Text of the provision
Art. 68. The husband and wife are obliged to live together, observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render mutual help and support.
(109a)
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 68 opens Title III by stating the core obligations marriage creates between the spouses: to live together, to observe mutual love, respect, and fidelity, and to render mutual help and support. These are not merely aspirational — a serious, sustained breach of them is the basis for the legal-separation grounds in Article 55 (abandonment, infidelity) and for the relief available under Article 72.
The obligation to live together is itself qualified by Article 69, which allows exemptions for valid and compelling reasons.
Related provisions
- Article 69 — fixing the family domicile and exemptions from living together.
- Article 72 — court relief when a spouse neglects these duties.
- Article 55 — legal separation grounds rooted in breach of these obligations.
Cases interpreting this article
- Authorities on the Article 68 marital obligations will be added here as each is verified against primary sources.