Text of the provision
Art. 100. The separation in fact between husband and wife shall not affect the regime of absolute community except that:
(1) The spouse who leaves the conjugal home or refuses to live therein, without just cause, shall not have the right to be supported;
(2) When the consent of one spouse to any transaction of the other is required by law, judicial authorization shall be obtained in a summary proceeding;
(3) In the absence of sufficient community property, the separate property of both spouses shall be solidarily liable for the support of the family. The spouse present shall, upon proper petition in a summary proceeding, be given judicial authority to administer or encumber any specific separate property of the other spouse and use the fruits or proceeds thereof to satisfy the latter's share.
(178a)
Family Code of the Philippines, Executive Order No. 209, approved July 6, 1987. The Code took effect on August 3, 1988 (Republic v. Orbecido III, G.R. No. 154380, October 5, 2005). Reproduced in full.
What this article means
Simply living apart does not end the absolute community — only the events in Article 99 do that. Article 100 makes just three adjustments for a de facto separation. A spouse who leaves the home without just cause loses the right to support (1). Where a transaction needs the other spouse's consent but they are unavailable, the present spouse gets it by court authorization in a summary proceeding (2). And if community property runs short, both spouses' separate property is solidarily liable for family support, with the present spouse empowered to administer or encumber the absent one's specific property to cover their share (3).
The through-line: separation in fact does not free either spouse from the family's needs, and it does not freeze the household — the court supplies the missing consent so life can go on.
Related provisions
- Article 99 — the events that actually terminate the community.
- Article 96 — the ordinary consent rule this modifies during separation in fact.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the effects of separation in fact under Article 100 will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.