REPUBLIC OF THE PHILIPPINES
____________ JUDICIAL REGION
REGIONAL TRIAL COURT
BRANCH _________________
RE: IN THE MATTER OF
THE PETITION FOR RECOG-
NITION OF FOREIGN JUDG-
MENT OF DIVORCE OF SPECIAL PROCEEDING NO. ____________
________________________,
Petitioner,
- VERSUS -
THE REGISTRAR GENERAL
AND THE CIVIL REGISTRY
OF _______________
Respondents.
x----------------------------------------x
PETITION
[for Recognition of Foreign Judgment - Divorce]
Petitioner, by undersigned counsel and before the Honorable Court, respectfully states the
following:
1. The Petitioner is of legal age, Filipino, and a resident of
______________________________________. Petitioner may be reserved with pleadings
and the orders and processes of the Honorable Court at the address indicated;
2. The Respondent, Civil Registrar General - Philippines Statistics Authority (PSA), is im-
pleaded as a nominal party, being the officer charged with the registration of acts, events and
judicial decrees and decisions concerning the civil status of persons;
2.1. The Civil Registrar General - PSA may be served with summons, orders and processes of
the Honorable Court at _____________________________________________;
2.2. The Civil Registrar of ___________________ is the repository of all civil records in Tarlac
City where it may be served with summons, orders and processes of the Honorable Court at
the City Government of _____________________________;
3. The Petitioner ___________________ and ____________________, an American national,
were married on ______________ in ______________ as evidenced by their Certificate of
Marriage attached as Annex “A” and made an integral part of this Petition;
4. The marriage celebrated in ________________________ is likewise valid under American
Law;
5. At the time of marriage, the Petitioner was, and remains a Filipino Citizen while _________
was and remains an American National;
6. Due to serious problems affecting the marriage, __________ filed for divorce against the
___________ in the United States of America. The Petitioner agreed to the divorce.
7. ______________ and the Petitioner were then divorced on ___________ in accordance with
the American Law.
7.1. The authentic Report of Divorce and its English translation are attached as Annex “B”;
7.2. The authenticated Family Register and its English translation are attached as Annex “C”;
8. The divorce under American Law capacitated ____________, an American Citizen to re-
marry.
9. Likewise, Article 26 of the Family Code allows the Filipino Citizen who has been divorced
by his/her foreign spouse, capacitating the foreign spouse to remarry, to remarry as well, to
wit:
“Art. 26. All marriage solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance with the
laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such,
shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under Articles 35 (1), (4),
(5) and (6), 36, 37, and 38.
Where a marriage between a Filipino Citizen and a Foreigner is validly celebrated
and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating
Filipino Spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine Law.”
10. In addition, the Supreme Court in Republic of the Philippines vs. Marelyn Tanedo Manalo,
G.R. No. 221029, to wit:
“The purpose of Paragraph 2 of Article 26 is to avoid the absurd situation where the
Filipino spouse remains married to the alien spouse who, after a foreign divorce de-
cree that is effective in the country where it was rendered, is no longer married to the
Filipino spouse. The provision is a corrective measure is free to marry under the laws
of his or her country. Whether the Filipino spouse initiated the foreign divorce pro-
ceeding or not, a favorable decree dissolving the marriage bond and capacitating his
or her alien spouse to remarry will have the same result: the Filipino spouse will ef-
fectively be without a husband or wife. A Filipino who initiated a foreign divorce
proceeding is in the same place and in like circumstances as a Filipino who is at the
receiving end of an alien initiated proceeding. Therefore, the subject provision
should not make a distinction. In both instance, it is extended as a means to recognize
the residual effect of the foreign divorce decree on a Filipinos whose marital ties to
their alien spouses are severed by operations of their alien spouses are severed by op-
eration on the latter's national law.”
11. In view of the above, the Petitioner seeks recognition of her divorce decree in order to be ca-
pacitated to remarry.
PRAYER
WHEREFORE, premises considered, the Petitioner respectfully requests the Honorable
Court to render judgment:
1. Recognizing the divorce of ____________________ and __________________ on
_____________ in the United States of America as valid;
2. Declaring the marital bond between the parties severed as a result thereof and declaring that
the Petitioner is capacitated to remarry;
3. Ordering the Civil Registrar General - Philippine Statistics Authority and the local Civil
Registrar of __________ to annotate the divorce decree on the Certificate of Marriage of the
parties;
4. Ordering the Local Civil Registrar to register and record the judgment, recognizing the di-
vorce, of the Honorable Court on this Petition;
5. Ordering the Petitioner to revert to her maiden surname prior to marriage.
The Petitioner also prays for other reliefs, just and equitable under the premises.
Done this ____________ at _________, __________.
By:
MICHAEL VERNON M. GUERRERO
Roll of Attorneys No.
PTR No.
IBP No.
MCLE Compliance No.
VERIFICATION AND CERTIFICATION AGAINST FORUM SHOPPING
I, _________________________, married, of legal age, Filipino with address at
_____________________________________ after having been duly sworn in accordance with
law, hereby depose and state that:
1. I am the Petitioner in the above-captioned case;
2. I caused the preparation of the above Petition;
3. I read the same and the allegations contained therein are true and correct of my own personal
knowledge and belief and/or based on the records or documents in my possession;
4. I certify that there is no other cases pending before any court, tribunal or agency involving
the same parties and the same issue and that, should I learn of such a case, I shall notify the
Court within five (5) days from notice.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto affixed my signature this _____ day of
___________, 2022 at __________________.
__________________
Affiant
Republic of the Philippines }
City of ________________ } S.s.
SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ____ day of _________, 2022 in __________
where Affiant personally appeared and exhibited to me her government issued _____________
with ID No. ______________ issued at ____________ on _______________ as competent proof
of her identity.
Doc No. _____;
Page No. _____;
Book No. ____;
Series of 2022.
