Text of the provision
Art. 37. Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether relationship between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:
(1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and
(2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood.
(81a)
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
Article 37 makes incestuous marriages void from the beginning. The prohibition applies whether the relationship is legitimate or illegitimate — blood is what matters, not the marital status of the parents.
The list is deliberately narrow and absolute: marriages between ascendants and descendants of any degree (parent and child, grandparent and grandchild, and so on up or down the line), and between brothers and sisters, whether they share both parents (full blood) or only one (half blood). Unlike some of the public-policy prohibitions in Article 38, these cannot be cured by any circumstance.
How it fits the void-marriage scheme
Article 37 sits alongside Article 35 (void for defects of consent, authority or licence), Article 36 (psychological incapacity) and Article 38 (void for public policy). All produce a marriage that is void ab initio — treated as never having existed — though a court declaration under Article 40 is still required before either party may remarry.
Related provisions
- Article 38 — marriages void for reasons of public policy, including collateral relatives up to the fourth civil degree.
- Article 35 and Article 36 — the other void-marriage grounds.
- Article 40 — the judicial declaration required before remarriage.
Cases interpreting this article
- Article 37 is rarely litigated because the prohibited relationships are unambiguous. Authorities will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.