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REPUBLIC v. CIPRIANO ORBECIDO III

FACTS:

Cipriano Orbecido III filed a petition for declaratory relief, requesting authorization to remarry under Article 26 of the Family Code. Cipriano was previously married to Lady Myros Villanueva, who obtained a divorce decree in the United States and subsequently remarried. Cipriano argued that he should be allowed to remarry based on Section 12, Article II of the Constitution.

The Regional Trial Court granted Cipriano's petition, but the Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) sought reconsideration. The OSG argued that Article 26 only applies to valid mixed marriages and contended that the proper remedy for Cipriano is to file a petition for annulment or legal separation.

The court noted that the petition should have been filed as a petition for declaratory relief. It found that there was a justiciable controversy and proceeded to discuss the historical background of Article 26 and the intent of the legislators in its enactment.

ISSUES:

  1. Can a Filipino spouse remarry under Philippine law if the other spouse, who initially held Filipino citizenship, obtains a valid divorce decree and remarries as a foreign citizen?

  2. Does Paragraph 2 of Article 26 of the Family Code apply to the case at hand?

RULING:

  1. Yes, a Filipino spouse can remarry under Philippine law if the other spouse obtains a valid divorce decree and remarries as a foreign citizen.

  2. Yes, Paragraph 2 of Article 26 of the Family Code applies to the case at hand.

PRINCIPLES:

  • A petition for authority to remarry can be treated as a petition for declaratory relief.

  • The requisites for a petition for declaratory relief are: (a) justiciable controversy; (b) adverse interests between the parties; (c) legal interest of the party seeking relief; and (d) ripe issue for judicial determination.

  • Paragraph 2 of Article 26 of the Family Code applies to marriages between two Filipino citizens where one later acquires alien citizenship, obtains a divorce decree, and remarries while abroad.

  • Marriages solemnized outside the Philippines in accordance with the laws of the country where they were solemnized, and valid there, shall also be valid in the Philippines, unless prohibited under certain articles of the Family Code.

  • When a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is obtained abroad by the alien spouse, capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse is also capacitated to remarry under Philippine law.