What Is the Legal Age for Marriage in the Philippines and Why

In a victory for children`s health, safety and human rights, the Philippines has enacted a new law designed to prevent and end child marriage. Although President Rodrigo Duterte signed the law on December 10, 2021, it was not released by Malacañang until January 6, 2022. In the Philippines, one in six girls is married before the age of 18. Child marriage has a number of negative effects on the health and lives of young people, especially young girls, triggering a continuum of human rights violations that continue throughout a person`s life. The Philippines is committed to the ASEAN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and Violence against Children (2013), which recognizes the importance of strengthening ASEAN`s efforts to protect children from all forms of violence. including early marriage. Congratulations on your commitment! Now that you`re engaged, it`s time to start planning the wedding. The first step is to take care of legality and paperwork. Tasting cakes and trying on wedding outfits is much more exciting, but legalization is important and needs to be done right.

We have put together a guide that covers all the details of what it takes to marry a Filipino. If you are under 18, you cannot marry in the Philippines, even if your parents agree to the marriage. You must be at least 18 years old to legally marry a Filipino. Violations of the new law are punishable by a minimum prison sentence of eight years and one day. The law also includes a provision requiring children to be taught at school about «the effects and effects of child marriage», as well as local information and prevention campaigns. Under Philippine law, which came into effect in 1933, a marriage between a man sixteen years of age and older and older is valid between a man over sixteen years of age and a woman. Parental consent is required if the man is under twenty years of age or the woman under eighteen years of age. However, the absence of parental consent does not invalidate the marriage.

If you are under the age of 21, you will need written permission from your parent or guardian. It is best if your parents can be with you at the local registrar to do the paperwork. If this is not possible, an affidavit signed by two witnesses may be accepted. Use this tool to examine child marriage from an interactive map view and layer datasets and access detailed local information. Regarding sexual and gender-based violence following natural disasters in Asia, this study found that child marriage is one of the most prevalent forms of violence. The fee must be confirmed to the local registrar at the time of application for a marriage certificate. The fee for a marriage certificate can be waived if the applicant couple has financial problems that make it difficult to pay. If this is your first marriage, the local registrar will ask you to inspect your original birth certificates or baptismal certificates. Certified true copies may be accepted.

You must provide the full name, place of residence and citizenship of your parents or guardians. In the Philippines, child marriage is exacerbated by: We wish you all the best for the exciting chapter of life full of blessings, which is marriage. According to the Family Code of 1988, the minimum legal age of marriage for girls and boys is 18 years. For persons under the age of 21, parental consent is required. The Basic Law that governed marriage in the Philippines on July 14, 1933, was the Marriage Act, No. 3613 of December 4, 1929, which came into effect on June 4, 1930. According to the provisions of this law, the essential conditions for a valid marriage were capacity to marry, consent and formalities at the time of solemnization. With regard to marital capacity, the age of consent to marriage is set out in article 2, which states: Persons must be at least 21 years of age to marry in the Philippines without the written consent of their parents. If your parents are unable to appear with you before the local registrar, an affidavit signed by two witnesses may be accepted. Child marriage is driven by gender inequality and the belief that women and girls are somehow inferior to men and boys. If the bride or groom is between the ages of 18 and 25, you will need to provide the local registrar with confirmation that you have completed marriage counseling. If you do not participate in a marriage consultation, your marriage certificate will not be issued for three months.

«This is a major victory in our campaign to end child marriage in the Philippines,» Bernadette Herrera, Vice Speaker of the Philippine House of Representatives, said in a statement to the Philippine Daily Inquirer. «This law will help protect children, especially young girls, and hopefully change the path they face. «If the Contracting Parties, or one of them who is unmarried, is less than twenty years of age for a man and less than eighteen years of age for a woman, they shall, in addition to the requirements of the preceding sections, submit to the Municipal Secretary or the Clerk of the Manila City Court the consent to their marriage of their father, mother or guardian or to a person: who is legally responsible for it, in the order indicated. MANILA, Philippines — After a long battle between lawmakers and advocates, the Philippines now has a complete ban on child marriage in the country. If you were already married, you must provide the death certificate of your deceased spouse or the court judgment of your absolute divorce or the court decision on the annulment or annulment of your previous marriage.