Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

CEN

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No. 2381

Introduced by HON. GWENDOLYN F. GARCIA

EXPLANATORY NOTE

Marriage is a special contract of permanent union between a male and a female
entered into in accordance with law for the establishment of conjugal and family life. It
is the foundation of the family and an inviolable social institution whose nature,
consequences, and incidents are governed by law and not subject to stipulation. Under
our present law, any Filipino citizen whose age is eighteen (18) years or upwards and
not under any of the impediments mentioned in Articles 37 and 38 of the Family Code,
may contract marriage.

One of the frequently encountered problems in family relations is illegitimacy of
children born out of wedlock simply because they were conceived or born at the time
their parents were not of legal age, even if there were no other legal impediments to
marry. From the legal point of view, what seems like a simple issue actually carries with
it legal consequences prejudicial to the illegitimate children, who should not be made to
suffer because of the mistake of their parents. These legal consequences include
entitlement to a share equivalent to only half of that given to legitimate children from the
estate of their parents, being barred from inheriting from the legitimate children and
relatives of their father or mother, and the condition in the law that a legitimate brother
or sister may not be compelled to support an illegitimate brother or sister if the cause for
the need of support is imputable to the claimant's fault or negligence

On the other hand, the number of teenage pregnancies and increased sexual
behavior among the youth have grown dramatically not only in the Philippines but also
throughout the world, A study conducted by the National Statistics Office reported that
of the 1.7 million babies born in 2004, almost 8 percent were born to females aged 15
and 19 years old most of who were unwed mothers, 14 to 15 percent of whom have had
induced abortion. Studies conducted by the Population Institute of the University of the
Philippines also showed 4 million Filipinos aged 15 to 19 had already experienced
sextial intercourse.

Setting a new legal age to contract a marriage in the Philippines, therefore, will
not only address the problem of illegitimacy among children born out of wedlock of
parents who are barred from marriage due to age but also will address concerns about
more young girls getting an abortion to save face from illegitimate relationships.

In the United States, vast majority of states set the minimum marrying age at 16
with a parent's permission. Georgia settled on a minimum marrying age of 16 provided
a judge approves while Kansas set the floor at 15 under the same conditions. State
laws make various exceptions for when a teen can marry before the legal age of
adulthood at 18. The state with the lowest marriage age is New Hampshire, which
allows 13-year-old girls and 14-year-old boys to marry although parents can annul their
children's marriages until the children reach 18.

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Marriage among Filipinos whose ages are below the legal standard set by the
Family Code is not new. Presidential Decree No. 1083, or the Code of Muslim Personal
Laws of 1977 set minimum marriage age among Filipino Muslims at 15 years for males
and puberty for females (female is presumed to have attained puberty at 15 years). The
1949 Civil Code of the Philippines, in fact, has set the legal marrying age of at 14 for
females and 16 for males (Art. 54, Chap.1 Title II|-Requisites of Marriage)

As it is the duty of the State to protect and strengthen the family as enshrined in
the 1987 Philippine Constitution in mind and the welfare of these children in mind, this
bill therefore seeks to amend certain provisions of Title | (Marriage) of Executive Order
No. 209, as amended by Executive Order No. 227.

Immediate approval of this bill is earnestly sought.

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HON. GWENDOLYN F. GARCIA


Republic of the Philippines
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Quezon City

SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
First Regular Session

House Bill No, 2381

Introduced by HON. GWENDOLYN F. GARCIA

AN ACT
AMENDING CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF TITLE | OF EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209,
AS AMENDED BY EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 227, OTHERWISE KNOWN AS THE
FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES, AND FOR OTHER PURPOSES

Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Congress
assembled:

SECTION 1, Article 5, Chapter 1, Title | of Executive Order No. (EO) 209, as
amended by Executive Order No. 227, otherwise known as “The Family Code of the
Philippines”, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“art, 5. Any male [or female] of the age of eighteen years AND ANY FEMALE OF
THE AGE SIXTEEN YEARS or upwards not under any of the impediments
mentioned in Articles 37 and 38, may contract marriage.”

SEC. 2. Paragraph (9), Art. 11, Chap. 1, Title | of EO 209, as amended by EO
227, is hereby amended to read as follows:

“Art. 11. Where a marriage license is required, each of the contracting parties
shall file separately a sworn application for such license with the proper local civil
registrar which shall specify the following:

XXX

(9) Full name, residence and citizenship of the guardian or person having charge,
in case the contracting party has neither father nor mother and is under the
age of twenty-one years FOR MALES AND NINETEEN FOR FEMALES."

SEC. 3. Art. 14, Chap. 1, Title | of EO 209, as amended by EO 227, is hereby
amended to read as follows:

“Art. 14. In case either or both of the contracting parties, not having been
emancipated by a previous marriage, are between the ages of eighteen and
twenty-one FOR MALES AND SIXTEEN TO NINETEEN FOR FEMALES, they
shall, in addition to the requirements of the preceding articles, exhibit to the local
civil registrar, the consent to their marriage of their father, mother, surviving
parent or guardian, or persons having legal charge of them, in the order
mentioned. Such consent shall be manifested in writing by the interested party,
who personally appears before the proper local civil registrar, or in the form of an
affidavit made in the presence of two witnesses and attested before any official
authorized by law to administer oaths. The personal manifestation shall be
recorded in both applications for marriage license, and the affidavit, if one is
executed instead, shall be attached to said applications.”


SEC. 4. Art. 15, Chap. 1, Title | of EO 209, as amended by EO 227, is hereby
amended to read as follows:

“Art. 15. Any contracting party between the age of twenty-one and twenty-five
FOR MALES AND NINETEEN TO TWENTY-THREE FOR FEMALES shall be
obliged to ask their parents or guardian for advice upon the intended marriage. If
they do not obtain such advice, or if it be unfavorable, the marriage license shall
not be issued till after three months following the completion of the publication of
the application therefor, A sworn statement by the contracting parties to the
effect that such advice has been sought, together with the written advice given, if
any, shall be attached to the application for marriage license. Should the parents
or guardian refuse to give any advice, this fact shall be stated in the sworn
statement.”

SEC. 5. Par. (1), Art. 35, Chap. 3, Title | of EO 209, as amended by EO 227, is
hereby amended to read as follows

“Art. 35. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:

(1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age FOR MALES
AND SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE FOR FEMALES even with the consent of
parents or guardians;

XXX"

SEC. 6. Par. (1) Art. 45, Chap. 3, Title Lof EO 209, as amended by EO 227, is
hereby amended to read as follows: *

“Art. 45. A marriage may be annulled for any of the following causes, existing at
the time of the marriage:

“(1) That the party in whose behalf it is sought to have the marriage annulled
was eighteen years of age or over but below twenty-one FOR A MALE OR
SIXTEEN YEARS OF AGE OR OVER BUT BELOW NINETEEN FOR A
FEMALE, and the marriage was solemnized without the consent of the parents,
guardian or person having substitute parental authority over the party, in that
order, unless after attaining the age of twenty-one FOR A MALE AND
NINETEEN FOR A FEMALE, such party freely cohabited with the other and
both lived together as husband and wife;

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SEC. 7. Par. (1), Art. 47, Chap. 3, Title | of EO 209, as amended by EO 227, is
hereby amended to read as follows:

‘Art. 47. The action for annulment of marriage must be filed by the following
persons and within the periods indicated herein:

“(1) For causes mentioned in number 1 of Article 45 by the party whose parent or
guardian did not give his or her consent, within five years after attaining the age
of twenty-one FOR MALES AND NINETEEN FOR FEMALES, or by the parent or
guardian or person having legal charge of the minor, at any time before such
party has reached the age of twenty-one FOR MALES AND NINETEEN FOR
FEMALES;

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SEC. 8. Any act or provision of law inconsistent with this Act is hereby repealed.
SEC. 9. This Act shall take effect Upon its approval

Approved,