False cohabitation affidavit voids marriage, Supreme Court rules
MANILA, Philippines — Falsifying an affidavit of cohabitation may render a marriage without a license void from the beginning, the Supreme Court said.
In a ruling dated Feb. 24 and made public Friday, the high court said the marriage was invalid because the couple falsely claimed in their affidavit that they had lived together for at least five years, a requirement for contracting a marriage without a license.
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The decision upheld rulings by the Court of Appeals in 2021 and 2022 and the Regional Trial Court in San Jose, Antique, in 2016.
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The case stemmed from a petition for declaration of nullity filed by the husband in 2013. He argued that the affidavit of cohabitation he had signed with the woman was false because he had worked overseas for three of the six years they claimed to have lived together.
The couple had attempted to marry without a license in May 2009, claiming they had been living together since 2003.
Under the law, a couple who have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years and meet other requirements may marry without securing a marriage license. /ja
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