A fake affidavit of cohabitation executed by both parties intending to marry each other, in order to exempt them from the requirement of a marriage license, without complying with the 5-year period of cohabitation required by law, renders the marriage void from the very beginning.
Facts: Annabelle and Reinel applied for a marriage license. When they went back to the Office of the City Civil Registrar, they discovered that their marriage license was already expired, so in order to get married as soon as possible, they executed an Affidavit to show that they had been living together as husband and wife for the last five years, hence, exempt from the marriage license requirement. (Article 34 of the Family Code). They were married on the same day before a judge. After their marriage, they never lived together as husband and wife. After several months, Annabelle gave birth to Reianna Tricia. In 1998, Annabelle filed a petition for support against Reinel, claiming he had not given support to her and their child. Reinel in his answer alleged that their marriage is not valid, the Affidavit they executed in lieu of a marriage license being a falsity as they never cohabited with each other five years before their marriage, hence they were not exempted from the requirement of a marriage license. What is the effect of the fake affidavit of cohabitation Annabelle and Reinel executed?
Facts: Annabelle and Reinel applied for a marriage license. When they went back to the Office of the City Civil Registrar, they discovered that their marriage license was already expired, so in order to get married as soon as possible, they executed an Affidavit to show that they had been living together as husband and wife for the last five years, hence, exempt from the marriage license requirement. (Article 34 of the Family Code). They were married on the same day before a judge. After their marriage, they never lived together as husband and wife. After several months, Annabelle gave birth to Reianna Tricia. In 1998, Annabelle filed a petition for support against Reinel, claiming he had not given support to her and their child. Reinel in his answer alleged that their marriage is not valid, the Affidavit they executed in lieu of a marriage license being a falsity as they never cohabited with each other five years before their marriage, hence they were not exempted from the requirement of a marriage license. What is the effect of the fake affidavit of cohabitation Annabelle and Reinel executed?
Held: The falsity of the affidavit cannot be considered as a mere irregularity in the formal requisites of marriage. The law dispenses with the marriage license requirement for a man and a woman who have lived together and exclusively with each other as husband and wife for a continuous and unbroken period of at least five years before the marriage. The aim of this provision is to avoid exposing the parties to humiliation, shame and embarrassment concomitant with the scandalous cohabitation of persons outside a valid marriage due to the publication of every applicant’s name for a marriage license. In the instant case, there was no “scandalous cohabitation” to protect; in fact, there was no cohabitation at all. The false affidavit which petitioner and respondent executed so they could push through with the marriage has no value whatsoever; it is a mere scrap of paper. They were not exempt from the marriage license requirement. Their failure to obtain and present a marriage license renders their marriage void ab initio. [De Castro vs De Castro, G.R. No. 160172, February 13, 2008]