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MANILA, Philippines – Need an annulment lawyer? We got you covered.
The Newsbreak investigative report series, “The Business of Annulments” exposed the intricate web of collusion in the judicial system. Judges, lawyers and court staff as well as petty con artists make a handsome profit off the heartbreak of those who want to end their disastrous marriages.
The report sparked mixed reactions among readers. Some said that “friendly courts” where you can bump up your annulment petition for a fee were an open secret. Others were amazed at how far the corruption went – geographically.
“The Business of Heartbreak” revealed that some courts from northern Luzon to southern Mindanao were involved in manufacturing annulment decisions by bulk, earning them the nickname of being called “annulment mills.” But mostly, readers posted questions about the confusing, complex and tedious annulment process.
Rappler crowdsourced questions from readers who wanted to know: What if I’m married to a foreign national and we get divorced? How do I prove psychological incapacity? What if I can no longer locate my spouse–can I still initiate annulment proceedings?
We invited Atty. Evalyn Ursua, one of the founders of the Women’s Legal Bureau, former lecturer at the UP College of Law and currently a practicing family lawyer to answer these questions and others posed by readers.
According to Ursua, any Filipino national (except Muslim Filipinos married in Muslim rites) cannot get a divorce. A foreign national married to a Filipino can initiate a divorce proceeding and then the Filipino will have to file for a recognition of the divorce decree here in the Philippines.
As for proving psychological incapacity, there are three factors that must be proven: the condition existed before the marriage, it is incurable and it is grave. Ursua suggests getting the opinion of an expert like a clinical psychologist to to testify as to the psychological incapacity of of your spouse.
The Philippines is now the only country in the world without divorce. In its place, the options to terminate a failed marriage are: annulment, declaration of nullity and legal separation. Only Muslim Filipinos are allowed to divorce.
Some legislators have claimed that these legal remedies are sufficient and that there is no need to legalize divorce in the Philippines. Ursua disagrees, “Malinaw kung bakit kailangan natin ng divorce law. Hindi tayo pumapanggap na after 20 years, walang nangyari. Ang sinasabi ng divorce, may kasal na nangyari, pero for whatever reason, hindi na tenable ang kasal at kailangan na maghiwalay.”
(“It is clear that we need a divorce law. We don’t need to pretend (in an annulment) that after 20 years, nothing happened. Divorce acknowledges that there was a marriage that took place but for whatever reason, that marriage is no longer tenable and the couple needs to separate.”)
Ursua also says that allowing divorce will also make for more humane and amicable separation among couples. “Kung mag-separate man kayo, do it kindly. Hindi kailangan embittered. Simplehan na natin kung kailangan na mag-hiwalay.”
“If a couple needs to separate, they can do it kindly. It does not have to be embittered. If a couple needs to split up, let’s make things simple.”
Listen to the Sex and Sensibilities podcast to hear Ursua give a legal perspective on these questions and many others.
Rappler’s Ana Santos did a series on the business of annulment for Newsbreak:
Part 1: The annulment business
Part 2: Cotabato court issues spurious annulment documents
Part 3: Cavite: Haven for paid-for annulments?
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