Text of the provision

Art. 48. In all cases of annulment or declaration of absolute nullity of marriage, the Court shall order the prosecuting attorney or fiscal assigned to it to appear on behalf of the State to take steps to prevent collusion between the parties and to take care that evidence is not fabricated or suppressed.

In the cases referred to in the preceding paragraph, no judgment shall be based upon a stipulation of facts or confession of judgment.

(88a)

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

Marriage in the Philippines is not treated as a purely private contract that two people may dissolve by agreement. Article 48 makes the State a participant in every annulment and every declaration of nullity: the court must order the public prosecutor to appear on behalf of the State, specifically to guard against collusion between the spouses and to ensure evidence is neither fabricated nor suppressed.

The second paragraph is the sharp edge of this policy. No judgment may rest on a stipulation of facts or a confession of judgment. A respondent cannot simply admit the petition and hand the petitioner a win. The petitioner must prove the ground with real evidence, tested against a State represented in the courtroom — which is why an uncontested annulment is still a genuine trial, not a formality.

What collusion is — and is not

Collusion is an agreement to fabricate or suppress evidence, or to make a ground appear where none exists. It is not the same as a respondent choosing not to fight. The Supreme Court has drawn that line directly: in Republic v. Wong (G.R. No. 276986, February 3, 2026) it held that a spouse's failure to oppose a nullity petition, and relatives testifying against that spouse, do not by themselves establish collusion. Read our note on Republic v. Wong →

Related provisions

Cases interpreting this article

Note. The text of the provision above is reproduced in full from the official enactment. The annotation, case summaries and commentary around it are the work of Vivas & Nobles Law Office and are general legal information, not legal advice. Whether this provision applies to a particular marriage depends on facts that only a lawyer reviewing your situation can assess.