By Ben R. Rosario
Divorce obtained by a foreigner in his or her country may soon be recognized in the Philippines.
This developed after the House of Representatives launched plenary deliberations on House Bill 7185 which proposes recognition of a foreign decree of termination of marriage and thereby allowing the Filipino spouse to remarry without the need to undergo judicial proceedings.
Authored by Taguig City Rep. Pia S. Cayetano, HB 7185 has been endorsed for plenary approval by the House Committee on Population and Family Relations chaired by Laguna Rep. Sol Aragones.
The House panel has also pushed for the passage of another bill recognizing absolute divorce in the country with Cayetano among the principal authors.
HB 7185 proposes to eliminate the need for judicial recognition of a foreign degree of termination of marriage or divorce that the alien spouse of a married couple has acquired.
The bill grants the Filipino spouse to contract another marriage under Filipino laws as soon as the divorce decree granted by another country has been duly authenticated.
A Filipino married to a foreigner and whose marriage has been subsequently terminated abroad before the measure is enacted into law will also benefit from its provisions.
Filipinos who have been divorced from a spouse who had subsequently acquired foreign citizenship is also covered by the provisions of the measure.
The bill also covers a Filipino who has subsequently acquired foreign citizenship and who has divorced from the Filipino spouse abroad.
The provisions of the Family Code shall be observed in any agreement of the divorced spouse relating to liquidation, partition and distribution of properties, the custody and support of common children, and the delivery of their presumptive legitimes.