Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Batasan Hills, Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ________ 
Introduced by Honorable Representatives 
ARLENE D. BROSAS (Gabriela Women’s Party);   
FRANCE L. CASTRO (ACT Teachers Partylist);  
and RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL (Kabataan Partylist) 
AN ACT REINTRODUCING DIVORCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 
EXPLANATORY NOTE 
Underpinning this proposal is a commitment to the policy of the State to protect and strengthen 
marriage and family as basic social institutions, to value the dignity of every human person, to 
guarantee full respect for human rights, and to ensure fundamental equality before the law of 
women and men.  
In the Filipino culture, marriage is regarded as a sacred union, and the family founded on 
marriage is considered a fountain of love, protection, and care. Philippine society generally 
frowns upon and discourages marital break-ups and provides cultural and legal safeguards to 
preserve marital relations. Cultural prescriptions and religious norms keep many couples 
together despite the breakdown of the marriage. But the cultural prescriptions for women and 
men differ. Women are traditionally regarded as primarily responsible for making the marriage 
work and are expected to sacrifice everything to preserve the marriage and the solidarity of the 
family. While wives demand absolute fidelity, men are granted sexual license to have affairs 
outside marriage. Yet when the marriage fails, the woman is blamed for its failure.  
Reality tells us that many failed, unhappy marriages are across all Filipino classes. Many 
couples, especially from the marginalized sectors, who have no access to the courts, simply end 
up separating without the benefit of legal processes. The number of petitions filed since 1988 for 
the declaration of the nullity of marriage under Article 36 of the Family Code shows that there 
are just too many couples who are desperate to get out of failed marriages.  
Even when couples start well in their marriage, political, economic, and social realities take their 
toll on their relationship. Some are not prepared to handle the intricacies of married life. For 
many women, the inequalities and violence in marriage negate its ideals as the embodiment of 
love, care, and safety, and erode the bases upon which a marriage is founded. The marital 
relations facilitate the commission of violence and perpetuate their oppression. Official figures 
show that 14.4% of married women experience physical violence, and 23% experience 
August 22, 2022
8:00 am
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emotional violence, from their husbands. According to the Philippine National Police, within the 
context of rising VAW incidence from 2004 to 2012, physical injuries account for 21%.  
Since the ratification of the Philippine Constitution in 1987, many things beyond the control of 
spouses have happened to our society that puts tremendous pressure on Filipino families' 
stability. Our government has intensified its labor export program, tearing hundreds of 
thousands of families apart and forcing couples to make do with long-distance relationships, 
aggravating their vulnerabilities to marital indiscretions and resulting in rising incidences of 
Overseas Filipino Workers seeking to annul or nullify their marriages. Moreover, as a result of 
one economic crisis after another, with endless increases in the prices of basic commodities 
and attended by the government's abandonment of the State's responsibility to provide essential 
social services, husbands and wives are both forced to work multiple odd-jobs and do extra 
labor hours to augment their devalued income. This reduces the quality time necessary to 
nourish family relationships. The interconnectivity brought about by advances in modern 
transportation and information technology has also increased the number of mixed foreign 
marriages among Filipinos, exposing them to alien family cultures that often grate against their 
marriages. 
These social forces constitute a veritable assault on the Filipino family, shoving upwards the 
number of couples looking for an escape hatch from their troubled marriages other than those 
already provided by our marriage laws. According to the Department of Justice, petitions for 
nullity and annulment have significantly risen – more than doubled - from 4,520 in 2001 to 
10,528 in 2011. If the 2011 figure is to be broken down, this means 29.6 petitions a day. 
Interestingly, the figure refers only to annulment and declaration of nullity of cases invoking the 
grounds for psychological incapacity and inherent defects in the validity of the marriage. It does 
not include legal separation and annulment based on other grounds such as presumptive death 
(read: abandonment). It also does not include marital dissolution cases based on petitions for 
judicial recognition of divorce decrees obtained in foreign forums, which constitute 47% of the 
total marital dissolution cases handled by our courts, suggesting a growing number of aggrieved 
parties who are using foreign judicial systems to skirt around the absence of divorce law in the 
country.     
Based on the results of the Social Weather Survey (SWS) released in 2018, 53 percent of 
Filipino adults or 1 out of 2 Filipinos agree to legalize divorce for irreconcilably separated 
couples. This disproves notions that only a small portion of Filipinos are supportive of the 
proposed measure.  
Given these realities, couples must have the option to avail of remedies that will pave the way 
for attaining their full human development and self-fulfillment and protecting their human rights. 
Existing laws are not enough to guarantee and protect these rights. To quote the Women's 
Legal Bureau, Inc., a legal resource NGO for women:  
'The present laws relating to separation of couples and termination of marriage 
are inadequate to respond to the myriad causes of failed marriages. Particularly, 
the remedies of declaration of nullity and annulment do not cover the problems 
that occur during the existence of marriage. Legal separation, on the other hand, 
while covering problems during marriage, does not put an end to marriage.' 
'Though divorce and a declaration of nullity of marriage allow the spouses to 
remarry, the two remedies differ in concept and basis. A declaration of nullity 
presupposes that the marriage is void from the beginning, and the court declares 


its non-existence… Beyond [the] grounds specified [in the law], declaration of 
nullity is not possible.' 
'In an annulment, the marriage of the parties is declared defective from the 
beginning, albeit it is considered valid until annulled. The defect can be used to 
nullify the marriage within a specified period but the same may be ignored and 
the marriage becomes perfectly valid after the lapse of that period, or the defect 
may be cured through some act. The defect relates to the time of the celebration 
of the marriage and has nothing to do with circumstances occurring after the 
marriage is celebrated. In annulment, the marriage is legally cancelled, and the 
man and woman are restored to their single status.' 
'Since August 3, 1988, couples have been given a way out of failed marriages 
through Article 36… The remedy provided under Article 36 is declaration of nullity 
of the marriage. The article voids a marriage where one party is 'psychologically 
incapacitated' to comply with the essentials of marital obligations. Consistent with 
the concept of void marriages (where the remedy is declaration of nullity), the law 
requires that the incapacity must have existed at the time of the celebration of the 
marriage…In practice, Article 36 has become a form of divorce, as valid 
marriages are declared void every day in the guise of 'psychological incapacity. 
The innumerable Article 36 cases brought to trial courts are an indication of the 
elasticity of Article 36 to accommodate the needs of many couples desiring to 
terminate their marriages. It is proof that divorce is needed in the Philippines. 
Article 36 provides a remedy only for spouses who can prove 'psychological 
incapacity. The concept certainly cannot accommodate all cases where divorce 
would be necessary. What we need is a divorce law that defines clearly and 
unequivocally the grounds and terms for terminating a marriage. That law will put 
an end to the creative efforts played daily in courtrooms across the country to 
accommodate a wide range of cases in order to prove 'psychological incapacity' 
(Women's Legal Bureau, The Relevance of Divorce in the Philippines, 1998). 
Thus, this bill seeks to introduce divorce as another option for couples in failed and irreparable 
marriages.  
Historically, divorce had been part of our legal system. At the beginning of the 16th century, 
before the Spanish colonial rule, absolute divorce was widely practiced among ancestral tribes 
such as the Tagbanwas of Palawan, the Gadangs of Nueva Vizcaya, the Sagadas and Igorots 
of the Cordilleras, and the Manobos, B'laans and Moslems of the Visayas and Mindanao 
islands. Divorce was also available during the American period, starting from 1917 (under Act 
No. 2710 enacted by the Philippine Legislature), during the Japanese occupation (under 
Executive Order No. 141), and until 1950. Only on August 30, 1950, when the New Civil Code 
took effect, that divorce was disallowed under Philippine law. Only legal separation was 
available. The same rule was adopted by the Family code of 1988, which replaced the 
provisions of the New Civil Code on marriage and the family. However, the Family Code 
introduced the concept of psychological incapacity as a basis for declaring the marriage void.  
In recognition of the history of divorce in the Philippines, the framers of the 1987 Constitution left 
the wisdom of legalizing divorce to Congress. Thus, the 1987 Constitution does not prohibit the 
legalization of divorce.  


Given the country's history, the bill seeks to restore divorce as a rights-based option for the 
majority of Filipinos, an option based on the recognition that the right to enter into a marriage 
contract has the corresponding spousal right to end such contract when it has reached the point 
of irreparability. The filing of this bill is anchored on a strong sense of confidence that it will be 
used responsibly by Filipino couples. This confidence stems from the experiences of Filipino 
families that show that separation is usually the last resort of many Filipino couples whose 
marriage has failed. Cases of battered women also support this. Battered women seek 
separation only after so many years of trying to make the marriage work; separation only 
becomes imperative for them when they realize it is necessary for their and their children's 
survival. Divorce could protect battered women and their children from further violence and 
abuse. With the predominance of the Catholic faith in the Philippines, the fear that divorce will 
erode personal values on marriage appears unfounded. The experience of Italy, where the 
Vatican is located, and Spain, two predominantly Catholic countries which practice divorce, 
support this. Historically, those countries have a low rate of divorce. Italy has a divorce rate of 
181 per 1000 married population, while the divorce rate in Spain has experienced a decline 
since 2007.   
This bill is respectful of and sensitive to differing religious beliefs in the Philippines. It recognizes 
that the plurality of religious beliefs and cultural sensibilities in the Philippines demand that 
different remedies for failed marriages be made available. For this reason, the bill retains the 
existing remedies of legal separation, annulment, and declaration of nullity of the marriage, and 
only adds divorce as one more remedy. Couples may choose from these remedies depending 
on their situation, religious beliefs, cultural sensibilities, needs, and emotional State. While 
divorce under this proposed measure severs the bond of marriage, divorce as a remedy need 
not be for the purpose of remarriage; it may be resorted to by individuals to achieve peace of 
mind and facilitate their pursuit of full human development.  
This bill also seeks to make Philippine law consistent with how it treats religious beliefs with 
respect to termination of marriage. Philippine law, through the Code of Muslim Personal Laws of 
the Philippines (Presidential Decree No. 1983 [1977]), allows divorce among Filipino Muslims, in 
deference to the Islamic faith that recognizes divorce. Non-Muslim Filipinos should have the 
same option under Philippine law, in accordance with their religious beliefs.     
This bill, which was first filed in 2005 under the 13th Congress, was crafted in consultation with 
women lawyers and inspired by the studies and inputs of various women's groups, pro-divorce 
advocates who have organized themselves through the social media, and the experiences of 
spouses gathered by GABRIELA and Gabriela Women's Party from its various chapters 
nationwide. It was re-filed in the 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, and 18th Congresses. In the 17th 
Congress, a thorough deliberation of several versions filed resulted in a consolidated version 
that was eventually passed in the Lower House on Third Reading but failed to advance in the 
Senate. During the 18th Congress, the bill was approved on first reading in the House 
Committee on Women and Gender Equality in August 2021. 
This bill reflects the consolidated version with some additions, such as the recognition of a 
divorce decree obtained abroad and additional grounds for annulment, which can also be 
considered grounds for obtaining a divorce decree.  
This bill proposes the following grounds for granting a judicial decree of divorce, premised on 
the irreparable breakdown of the marriage and the total non-performance of marital obligations:  


1. The existing grounds for legal separation under Article 55 of the Family Code of the
Philippines, modified to include, among others: serious physical or sexual violence to highlight
not just the number of times the violence was inflicted, but the severity or gravity of violence
committed; chronic gambling; and bisexuality;
2. When the spouses are legally separated by judicial decree for more than two (2) years;
3. Grounds for annulment of marriage under Article 45 of the Family Code of the Philippines,
which are restated as follows:
1. That the party in whose behalf it is sought to have the marriage annulled was eighteen
(18) years of age or over but below twenty-one (21), 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 (21),
such party freely cohabited with the other and both lived together as husband and wife;
2. That either party was of unsound mind, unless such party after coming to reason,
freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;
3. That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless such party afterwards,
with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, freely cohabited with the other as
husband and wife;
4. That the consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue
influence, unless the same having disappeared or ceased, such party thereafter freely
cohabited with the other as husband and wife;
5. That either party was physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the
other, and such incapacity continues or appears to be incurable;
6. Either party was afflicted with a sexually transmissible infection found to be serious or
appears to be incurable:
Provided, That the grounds mentioned in numbers 2, 5 and 6 may either be existing at 
the time of the marriage or supervening after the marriage; 
4. When the spouses have been separated in fact for at least five (5) years at the time the
petition for absolute divorce is filed, and reconciliation is highly improbable;
5. Psychological incapacity of either spouse;
6. When one of the spouses undergoes gender reassignment surgery or transitions from one
sex to another;
7. Irreconcilable marital differences and conflicts which have resulted in the total breakdown of
the marriage beyond repair, despite earnest and repeated efforts at reconciliation;
8. When a decree of divorce has been validly obtained abroad, the same shall be recognized in
this country after a determination by a Philippine court that the divorce was based among the
grounds for granting absolute divorce in the Philippines.


9. When a foreign spouse disappears, and, despite efforts of the the Filipino spouse, cannot be
located or communicated with, for at least four (4) years;
Not all circumstances and situations that cause the total breakdown of a marriage could be 
defined in this proposed measure. Thus, the bill also provides that divorce may be granted when 
the spouses suffer irreconcilable differences that have caused the irreparable breakdown of the 
marriage. Spouses living in a state of irreparable marital conflict or discord should be given the 
opportunity to present their marital contrarieties in court and have those differences adjudged as 
constituting a substantial ground to put an end to the marriage.  
Under the proposed measure, a decree of divorce dissolves the absolute community or conjugal 
partnership of gains. The assets shall be equally divided between the spouses. However, this 
bill also proposes that in addition to his or her equal share in the assets, the spouse who is not 
gainfully employed shall be entitled to support until he or she finds adequate employment. Still, 
the right shall only be effective for not more than two (2) years, or until the spouse who is 
receiving spousal support remarries. This provision is meant to address the economic 
deprivation or poverty many women experience due to marital break-up.  
The bill also proposes that the judicial court shall decide the custody of any minor child in 
accordance with the child's best interests and their support provided in accordance with the 
Family Court provisions on support. Actual, moral, and exemplary damages shall be awarded to 
the aggrieved spouse when proper in accordance with the provisions of the Civil Code of the 
Philippines on damages.  
Furthermore, the bill exempts cases which involve acts of violence against women and their 
children under RA No. 9262, or attempts against the life of the other spouse, a common child, or 
a child of the petitioner, from the recognition of reconciliation.  
The Philippines is the only remaining country in the world without a divorce law. The sanctity of 
marriage is not based on the number of marriages existing but on the quality of marital 
relationships. When marriage is no longer viable, divorce should be an option. This bill is being 
introduced based on indications that the Philippine society is ready for the legalization of 
divorce. 
In view of the foregoing, the passage of this bill is earnestly sought. 
ARLENE D. BROSAS 
Gabriela Women’s Party 
FRANCE L. CASTRO 
RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL 
ACT Teachers Partylist 
Kabataan Partylist 


Republic of the Philippines 
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
Batasan Hills, Quezon City 
NINETEENTH CONGRESS 
First Regular Session 
HOUSE BILL NO. ________ 
Introduced by Honorable Representatives 
ARLENE D. BROSAS (Gabriela Women’s Party);   
FRANCE L. CASTRO (ACT Teachers Partylist);  
and RAOUL DANNIEL A. MANUEL (Kabataan Partylist) 
AN ACT REINTRODUCING DIVORCE IN THE PHILIPPINES 
Be it enacted by the Senate and the House of Representatives of the Philippines in Congress 
assembled: 
SECTION 1.  Short Title. – This Act shall be known as the “Absolute Divorce Act”. 
SECTION 2.  Declaration of Policy. – While the State continues to protect and preserve 
marriage as a social institution and as the foundation of the family, it shall also give the 
opportunity to spouses in irremediably failed marriages to secure an absolute divorce decree as 
an alternative mode for the dissolution of an irreparably broken or dysfunctional marriage under 
limited grounds and well-defined judicial procedures; save the children from the pain, stress, 
and agony consequent to their parents’ constant marital clashes or irreconcilable separation; 
and grant the divorced spouses the right to marry again for another chance to achieve marital 
bliss.  
SECTION 3.  Guiding Principles. – The following shall be the guiding principles of this 
Act: 
1.
Absolute divorce shall be judicially decreed after the fact of an irremediably
broken marriage. 
2.
The State shall assure that the court proceedings for the grant of absolute
divorce shall be affordable, expeditious, and inexpensive. 
3.
Concerned spouses have the option to file for absolute divorce under this Act or
seek legal separation, annulment of marriage or nullification of marriage under the pertinent 
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provisions of Executive Order (EO) No. 209, otherwise known as the Family Code of the 
Philippines (the Family Code). 
 
4. 
The option of absolute divorce is a pro-woman legislation because in most cases, 
it is the wife who is entitled to a divorce as a liberation from an abusive relationship and to help 
her regain dignity and self-esteem. 
 
5. 
A six-month cooling-off period is instituted after the filing of a petition for absolute 
divorce as a final attempt for reconciliation of concerned spouses. 
 
6. 
A divorce decree shall include provisions for the care and custody of children, 
protection of their legitimes, termination and liquidation of the conjugal partnership of gains or 
the absolute community, and alimony for the aggrieved or innocent spouse. 
 
7. 
Even as absolute divorce is reinstituted, the State has the mandate of 
strengthening marriage and family life by undertaking, among others, relevant prenuptial and 
post-matrimonial programs and activities adequately funded by the government.  
 
SECTION 4.  Definition of Terms. – As used in this Act: 
a) 
Abandonment refers to the act of a spouse of leaving the conjugal home without 
justifiable cause and with a deliberate intention of creating a perpetual separation.  The 
desertion amounts to an absolute cessation of marital relations, rights and duties.  The 
abandonment may also be physical estrangement, or financial desertion; 
 
b) 
Absolute divorce refers to the judicial dissolution of a marriage or the termination 
of the bond of matrimony where the spouses return to their status of being single with the right 
to contract marriage again; 
 
c) 
Alcoholism refers to excessive consumption of alcoholic beverages at a level that 
interferes with physical or mental health, and social, family, or occupational responsibilities; 
 
d) 
Alimony refers to spousal support made under court order to a divorced person 
by the former spouse; 
 
e) 
Bigamous marriage refers to a second or subsequent marriage contracted before 
the former marriage has been legally dissolved, or before the absent spouse has been declared 
presumptively dead by means of a judgment rendered in the proper proceedings; 
 
f) 
Child refers to a descendant of the first degree by birth, and shall include an 
offspring by legal adoption or one whose custody and care is judicially decreed to be given to a 
guardian; 
 
g) 
Child custody refers to the parental authority and care of a child as decreed by a 
competent court when the parents of the child are divorced; 
 
h) 
Child support refers to a method of compensating a parent needing financial 
support for raising and sheltering a child or children by the other parent who has the means to 
pay for the expenses associated with child support. The proper court shall determine the 


 
payments, based on the income level of the parent giving support and the needs of the child or 
children requiring support; 
 
i) 
Chronic gambling refers to a disorder of impulse control in which a person makes 
habitual waging in games of chance which compromise, disrupt or damage family, work and 
social relations, and vocational pursuits; 
 
j) 
Competent court refers to the proper family court established under Republic Act 
(RA) No. 8369 or the “Family Courts Act of 1997”, which shall exercise jurisdiction both over the 
absolute divorce proceeding and the persons of the petitioner and respondent spouses; 
 
k) 
Court-assisted petitioner refers to a petitioner-spouse who has personal or real 
properties not exceeding two million five hundred thousand pesos (PhP2,500,000.00); 
 
l) 
Domestic or marital abuse refers to violence or aggressive behavior within the 
home, typically involving the violent abuse of a spouse by the other which may be committed 
through: 
(1) physical violence, 
(2) psychological and emotional violence, 
(3) sexual violence, or  
(4) economic abuse; 
 
m) 
Drug addiction refers to habitual dependence on a prohibited drug or drugs; 
 
n)  
Insanity refers to a neurologic or psychiatric condition characterized by the 
existence of a recognizable, clinically-significant disturbance in an individual's cognition, 
emotional regulation, or behavior that reflects a genetic or acquired dysfunction in the 
neurological, psychosocial, or developmental process underlying mental functioning; 
   
o) Irreconcilable differences refer to the substantial incompatibility of the spouses due to 
their intransigence or fault by holding on to divergent and divisive behavior resulting to the total 
breakdown of their marriage which could not be repaired despite earnest efforts to reconcile;  
 
p) Legitime refers to the portion of a parent's estate from which they cannot disinherit the 
children, without sufficient legal cause; 
 
q) Marital infidelity refers to the extramarital sexual relations of a spouse; 
 
r) Overseas Filipinos refer to Filipino migrant workers, other Filipino nationals and their 
dependents abroad or as defined under Section 3 of Republic Act (RA) No. 8042, as amended, 
otherwise known as the “Migrant Workers and Overseas Filipinos Act of 1995”;  
 
s) Psychological incapacity refers to the condition provided for in Article 36 of the Family 
Code which warrants the nullity of a marriage; 
 
t) Summary judicial proceedings refer to an expeditious manner of resolving a petition for 
absolute divorce without regard to technical rules and the petitioner is given the option to be 
assisted or not by a lawyer. The proper court may allow presentation of evidence ex parte as 
warranted by circumstances. The decision shall be immediately final and executory; 
 
 


 
 
SECTION 5. Grounds for Absolute Divorce. – The following are the grounds for a judicial 
decree of absolute divorce: 
a) 
The grounds for legal separation under Article 55 of the Family Code of the 
Philippines, modified or amended, as follows: 
 
(1) 
Physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a 
common child, or a child of the petitioner; 
(2) 
Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious 
or political affiliation; 
(3) 
Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a 
child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption 
or inducement; 
(4) 
Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six (6) 
years, even if pardoned; 
(5) 
Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism or chronic gambling of the respondent; 
(6) 
Homosexuality or bisexuality of the respondent; 
(7) 
Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in 
the Philippines or abroad; 
(8) 
Marital infidelity or perversion or having a child with another person other than 
one’s spouse during the marriage, except when upon the mutual agreement of 
the spouses, a child is born to them by in vitro or a similar procedure, or when 
the wife bears a child after being a victim of rape; 
(9) 
Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner, a common child or a 
child of the petitioner; 
(10) 
Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than 
one (1) year; 
 
b) 
Grounds for annulment of marriage under Article 45 of the Family Code of the 
Philippines, restated as follows: 
 
(1) 
The party in whose behalf it is sought to have the marriage annulled was 
eighteen (18) years of age or over but below twenty-one (21), 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 (21), such party freely cohabited with the other and both 
lived together as husband and wife; 
(2) 
Either party was of unsound mind, unless such party after coming to reason, 
freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife; 
(3) 
The consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless such party afterwards, 
with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, freely cohabited with the 
other as husband and wife; 
(4) 
The consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue 
influence, unless the same having disappeared or ceased, such party thereafter 
freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;  
(5) 
Either party was physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the 
other, and such incapacity continues or appears to be incurable; 
(6) 
Either party was afflicted with a sexually transmissible infection found to be 
serious or appears to be incurable: 
 


 
Provided, That the grounds mentioned in numbers 2, 5 and 6 existed either at the time of 
the marriage or supervenes after the marriage; 
 
c) 
Psychological incapacity of either spouse as provided for in Article 36 of the 
Family Code of the Philippines, whether or not the incapacity existed at the time of the marriage 
or supervenes after the marriage; 
 
d) 
When the spouses are legally separated by judicial decree for more than two (2) 
years, either spouse can petition the proper court for an absolute divorce based on said judicial 
decree of legal separation;   
 
e) 
When the spouses have been separated in fact for at least five (5) years at the 
time the petition for absolute divorce is filed, and reconciliation is highly improbable;  
 
f) 
When a foreign spouse disappears, and, despite efforts of the the Filipino 
spouse, cannot be located or communicated with, for at least four (4) years; 
 
g) 
Irreconcilable marital differences as defined under Section 4.o. 
 
h) 
Other forms of domestic or marital abuse as defined under Section 4.I. 
 
The grant of absolute divorce based on domestic or marital abuse or violation of RA No. 
9262, otherwise known as the "Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004", 
shall be without prejudice to the prosecution of the errant spouse under the said Act.  
 
i)  
When a valid foreign divorce has been secured by either the alien or Filipino 
spouse. 
 
 j) 
When a marriage is nullified or dissolved by the proper canonical tribunal of the 
Roman Catholic Church or any other recognized religious sect or denomination which may have 
their own ecclesiastical tribunal, the said nullified or dissolved marriage shall constitute a ground 
for divorce or shall have the effect of a divorce under this Act, without going through the judicial 
process, when it is authenticated by the proper authorities of the Roman Catholic Church or any 
other recognized religious sect or denomination, and registered with the proper civil registrar in 
the Philippines.  
 
SECTION 6. Procedure for Obtaining Absolute Divorce. – (a) The established and 
recognized procedures for securing legal separation, annulment and declaration of nullity of 
marriage under the Family Code, as far as practicable, and not in conflict with this Act, shall 
govern the process of obtaining a judicial decree of absolute divorce from the proper family 
court.  
 
(b) The procedure shall commence by the filing of a verified petition for absolute divorce. 
Both spouses may file a verified joint petition for absolute divorce under Sections 5 d), e), i) and 
j) of this Act. The petitioner may also file for a court-assisted petition under Section 7 of this Act.  
 
(c) All creditors of the absolute community or of the conjugal partnership of gains, as well 
as the personal creditors of the spouses, shall be listed in the petition for absolute divorce and 


 
notified of the filing thereof.  The court shall take measures to protect the creditors and other 
persons with pecuniary interest. 
 
(d) The factors and grounds which militate against the grant of legal separation and the 
annulment and nullity of marriages as provided for in the Family Code shall likewise be 
assessed, based on competent and credible proof, against the grant of absolute divorce. 
 
(e) No decree of absolute divorce shall be based upon a stipulation of facts or a 
confession of judgment. 
 
(f) The procedure for obtaining absolute divorce shall not exceed 1 (one) year from the 
date of filing of the verified petition.  
 
SECTION 7. Application for a Court-assisted Petition. Petitioner may apply for a court-
assisted petition in obtaining absolute divorce. Upon application of a court-assisted petition, the 
proper court shall waive the payment of all forms of filing fees and other costs of litigation and 
appoint a counsel de oficio in favor of court-assisted petitioner or petitioners and shall assign 
such number of social workers, psychologists, and psychiatrist as may be necessary from a 
pool of accredited social workers and practitioners recognized by the Department of Social 
Welfare and Development (DSWD), and the Department of Justice (DOJ), to assist the 
petitioner or petitioners, free of charge. 
 
SECTION 8. Overseas Filipinos. – Petitioners who are Overseas Filipinos shall be given 
priority by the proper court with respect to the hearing of their petitions and the court shall set 
the reception of evidence, upon the availability of the petitioners, for not more than two (2) 
consecutive days. 
 
SECTION 9. Summary Judicial Proceedings. – The following grounds for absolute 
divorce may be subject to summary judicial proceedings as defined in Section 4.t: 
(a) 
When the spouses have been separated de facto for at least five (5) years; 
(b)      When one of the spouses has contracted a bigamous marriage; 
(c) 
When the spouses have been legally separated by judicial decree for at least two 
(2) years;  
(d) 
When one of the spouses has been sentenced to imprisonment for six (6) years, 
even if subsequently pardoned; and 
(e) 
When one of the spouses has undergone a sex reassignment surgery or has 
transitioned into another sex. 
 
SECTION 10. Mandatory Six-Month Cooling-Off Period. – Except for grounds under 
summary judicial proceedings, the proper court shall not start the trial of a petition for absolute 
divorce before the expiration of a six-month cooling-off period after the filing of the petition 
during which the court shall exercise all efforts to reunite and reconcile the parties.  


 
The requirement of a cooling-off period shall not apply in cases which involve acts of 
violence against women and their children under RA No. 9262, otherwise known as the “Anti-
Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004”, or attempt against the life of the other 
spouse, a common child, or a child of the petitioner. 
 
SECTION 10. Waiver of Expert Testimony. – Expert testimony shall be dispensed with 
unless the court decides that such testimony is indispensable in deciding the petition for 
absolute divorce. 
 
 SECTION 11. Effects of Absolute Divorce. – The decree of absolute divorce shall have 
the following effects: 
a) 
The marriage bond shall be severed and the divorced spouses shall have the 
right to contract marriage again; 
 
b) 
The custody of the minor children shall be decided by the proper court in 
accordance with the best interests of the children, subject to the provisions of Article 213 of the 
Family Code of the Philippines taking into primary consideration that no child under seven (7) 
years of age shall be separated from the mother, unless the proper court finds compelling 
reasons to order otherwise; 
 
c) 
The conjugal partnership of gains or the absolute community shall be dissolved 
and liquidated and the assets shall be equally divided between the spouses, excluding the 
paraphernal or exclusive properties of either spouse.  The recognition and delivery of the 
presumptive legitime to the common children shall be ordered by the court, taking into 
consideration the interests of the children and the protection of their legitime from dissipation.  
The presumptive legitime shall be computed as of the date of the finality of the decree of 
absolute divorce.  The partition and distribution of the properties of the spouses and the delivery 
of the children’s presumptive legitime shall be recorded in the appropriate civil registry and 
registry of deeds, otherwise the same shall not affect third persons; 
 
d) 
For petitions granted under Section 5 (e) of this Act, the properties acquired by 
either spouse from the start of the spouses’ separation in fact shall not be considered as part of 
their conjugal partnership of gains or absolute community; 
  
e) 
In addition to the equal share in the net assets of the absolute community or 
conjugal partnership, the petitioner who is not gainfully employed shall be entitled to spousal 
support or alimony from the respondent until the petitioner finds adequate employment: 
Provided, that the support shall not exceed two (2) years from the finality of the decree of 
absolute divorce, or shall cease upon the petitioner’s remarriage; Provided, further, that the right 
to support shall be subject to the provisions of Article 201 of the Family Code of the Philippines 
where the amount of support shall be in proportion to the resources or means of the obligor and 
to the necessities of the obligee; 
 
f) 
The proper court shall have the discretion to grant spousal support or alimony, 
child support, and child custody pursuant to the pertinent provisions of the Family Code of the 
Philippines, and impose contempt of court against the defaulting parties.  The necessity of 
alimony and the amount shall be determined by the court taking into consideration all relevant 
factors;  


 
 
g) 
The petitioner may revoke the donations made in favor of the respondent, as well 
as the designation of the latter as a beneficiary in any insurance policy, even if such designation 
be stipulated as irrevocable.  The revocation of the donations shall be recorded in the registries 
of properties in the places where the properties are located.  Alienations, liens and 
encumbrances registered in good faith before the recording of the complaint of revocation in the 
registry of property shall be respected.  The revocation of or a change in the designation of the 
insurance beneficiary shall take effect upon written notification thereof to the insured. 
   
The action to revoke the donation under this provision must be brought within five (5) 
years from the time the decree of absolute divorce has become final; 
h) 
The effects on the divorced spouses with respect to intestate succession, 
testamentary dispositions, donations and insurance provisions on beneficiaries in accordance 
with the Family Code of the Philippines and jurisprudence will be observed; and 
 
i) 
The legitimate and adopted children of divorced parents shall retain their legal 
status and legitimacy; a child conceived or born within three hundred (300) days after the filing 
of a petition for absolute divorce shall be considered legitimate, unless the ground for divorce is 
the marital infidelity of the wife. 
 
SECTION 12. Award for Damages. – The proper court may, as warranted by evidence, 
award actual, moral, and exemplary damages as provided for under the New Civil Code to the 
innocent spouse against the errant spouse. 
 
 
SECTION 13. Conversion of Pending Petitions. - Parties who have pending petitions 
under Articles 36, 45, and 55 of the Family Code of the Philippines may convert their petitions to 
an action for absolute divorce under this Act without paying filing fees. 
 
SECTION 14. Recognition of Reconciliation. - If the spouses have agreed to reconcile at 
any stage of the proceedings but before finality of judgment, a corresponding joint manifestation 
under oath duly signed by them shall be filed with the same court where the petition for absolute 
divorce was filed with the interests of the children duly protected. The plan to reconcile shall 
terminate the absolute divorce proceedings. 
The recognition of reconciliation shall not apply in cases which involve acts of violence 
against women and their children under RA No. 9262, otherwise known as the “Anti-Violence 
Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004”, or attempt against the life of the other spouse, 
a common child, or a child of the petitioner. 
 
SECTION 15. Penalty. – A spouse who is a party to a petition for absolute divorce who 
is found by the court to have used threats or coercion to compel the other spouse in filing the 
petition shall be punished with imprisonment of five (5) years and a fine of two hundred 
thousand pesos (PhP200,000.00).   
Any parent in default of providing the required child support under this Act shall be 
charged be considered in contempt of court and shall be imposed a fine of: 


 
(a) 
Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00) for the first default, 
(b) 
One hundred thousand pesos (P100,000.00) for the second default, and 
(c) 
Two hundred thousand pesos (P200,000.00) each for the third and the 
succeeding defaults. 
 
SECTION 16. Options and Remedies. – The concerned spouse shall have the option to 
file a petition for dissolution of marriage, annulment of marriage, or legal separation under 
Articles 36, 45, and 55, respectively, of the Family Code of the Philippines.   
 
SECTION 17. Community-based Pre-nuptial and Post-matrimonial Programs and 
Activities. - The National Government, through the DSWD, shall fund the implementation of 
community-based pre-nuptial, reconciliatory phase or cooling-off counseling, and post-
matrimonial programs and activities aimed at strengthening the marital and family life of 
Filipinos. 
These social welfare interventions, which will protect the stability of Filipino Families, 
which will protect the stability of Filipino Families, will be instituted by DSWD, in provinces, 
cities, and clusters of municipalities in the entire country, while observing the local cultures and 
customs that are prevalent in each locality. 
 
SECTION 18. Community-Based Women’s Desk. - The frontline desk in every barangay 
established under RA No. 9710, or the “Magna Carta of Women,” shall be readily available and 
easily accessible to provide support and assistance to victims, especially women, of all forms of 
abuse and acts of violence identified under this Act and those provided under RA No. 9262, or 
the “Anti-Violence Against Women and Their Children Act of 2004”. 
 
SECTION 19. Appropriations. The amount necessary for the initial implementation of this 
Act shall be charged against the current year’s appropriations of the DSWD and the DOJ. 
Thereafter, such sums as may be necessary for the implementation of this Act shall be included 
in the annual General Appropriations Act.  
 
SECTION 20. Implementing Rules and Regulations. – The DSWD as the lead agency, 
together with the DOJ, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW), the National Youth 
Commission (NYC), and at least two (2) representatives from women’s organizations, to be 
appointed by the PCW in consultation with civil society and women’s organizations, shall 
promulgate the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) within sixty (60) days after the 
effectivity of this Act. 
 
SECTION 21. Separability Clause. – If any part or provision of this Act is held invalid or 
unconstitutional, the other provisions not affected thereby shall remain in force and effect. 
 


 
SECTION 22. Repealing Clause. – All laws, executive orders, issuances, decrees, rules 
and regulations inconsistent with or contrary to the provisions of this Act are deemed amended, 
modified or repealed accordingly.  
 
SECTION 23. Effectivity. – This Act shall take effect fifteen (15) days after its publication 
in the Official Gazette or in a newspaper of general circulation. 
  
 
Approved,