Professional Documents
Culture Documents
11 May 2022
NADINE SEMONTA
New Bataan, Davao de Oro
This is in reference to the questions you have raised during our previous
meeting as to (1.) whether or not you can file a divorce against your husband,
Mr. James Greene, (2.) where shall the petition for divorce be filed, and lastly
(3.) if a divorce decree is granted by a foreign court, how shall such decree
be recognized here in the Philippines.
In the case of REPUBLIC VS. MANALO, it has long been settled that a
Filipino spouse can initiate the filing of divorce to his or her foreign spouse.
Divorce is not recognized in Philippine laws however, you may file the
petition of divorce following the principle of Lex Loci Celebrationis, you
may file your petition for divorce at the country where you celebrated your
marriage. Another recourse is following the Nationality Principle wherein
you can file at the country where your alien husband is a citizen. In this case,
since Mr. Greene is a US citizen, you can file petition for divorce at a
competent court in the US.
The decision of the Philippine Court shall become the basis for the
annotation of civil registry documents.
2. The court decision shall be registered in the Local Civil Registry Office
(LCRO) where the concerned RTC-Phil functions.
5. After the annotation at the Local Civil Registrar’s Office (LCRO), the
annotated documents and its requirements must be submitted to the
Office of the Civil Registrar-General (OCRG) in Manila.
I appreciate the opportunity to advise you on this matter. Please let me know
if you wish to discuss particular issues.
Thank you!