Marriage if celebrated in the Philippines is treated as a special contract and the contracting parties are bound to comply with all the laws of the Philippines. The Philippines adheres to nationality principle hence, under Article 15 of the Civil Code, “Laws relating to family rights and duties or to the status, condition and legal capacity of persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroadâ€. Marriage celebrated by a Filipino and a foreigner abroad is governed by the laws of the country where the marriage was celebrated except when the marriage is highly immoral such as bigamous marriages and universally considered as against the law such as incestuous marriages There are two aspects to consider when it comes to validity of marriages. First is the extrinsic validity of marriage and second is the intrinsic validity of it. Extrinsic validity of the marriage as a general rule is governed by the laws of country where the marriage is celebrated. Hence in the Philippines, under Article 26 of the Family Code, “All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance with the laws in force in the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this country, except those prohibited under lawâ€. Such prohibited marriages are those contracted by parties who are not of legal age, bigamous and incestuous marriages, mistake as to identity of the contracting party, void marriages by reason of public policy. Intrinsic validity of the marriage on one hand is governed by the national laws of the parties. Hence, a Filipino is governed by Philippine laws, and the foreigner is governed by the laws of his or her country. Personal rights and obligations of the spouses are governed by the national law of the husband. Under the Hague Convention, subsequent change in the nationality of the spouses will result in the following: If both spouses will have the same or common nationality, the laws where they are nationals will govern; If only one of the spouse change his or her nationality, consider the last common nationality of the spouses; If there was never a common nationality, the national law of the country where the husband is a national governs. The property relations of the spouses are governed by what has been stipulated by them. It is thus important for the spouses to know what law governs their relationship as husband and wife to prevent future disagreement on the matter. Source: http://www.manila-legal.com/Marriag...arriages-Between-Filipinos-and-Foreigners.php
To illustrate by way of a practical example, if you marry in the Philippines a divorce granted by a foreign court will not be regarded as a valid divorce by the Philippines so far as the Filipino partner is concerned. It will be regarded as valid by the Philippines so far as the foreign partner is concerned. If you marry outside the Philippines, a divorce granted by a foreign court will be regarded as valid in the Philippines so far as both partners are concerned.
