Text of the provision
Art. 13. In case either of the contracting parties has been previously married, the applicant shall be required to furnish, instead of the birth or baptismal certificate required in the last preceding article, the death certificate of the deceased spouse or the judicial decree of the absolute divorce, or the judicial decree of annulment or declaration of nullity of his or her previous marriage.
In case the death certificate cannot be secured, the party shall make an affidavit setting forth this circumstance and his or her actual civil status and the name and date of death of the deceased spouse.
(61a)
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
A previously married applicant cannot simply rely on a birth or baptismal certificate (required of first-time applicants under Article 12). Instead, Article 13 requires proof that the prior marriage has actually ended: the deceased spouse's death certificate, or a judicial decree of absolute divorce, annulment, or declaration of nullity. Where a death certificate cannot be secured, the party may substitute a sworn affidavit stating the circumstances, their actual civil status, and the deceased spouse's name and date of death.
The requirement exists to keep a subsisting prior marriage from slipping through the license process undetected — the exact failure that produces a bigamous, void marriage.
Related provisions
- Article 35 — bigamous marriages are void from the beginning.
- Article 41 — the presumptive-death exception allowing remarriage without a death certificate.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the Article 13 documentary requirements for previously married applicants will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.