What the Philippine Supreme Court's new foreign divorce rules mean for Filipinos in Singapore

Filipinos seeking recognition of a foreign divorce no longer need to prove the foreign divorce law, though a Philippine court petition is still required and marriages between two Filipino citizens are generally not covered.

The Philippine Supreme Court has approved new rules that make it easier to have a foreign divorce recognised in Philippine courts. The Court approved the amendments, A.M. No. 25-03-14-SC, at its en banc session on 7 October, Philstar.com reported, and Carlos Law published an explainer on the changes on 22 October.

Under the new rules, petitioners no longer have to independently prove the foreign divorce law in court and need only establish that the divorce decree was issued, Philstar reported. A new provision under Rule 39 presumes that a foreign divorce obtained between a Filipino and a foreign spouse is absolute and allows the foreign spouse to remarry under foreign law, unless the decree explicitly says it is a limited divorce. The burden of proof shifts to the opposing party to show that a foreign divorce is not absolute.

The Court said it introduced the changes after recognising the significant hurdles Filipino spouses, especially overseas Filipino workers, face in proving foreign statutes, according to Philstar.

What has not changed

Philstar reported that the Court said the core legal framework under Article 26(2) of the Family Code is unchanged:

• Filipino spouses must still file a formal petition for judicial recognition in Philippine courts.
• Petitions may still be opposed on grounds including lack of jurisdiction, lack of notice, fraud, or clear mistakes of law or fact.
• The presumptions are disputable and may be challenged with a certified true copy of the foreign divorce law from the Office of the Court Administrator, which will maintain a repository of foreign laws.

Carlos Law said the divorce itself must still be proven with an attested copy and a certificate, which for a country that is party to the Apostille Convention is the apostille. It also warned against remarrying before a Philippine court's judgment.

What it means for Filipinos in Singapore

An explainer for Filipinos in Singapore published on the Singapore divorce lawyer website singaporedivorcelawyer.com.sg says getting divorced in Singapore and having that divorce recognised in the Philippines are two separate legal steps, and that a Singapore divorce is not automatically recognised in the Philippines.

For a Filipino married to a Singaporean, the explainer says the Filipino spouse may ask a Philippine court to recognise a valid Singapore divorce under Article 26(2) of the Family Code and, under the new rules, will no longer need to prove the content of Singapore's divorce law to do so.

If both spouses are Filipino citizens, a divorce obtained in Singapore is generally not recognised in the Philippines, the explainer says. The exception it gives is where one spouse had become a citizen of another country, for example a Singapore citizen, by the time the divorce was obtained.

The explainer adds that for Singapore to have jurisdiction, one spouse generally must be domiciled in Singapore or have been habitually residing there for at least three years immediately before filing, and the marriage must generally have lasted at least three years. It says working as a domestic helper does not by itself stop someone from applying for divorce in Singapore, but holding a Work Permit alone does not establish eligibility, which depends on individual circumstances. It also says the new rules do not introduce divorce for marriages between two Filipino citizens.

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