noted that the copies she submitted were not properly authenticated.

In resolving the issue, the SC pointed out that in the recognition of foreign divorce cases, what matters is the law of the country that issued the divorce decree.

Since the divorce was granted in Kentucky, only Kentucky law needed to be proven, the SC said.

It explained that under Article 26 (2) of the Family Code, a Filipino may remarry if their foreign spouse gets a valid divorce abroad that allows them to remarry.

Philippine courts must first determine if the divorce was valid under the applicable foreign law, and the Filipino spouse must prove this law, the SC said.

It emphasized the relevance of the international law principle of comity of nations. The principle allows judicial acts of one country – such as court rulings or decrees – to be recognized in another, based on mutual respect between states; it also acknowledges the authority of a foreign state not only over its citizens but also over other individuals under its jurisdiction, like legal residents.

In this case, the SC noted that US courts may grant divorces based on a person’s legal residence, even if the person is not a US citizen, the SC said.

It also said that the Filipino spouse must prove that the foreign spouse is allowed to remarry, and this can be shown either by the divorce decree itself or the applicable foreign law that granted the divorce.

It clarified that in previous cases, the Filipino spouse was only required to prove the national law of the foreign spouse because the divorce decree was obtained from the foreign spouse’s home country.

In this case, since the divorce was granted in Kentucky, only Kentucky law needed to be proven.

However, since the Filipino wife submitted a mere printout of Kentucky law, the submission violates Rule 132, sections 24 and 25 of the Rules of Court that require foreign laws to be proved through official publications or certified copies.

With its ruling, the SC remanded the case to the CA to give the Filipina a chance to submit the proper documents.

The dispositive portion of the SC’s decision:

“Wherefore, the Petition for Review on Certiorari is partly granted. The Decision dated Sept. 8, 2020, issued by the Court of Appeals in CA-G.R. CV No. 111303, is affirmed with modification in that the Petition for Enforcement of a Foreign Decree of Divorce and Correction of Record in the Civil Registry filed before Branch 92, Regional Trial Court …, docketed as R-QZN-17-01806-CV, is ordered reinstated.

“In the interest of orderly procedure and substantial justice, the case

is hereby referred to the Court of Appeals for appropriate action, including the reception of evidence to determine and resolve the pertinent factual issues in accordance with this Decision. So ordered.”