According to the Law: One Man, Three Women

Q:
 
Dear Sir / Madam,
 
Good day. I regularly read your column and now I come to seek legal advise. Thank you for your good heart.

When I used to work in a bank, I got involved with a man who introduced himself as unmarried with 3 kids. I only found out that he was married after all when I was already 2 months pregnant with our child. Nevertheless, because we loved each other, we lived together and have been together for almost 8 years now. I am now pregnant with our third child.

Recently, he realized that he and his wife didn’t have a marriage license, and it was his wife who forwarded and filed the papers herself at NSO. Is his marriage valid?
 
To complicate things further, my partner had an affair with another woman with whom he also now has a baby. The girl knew from the start that he is married and has many kids but still insisted. My partner had taken the responsibility and gave consent to have the baby use his surname. However, this girl keeps calling me at my office to harass me. What should I do? Please help.


A:
Hello there! I’m glad to be of service, and I hope I can help you by answering your questions as best as I can.

First of all, when you refer to a “marriage license”, do you really mean a marriage license or a marriage contract? There is a big difference between the two. To put it simply, a marriage license authorizes a person to get married, while a marriage certificate or a marriage contract is a document that proves marriage between two people. The marriage contract contains information about the spouses, the date and place of their marriage, plus the marriage license number, and its date and place of issue. In your case, I would assume that you are referring instead to the marriage certificate.

Actually, if it’s a marriage contract, it doesn’t matter who forwarded it to the NSO. In fact, it is usually the one who solemnized the wedding (such as the priest, minister, or judge) who has the responsibility to cause the registration of the marriage with the Registry of Deeds. So even if your partner’s wife was indeed the one who forwarded the marriage contract to the NSO, it doesn’t affect the validity of the marriage. However, if it were true that he did not obtain a marriage license before he got married, then that would make the marriage invalid.

Art. 3 of the Family Code states that the formal requisites of a marriage are:
(1)    Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2)    A valid marriage license; and
(3) A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age.

The absence of any of these requisites will render the marriage void from the beginning, thus your partner’s marriage to his wife is invalid. But that does not mean that he will not have to do anything. First, your partner has to make sure that there really was no marriage license issued prior to his marriage. He will have to go to the local civil registrar of the place where the marriage license was supposedly issued, and ask for a certification that no application for a marriage license was made in the names of your partner and his spouse. Once he is sure that the marriage was really celebrated without a marriage license, then he can file a petition in court for the declaration of the nullity of the marriage due to the lack of a marriage license.

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As for the next part of your question, this other woman has no right to harass you. She was the one who knowingly entered into a relationship with a man who was already involved in a serious relationship, and if anything, you have more right to be mad at her. If her harassment is really getting to you, you have two options: first, you can file a civil case for damages under Art. 26 of the Civil Code, which provides:

Art. 26. Every person shall respect the dignity, personality, privacy and peace of mind of his neighbors and other persons. The following and similar acts, though they may not constitute a criminal offense, shall produce a cause of action for damages, prevention and other relief:

(1) Prying into the privacy of another's residence:
(2) Meddling with or disturbing the private life or family relations of another;
(3) Intriguing to cause another to be alienated from his friends;
(4) Vexing or humiliating another on account of his religious beliefs, lowly station in life, place of birth, physical defect, or other personal condition.

On the other hand, you can also file a criminal case for unjust vexation against her. Art. 287-A of the Revised Penal Code defines unjust vexation as: “…a course of conduct directed at a specific person that causes substantial emotional distress in such a person and serves no legitimate purpose.” The penalty for unjust vexation can be imprisonment for one month and one day, or a fine ranging from 500 pesos to 5000 pesos, or both. From what you’ve told me, it appears that you have grounds to file either case (damages or unjust vexation) against this woman. If you can’t afford to hire a lawyer, you can ask for help from the Public Attorney’s Office, where legal services are provided for free. Also, clients of the PAO are exempted from payment of docket and other fees incidental to instituting an action in court. Several law schools also offer free legal assistance, such the UP Office of Legal Aid, located on the ground floor of the UP College of Law in Diliman, Quezon City.

Atty. Nikki Jimeno

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