Bigamy may be committed by one person

What happens when you marry a person who is still legally married to another person?

Are you also liable for the crime of bigamy?

Bigamy is a crime punishable under Article 349 of the Revised Penal Code of the Philippines:

"The penalty of prision mayor shall be imposed upon any person who shall contract a second or subsequent marriage before the former marriage has been legally dissolved, or before the absent spouse has been declared presumptively dead by means of a judgment rendered in the proper proceedings."

To guide you further, the elements of bigamy were enumerated in Lasanas v. People of the Philippines, GR 159031, June 23, 2014, where the Supreme Court, through Chief Justice Lucas Bersamin, said:

"The elements of the crime of bigamy are as follows:

(1) that the offender has been legally married;

(2) that the marriage has not been legally dissolved or, in case his or her spouse is absent, the absent spouse could not yet be presumed dead according to the Civil Code; (3) that he or she contracts a second or subsequent marriage; and

(4) that the second or subsequent marriage has all the essential requisites for validity.

Given the foregoing, one may be held liable for bigamy when the aforecited elements of the crime are present.

Yet, bigamy does not always entail the joint liability of two individuals.

As pronounced by the Supreme Court, through Associate Justice Salvador Esguerra, in the case of People of the Philippines v. Nepomuceno, Jr., GR L-40624, June 27, 1975:

"Appellant's contention that the crime of bigamy entails the joint liability of two persons who marry each other, while the previous marriage of one or the other is valid and subsisting is completely devoid of merit. Even a cursory scrutiny of Art. 349 of the Revised Penal Code will disclose that the crime of bigamy can be committed by one person who contracts a subsequent marriage while the former marriage is valid and subsisting. Bigamy is not similar to the crimes of adultery and concubinage, wherein the law (Art. 344, first and third pars., Revised Penal Code, and Sec. 4, Rule 110, Rules of Court) specifically requires that the culprits, if both are alive, should he prosecuted or included in the information. In the crime of bigamy, both the first and second spouses may be the offended parties depending on the circumstances, as when the second spouse married the accused without being aware of his previous marriage. Only if the second spouse had knowledge of the previous undissolved marriage of the accused could she be included in the information as a co-accused.

Bigamy is a public offense and a crime against status, while adultery and concubinage are private offenses and are crimes against chastity. In adultery and concubinage, pardon by the offended party will bar the prosecution of the case, which is not so in bigamy. It is, therefore, clear that bigamy is not similar to adultery or concubinage."

Thus, the offended party in the crime of bigamy may be the first or second spouse. The second spouse is an offended party if he or she has no knowledge of the previous undissolved marriage. Conversely, the second spouse can only be included in the information or complaint as co-accused in the crime of Bigamy if he or she had knowledge of the previous undissolved marriage at the time of their subsequent marriage.

Bigamy cannot be compared with Adultery or Concubinage because the latter are private offenses and classified as crimes against chastity, while the former is a public offense and is a crime against status.

Source: Manila Times

Effects of legal separation

1. Do we have divorce in the Philippines?

Divorce may be classified into two — Absolute and Relative. In our jurisdiction, only relative divorce or legal separation is allowed, which involves nothing more than the bed-and-board separation of the spouses (Lapuz Sy vs. Eufemio, G.R. No. L-30977, January 31, 1972). A decree of legal separation shall entitle the spouses to live separately from each other, without severing their marriage bonds (Article 62, Family Code).

2. What are the grounds for Legal Separation?

The following are the grounds for legal separation which may or may not exist at the time of the marriage ceremony:

(1) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner; 

(2) Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation;

(3) Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement;

(4) Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years, even if pardoned;

(5) Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent;

(6) Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent;

(7) Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippines or abroad;

(8) Sexual infidelity or perversion;

(9) Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner; or

(10) Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one year (Article 55, Family Code).

3. Within what period must a Petition for Legal Separation be filed?

As a general rule, an action for legal separation shall be filed within five years from the time of the occurrence of the cause (Article 57, Family Code).

4. If I file an action for Legal Separation, will I still be entitled to receive support from my spouse during the pendency of the case?

Yes, you shall be entitled to receive support from your spouse, which shall be in accordance with adequate provisions of the written agreement with your spouse. In the absence of an agreement, the Court will provide for support during the pendency of the case (Article 49 in relation to Article 62, Family Code).

5. Can I remarry after my Legal Separation is granted?

No, legal separation is merely the separation of spouses as to their bed and board. While it permits the partial suspension of marital relations, the marriage bond still exists as the marital bonds are not severed (Lapuz Sy vs. Eufemio, G.R. No. L-30977, January 31, 1972).

6. Who can have custody of the child once a petition for legal separation is granted?

The custody of the minor children shall be awarded to the innocent spouse, subject to the choice of the child over seven (7) years of age, unless the parent chosen is unfit. No child under seven years of age shall be separated from the mother unless the court finds compelling reasons to order otherwise (Article 63 in relation to Article 213, Family Code of the Philippines). Similarly, Section 6 of Rule 99 of the Rules of Court permits a child over ten (10) years of age to choose which parent he prefers to live with, unless the parent chosen is unfit to take care of the child by reason of moral depravity, habitual drunkenness, incapacity or poverty.  The choice of a child over seven (7) years of age and over ten (10) years of age shall be considered in custody disputes only between married parents because they are, pursuant to Article 211 of the Family Code, accorded joint parental authority over the persons of their common children (Masbate vs. Relucio, G.R. No. 235498, 30 July 2018).

7. Can I file for Legal Separation for being punched by my spouse every time we argue?

Yes, repeated physical violence is one of the provided grounds for legal separation (Article 55, Family Code). 

8. Can I file for Legal Separation after catching my spouse for the first time having sexual intercourse with another person?

Yes, sexual infidelity or perversion is a ground for filing a petition for legal separation (Article 55[8], Family Code). Adultery, punishable under Article 333 of the Revised Penal Code, is not a continuing crime; it is consummated at every moment of carnal knowledge. Hence, every sexual act is a ground for legal separation (People vs. Zapata, G.R. No. L-3047, 16 May 1951). 

9. What are the instances wherein the court could deny a petition for legal separation?

The court shall deny the petition for legal separation on any of the following grounds:

(1) The aggrieved party has condoned the offense or act complained of;

(2) The aggrieved party has consented to the commission of the offense or act complained of;

(3) There is connivance between the parties  in committing the offense or act constituting the ground for legal separation;

(4) Both parties have given ground for legal separation

(5) There is collusion between the parties to obtain the decree of legal separation; or 

(6) The action is barred by prescription (Article 56, Family Code).

10. Can I revoke the designation of my guilty spouse as my beneficiary in my insurance policy upon the grant of my petition for legal separation?

After the issuance of the Decree of Legal Separation, the innocent spouse may revoke the designation of the offending spouse as a beneficiary in any insurance policy even if such designation be stipulated as irrevocable. The revocation or change shall take effect upon written notification to the insurer (Section 22, A.M. No. 02-11-11-SC).

11. Can I still recover property donated to my guilty spouse upon the grant of our petition for legal separation?

Yes, within five (5) years from the date the decree of legal separation has become final, the innocent spouse may file a petition under oath in the same proceeding for legal separation to revoke the donations he/she made in favor of the offending spouse.  If such donations involve property, such revocations should be recorded in the Register of Deeds in the places where the properties are located. (Article 64, Family Code; Section 22, A.M. No. 02-11-11-SC)

12. Do I have to use my husband’s surname after the decree for legal separation?

The Civil Code of the Philippines, Article 372, mandates that when the legal separation has been granted, the wife shall continue using her name and surname employed before the legal separation. (Laperal vs. Republic, G.R. No. L-18008, 30 October 1962). You may still use of your husband’s surname even after you are legally separated, if the same was your customary surname prior to issuance of the decree.

13. What will be the effect of our reconciliation to the legal separation proceeding? 

If the legal separation is still pending, it shall be terminated at whatever stage it is. If the spouses reconciled after the issuance of the decree of legal separation, the final decree of legal separation shall be set aside, but the separation of property and forfeiture of any of the share of the guilty spouse already effected shall subsist, unless the spouses agree to revive their former property regime (Article 66, Family Code). 

Source: Manila Times

Can you end a marriage by to declaring it as void or annulled?

Please be informed of Article 2035 of the New Civil Code, which states that:

"Art. 2035. No compromise upon the following questions shall be valid:

"(1) The civil status of persons;

"(2) The validity of a marriage or a legal separation;

"(3) Any ground for legal separation;

"(4) Future support;

"(5) The jurisdiction of courts;

"(6) Future legitime. (1814a)"

Based on the above-stated law, there shall be no valid compromise, and, by implication, no waiver of the validity of a marriage.

Although Article 6 of the same Code provides that rights may be waived, the said waiver must not be contrary to law, public order, public policy, morals, or good customs, or prejudicial to a third person with a right recognized by law.

Since an such compromise is about the validity of a marriage, such agreement shall be void.

Further, in the case of Landicho vs. Relova, et al., (GR L-22579, Feb. 23, 1968), the Supreme Court, through Associate Justice Enrique Fernando, held that:

"As was correctly stressed in the answer of respondent Judge relying on Viada, parties to a marriage should not be permitted to judge for themselves its nullity, only competent courts having such authority. Prior to such declaration of nullity, the validity of the first marriage is beyond question. A party who contracts a second marriage then assumes the risk of being prosecuted for bigamy."

Thus, parties to the marriage should not be permitted to judge for themselves its nullity, for this must first be submitted to the judgment of competent courts.

Only when the nullity of a marriage is so declared by the court can it be held as void. So long as there is no such declaration, the presumption is that the marriage exists and is valid.