Short answer. Not automatically. Article 80 of the Family Code makes Philippine law govern spouses' property relations regardless of where they married or reside — but the same article says the rule shall not apply where both spouses are aliens. A couple who are both foreigners fall outside the rule, even while living here.
What the law says
In the absence of a contrary stipulation in a marriage settlement, the property relations of the spouses shall be governed by Philippine laws, regardless of the place of the celebration of the marriage and their residence.
Family Code, Article 80 — Governing Law for Property Relations. Read the full provision →
What the law says
This rule shall not apply: (1) Where both spouses are aliens;
Family Code, Article 80 — Governing Law for Property Relations. Read the full provision →
The general rule, and who it actually covers
Article 80 opens broadly: In the absence of a contrary stipulation in a marriage settlement, the property relations of the spouses shall be governed by Philippine laws, regardless of the place of the celebration of the marriage and their residence. Wedding abroad, home abroad — neither takes a couple out of Philippine property law. But the article then withdraws that rule for three situations, and the first is categorical: This rule shall not apply: (1) Where both spouses are aliens. The general rule is really addressed to marriages with a Filipino spouse; a wholly foreign couple is expressly carved out.
What the carve-out means for a foreign couple
Being outside Article 80 does not mean your property relations are ungoverned — it means Philippine law does not supply the marital property regime just because you married or live here. Which country's law fills the space is a conflict-of-laws question, typically pointing to the spouses' own national law, and where the two spouses hold different nationalities the answer can be genuinely complicated. Residence in the Philippines, however long, does not by itself convert a foreign couple's property regime into the Philippine one. That is the assumption this article most directly corrects.
The other two exceptions concern formalities abroad
The remaining exceptions deal with the extrinsic validity of contracts — the formal requirements for a valid instrument. The rule yields for contracts affecting property not situated in the Philippines and executed in the country where the property is located, and for contracts entered into in the Philippines but affecting property situated in a foreign country whose laws require different formalities for its extrinsic validity. In plain terms: where the property is abroad, the formal requirements of the place where the property sits are respected, whichever side of the border the document was signed on.
What a foreign couple in the Philippines should do
Start by identifying which law actually governs your property relations — your common national law, or the laws in play where your nationalities differ — because every later question, from buying assets to succession planning, builds on that answer. Note too what this article does not decide: it allocates the governing law for property relations between spouses, and separate Philippine rules on what foreigners may own here continue to operate on their own terms. A couple in this position should bring their marriage documents and any settlement or prenuptial agreement to counsel, since a contrary stipulation in a marriage settlement is the first thing the article itself asks about.