Getting married in the Philippines need not be complicated if you know the basic requirements and procedures. Whether it is a civil or church wedding, you need to make ample preparations so your wedding goes as planned. Applying for a marriage license is the first step you need to take as this is the most important document for civil or church wedding. The purpose of a marriage license is to verify your eligibility for marriage.  As much as possible, you should prepare both original and photocopy of the document.

You can claim your marriage license once you have completed the requirements. You will need to present the Certificates of Attendant to the LCR office where you have applied for your license. It is recommended that you file the registration within 15 days from the date of wedding celebration. The license will be released after 10 days from the date of application. The license will be considered valid for 120 days from the date of issue.

Requirements for securing a marriage license:

•    Community Tax Certificate (Cedula)
•    Application Form
•    NSO Authenticated birth certificate
•    Certificate of No Marriage
•    Recent 1x1 Photo
•    Affidavit of parental advice ( for groom or bride 22-25 years old )
•    Affidavit of parental consent (for groom or bride 18-21 years old)

Death certificate of the deceased spouse will be required from a widow or widower, while a certificate of legal capacity issued by the embassy will be required from a foreigner or an applicant who is not a Filipino citizen.

The marriage contract or license can be obtained from the Local Civil Registrar (LCR) office of the Municipal’s Office where the wedding will be held. The application form must be filled out with the necessary information. There are sections intended for groom and bride and after filling out the form, be sure to check the information before submitting the paper. You will be asked to attend seminars before getting married. These seminars are pre-marriage counselling and family planning and responsible parenthood seminar.  Both parties must attend the seminars.

Church wedding requirements:

•    marriage license,
•    baptismal and confirmation certificates
•    copy of NSO birth certificate
•    marriage preparation seminar
•    canonical interview
•    marriage banns
•     list of principal sponsors and entourage members
•     Confession

Civil wedding requirements:

•    Certified true copy of baptismal certificate or birth certificate of both parties
•    Marriage license
•    Community tax certificates
•    1 x 1 photo of each applicant
•    Certificate of attendance to a wedding seminar
•    Letter of intent to marry

Additional information about marriage can be found in Family Code of the Philippines:

“Art. 2. No marriage shall be valid, unless these essential requisites are present:
(1) Legal capacity of the contracting parties who must be a male and a female; and
(2) Consent freely given in the presence of the solemnizing officer. (53a)

Art. 3. The formal requisites of marriage are:

(1) Authority of the solemnizing officer;
(2) A valid marriage license except in the cases provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title; and
(3) A marriage ceremony which takes place with the appearance of the contracting parties before the solemnizing officer and their personal declaration that they take each other as husband and wife in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age.

Art. 4. The absence of any of the essential or formal requisites shall render the marriage void ab initio, except as stated in Article 35 (2).
A defect in any of the essential requisites shall not affect the validity of the marriage but the party or parties responsible for the irregularity shall be civilly, criminally and administratively liable.

Art. 5. Any male or female of the age of eighteen years or upwards not under any of the impediments mentioned in Articles 37 and 38, may contract marriage.

Art. 6. No prescribed form or religious rite for the solemnization of the marriage is required. It shall be necessary, however, for the contracting parties to appear personally before the solemnizing officer and declare in the presence of not less than two witnesses of legal age that they take each other as husband and wife. This declaration shall be contained in the marriage certificate which shall be signed by the contracting parties and their witnesses and attested by the solemnizing officer.

In case of a marriage in articulo mortis, when the party at the point of death is unable to sign the marriage certificate, it shall be sufficient for one of the witnesses to the marriage to write the name of said party, which fact shall be attested by the solemnizing officer.

Art. 7. Marriage may be solemnized by:

(1) Any incumbent member of the judiciary within the court’s jurisdiction;
(2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized by his church or religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within the limits of the written authority granted by his church or religious sect and provided that at least one of the contracting parties belongs to the solemnizing officer’s church or religious sect;
(3) Any ship captain or airplane chief only in the case mentioned in Article 31;
(4)  Any military commander of a unit to which a chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the latter, during a military operation, likewise only in the cases mentioned in Article 32;
(5) Any consul-general, consul or vice-consul in the case provided in Article 10.”

When death comes knocking on your door, there is nothing you can do but embrace it and accept that you have reached the final chapter of your life. For an individual who cares for the future of loved ones left behind, leaving properties upon death is a sound decision. However, these properties can become a liability if estate taxes are not properly settled. The question is: Who pays the estate tax?

Estate Tax

Estate tax refers to the difference between the allowable deductions and the gross estate as defined under Section 85 and 86 of the Tax Code. The rates of estate tax are graduated and depend on the amount of net estate. The property may not be transferred to the decedent’s heirs if filing of the estate tax return has not been executed and payment of the estate tax has not been made. The problem often lies with non-payment of estate tax and this is one of the road blocks in transferring the property to the buyers’ or heirs’ names.

Estate Proceedings

When someone passes away, there are things that need to be done so you can prevent problems with transferring the property. 

1.    Within two months, the family has to file a Notice of Death with the Bureau of Internal Revenue after the date of death. When the value of the estate exceeds P20,000, this procedure will be applied. The Notice of Death should be filed by the administrator of the estate of executor. There is no specific format that should be followed for filing the notice.

2.    A Tax Identification Number (TIN) for the Estate of the deceased individual will also be required. This can be secured by filling out the BIR Form No. 1901. The TIN is essential for filing the Estate Tax Return (BIR Form No. 1801).

3.    Make sure the list of decedent’s assets and liabilities are ready. The faire market values of the properties at the time of the decedent’s death must also be obtained.

4.    Essential documents for the assets and liabilities must be prepared. Some of the supporting documents that must be secured are a certified copy of the Death Certificate, Notice of Death received by the BIR, Affidavit of Self-Adjudication etc.

5.    Once required documents are completed, the net estate and estate tax must be computed.

6.    Estate Tax Return must be filed and estate taxes should be paid.

7.    There will be a procedure for transferring the properties to the heir’s name which should be followed.

8.    The procedure for cancellation of the decedent’s TIN as outlined in Section 12 of Revenue Regulations No. 7-2012 must also be followed.

Purchasing a property can be risky if you are completely clueless about the process that comes with it. If you think handing the money to the developer or property owner entitles you of a piece of land, you may have to obtain additional information because these days, it is easy to be duped by people who are preying on innocent real estate buyers. Just because you are a first-time buyer does not necessarily mean you should allow yourself to fall victim to scams. When buying a property, you can talk directly to the owner or transact with a developer. Acquiring a land may not be a walk in the park for some, if the process is not clear. The first step that a buyer needs to secure when buying a property from individual owners is to ensure that the Certificate of Title is genuine. Anyone can be tricked into believing that a Certificate of Title is genuine, but when you are extra careful, you can save yourself from the trouble and inconvenience.

To check whether the Certificate of Title is genuine, you need to secure a certified true copy of the title from the Register of Deeds. Before you can secure a certified true copy of the Title, you need to request for the title’s photocopy from the seller. Unless discussed, you have to see to it that the title is clean or free from any transaction that can lead to a problem with acquiring the land in the future. Transactions on that transpire on the land are annotated as a rule of thumb. If there are no annotations on the page, then the title is clean.

You will also have to validate at the Register of Deeds if the land you are planning to buy coincides with the description on the Title. There are technical descriptions in the title and a surveyor can help you out in checking if the description matches. Yearly real estate taxes must also be paid and updated. Once a property is sold, the government will impose quarterly payment of taxes. The payment can be negotiated by the seller and buyer. Make sure the sellers are the owner of the property. You may request for the sellers’ valid IDs so you can check if it matches the name in the title. Always verify information in the original title. You may also validate with authority figures if the sellers are the true owners of the property. If you are going to buy a property, which is not a residential subdivision such as beach lot, or raw land, you need to check with the DENR to know about the regulated use of the land.

Essential Legal Procedures In Transfer Of Title:

•    Once the owner and buyer agree on sale of a property, a Deed of Absolute Sales (DOAS) will be created and notarized through a lawyer.

•    It is necessary to secure a Land Tax Declaration from the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) and submit it to the city or municipal Assessor’s office.

•    The buyer will be the one to pay for the real estate tax to the City Treasurer’s Office.

•    The property’s market value will be assessed in the Assessor’s office.

•    The buyer pays the Transfer taxes to the Assessor’s office.

•    Documentary Stamp tax and Capital Gains tax will be paid to BIR.

•    The old title will be cancelled by the Registry of Deeds (RD) and the new one bearing the name of the buyer will be issued.

•    The buyer or the new owner obtains a photocopy of the new title and secures tax declaration from the Assessor’s office.

Since divorce is not yet legalized in the Philippines, annulment is the only option for couples who want to go separate ways. However, annulment is a long, tedious and expensive process. This is why there are couples who choose to stay married even when they are no longer living under one roof. However, some anomalies have recently surfaced revealing bogus court decisions. The Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) considered this issue a cause for alarm.

The PSA is responsible for changing the status of the petitioner once a court decision has been made. Once the civil registry files have been updated, an annotated marriage certificate will be issued and the details of the proceedings can be found on the right-hand side of the document. The annotated marriage certificate is used for processing various documents including a fiancée visa or a passport.

Among 100 documents that have been verified, only five of them are considered correct. Aurelia Alido, a registration officer of PSA court urges the courts to ensure that all decisions are authentic. It should bear the civil case number and registered in court dockets. The judge should be the one to issue the decision according to Alido. If the annotated marriage certificate does not have the judge’s signature, it only means that the case does not exist. When applying for a fiancée visa, the embassies also verify the applications with the PSA and the process involves checking the civil registry documents’ transaction code.

There are also cases when marriage certificates are being pulled out from civil registry files as though marriage never happened. Fixers continue to prey on potential victims who want to end an unsuccessful marriage. Since everything has gone digital, the files have already been stored in a database and deleting or pulling out marriage certificates is not going to nullify marriages.

People who are found guilty of faking court documents violate Article 171 and 172  of the Revised Penal Code:

Art. 171. Falsification by public officer, employee or notary or ecclesiastical minister. – The penalty of prision mayor and a fine not to exceed P5,000 pesos shall be imposed upon any public officer, employee, or notary who, taking advantage of his official position, shall falsify a document by committing any of the following acts:

4.  Making untruthful statements in narration of facts;

Art. 172. Falsification by private individual and use of falsified documents. – The penalty of prision correccional in its medium and maximum periods and a fine of not more than P5,000 pesos shall be imposed upon:

1.      Any private individual who shall commit any of the falsifications enumerated in the next preceding article in any public or official document or letter of exchange or any other kind of commercial document; and

2.      Any person who, to the damage of a third party, or with the intent to cause such damage, shall in any private document commit any of the acts of falsification enumerated in the next preceding article.

In the Philippines some laws are undeniably out dated and further amendments need to be made. One of the laws that require amendment and expansion is the immigration law or the Commonwealth Act No. 613. The law was made and implemented in 1940 and the outdated sections of this law including Section 29-A is an indicator that necessary changes must be made. 

“Sec. 29. (a) The following classes of aliens shall be excluded from entry into the Philippines:

1. Idiots or insane persons and persons who have been insane;

2. Persons afflicted with a loathsome or dangerous contagious disease, or epilepsy:

3. Persons who have been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude;

4. Prostitutes, or procurers, or persons coming for any immoral purposes;

5. Persons likely to become, public charge;

6. Paupers, vagrants, and beggars;

7. Persons who practice polygamy or who believe in or advocate the practice of polygamy;

8. Persons who believe in or advocate the overthrow by force and violence of the Government of the Philippines, or of constituted lawful authority, or who disbelieve in or are opposed to organized government, or who advocate the assault or assassination of public officials because of their office, or who advocate or teach principles, theories, or ideas contrary to the Constitution of the Philippines or advocate or teach the unlawful destruction of property, or who are members of or affiliated with any organization entertaining or teaching such doctrines;

9. Persons over fifteen years of age, physically capable of reading, who cannot read printed matter in ordinary use in any language selected by the alien, but this provision shall not apply to the grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, wife, husband or child of a Philippine citizen or of an alien lawfully resident in the Philippines;

10. Persons who are members of a family accompanying an excluded alien, unless in the opinion of the Commissioner of Immigration no hardship would result from their admission;

11. Persons accompanying an excluded person who is helpless from mental or physical disability or infancy, when the protection or guardianship of such accompanying person or persons is required by the excluded person, as shall be determined by the Commissioner of Immigration;

12. Children under fifteen years of age, unaccompanied by or not coming to a parent, except that any such children may be admitted in the discretion of the Commissioner of Immigration, if otherwise admissible;

13. Stowaways, except that any stowaway may be admitted in the discretion of the Commissioner of Immigration, if otherwise admissible;

14. Persons coming to perform unskilled manual labor in pursuance of a promise or offer of employment, express or implied, but this provision shall not apply to persons bearing passport visas authorized by Section Twenty of this Act;

15. Persons who have been excluded or deported from the Philippines, but this provision may be waived in the discretion of the Commissioner of Immigration: Provided, however, That the Commissioner of Immigration shall not exercise his discretion in favor of aliens excluded or deported on the ground of conviction for any crime involving moral turpitude or for any crime penalized under Sections Forty-Five and Forty-Six of this Act or on the ground of having engaged in hoarding, black-marketing or profiteering unless such aliens have previously resided in the Philippines immediately before his exclusion or deportation for a period of ten years or more or are married to native Filipino women;

16. Persons who have been removed from the Philippines at the expense of the Government of the Philippines, as indigent aliens, under the provisions of section forty-three of this Act, and who have not obtained the consent of the Board of Commissioners to apply for readmission; and

17. Persons not properly documented for admission as may be required under the provisions of this Act.”

Some of the proposed amendments of the Commonwealth Act No. 613 include the expansion of the classification of disqualified aliens and the penalties that will be imposed for aliens who have involvement in syndicated criminal activities. The purpose of the amendments is to enhance national security and ensure safety in the country. 

Lawmakers seek support so major changes can be made, making the law responsive to the current immigration concerns of the country. 

Although a contract is just a piece of paper that you sign to seal the deal, you can still end up in court due to misinterpretation. A poorly written contract is not necessarily the reason a person can face a lawsuit. Even if your contract has been prepared by one of the biggest law firms in the country, it is still not immune to criminal charges if the obligations that are stated have not been fulfilled. There are basic elements in a contract, which need to be present before any deals can be made. 

A contract refers to an agreement of two or more contracting parties on a particular venture whereby one person binds himself, with respect to the other, to render services or give something. 

The contract must not be obtained through undue influence, coercion, misrepresentation and fraud. As a general rule, the party who has suffered due to breach of contract can claim money damages from the other. The breaching party will also be ordered by the court to perform obligations that are stipulated in the contract.  

Contracts cannot completed without the following requisites:

(1) Contracting parties' consent; 

(2) subject matter of the contract; and 

(3) the cause of the obligation. 

The Basic Elements of Contracts

Consent

In general, when a consent is given, the contract is considered perfected. It can be deemed an oral contract that binds both contracting parties. One person must have a definite offer and the other must have an absolute acceptance of the offer. 

Object of the Agreement

The subject matter refers to the object of the contract. If a thing is deemed outside the commerce of man, it will not be accepted as the object of the contract. Contracts are made to transfer the rights of property, render services and others. However, the object of the contract must not be contrary to law, good customs, morals and public order. 

Consideration

The cause of the contract will be based on the type of contracts. For instance, onerous contract's cause is the promise of service or thing by the other person. Remunatory contract's cause is the benefit or service, which is being remunerated. For contracts of pure beneficence, the cause is the benefactor's liberality. The cause can only be defined based on the nature of the contract. 

An oral contract may not suffice even if both parties have made an agreement. A written contract is a strong proof that a deal or agreement has been made. It includes the necessary details that can be used in court when the obligations have not been met. 

These days, the prevalence of mud-slinging and cyber-bashing cannot be denied. Even a simple exchange of opinions can turn into a heated argument, thanks to the immense popularity of social networking sites.  The Philippines is considered the social networking capital of the world. Almost everyone has a social media account where they share videos, post opinion or simply connect with loved ones. However, the freedom of expression can also be carried to extremes. This does not come as a surprise considering the fact that many individuals have already filed libel charges against someone who has deliberately dragged their name to shame with their false accusations. 

Libel In A Nutshell 

Under Art. 353, Revised Penal Code (RPC), libel refers to a public and malicious imputation of vice or defect, crime, real or imaginary that can cause the contempt, discredit or dishonor a person. 

There are various ways libel can be committed. A person can commit libel by means of printing, writing, engraving, theatrical exhibition, lithography and others. (Art. 355, RPC). Oral defamation is also referred to as slander according to Art. 358, RPC. When defamation is made in a television, it is also considered libel. 

How can a person be held liable for the crime of libel? 

Any person who published or exhibit any defamation in writing or other means will be held liable for the crime of libel. Aside from the author or editor of the libelous pamphlet or book, the business manager of a daily newspaper will also face charges for the defamation especially if he was proven to be the author of the content or article.  In fact, all people who have active participation in the publication where the libelous article is found will be held liable as well. 

When a person has committed a crime of libel, the action will be filed in the Regional Trial Court of the city or province where the libelous article is printed and published. However, if the offended party is a private person, the venue will be his place of residence where the offense was committed and the libelous article was printed and first published. 

The four elements of libel:

• The imputation must be malicious;

• The imputation must be defamatory;

• The imputation must be made publicly;

• The offended party must be identifiable. 

Retraction And The Action For Libel

When a retraction is published to make corrections to the mistake that have been committed, it does not necessarily mean that the accused will be mitigated. For the desired effect to take place, the retraction needs to demonstrate an admission of the falsity of the publication. The desire to repair the incorrectness must also be included in the retraction. 

These days, cases are filed due to the negligence of documenting oral advice and while majority of clients may still give little importance to this, its effect can create a serious damage to the business. This is why it is every business owner’s responsibility to document oral advice especially if it involves information that is beneficial to the company. Lawyers will consider the defense weak if no strong evidence is presented. When documenting oral advice, some key items or essential details must be present. Documentation that lacks essential information can be compared to an undocumented oral advice. The documents’ principal rule: if it’s not there, it did not happen. 

All You Need To Know About Documenting Oral Advice

There are sensitive issues concerning your business that require advice from experts and it does carry weight especially if you are going to use this in defense for any claims. The documentation is more than enough to strengthen any claim and it serves as a way to validate any agreement or discussion that took place. It is also necessary that you include some essential details such as the date of the discussion, the names of participants, the facts that have been provided, and any considerations that the advisor may have given, notice that proves there was no legal advice provided and the items that show recommendations and other additional actions that have to be taken. 

Business operations will also receive unsolicited advice especially regarding the approaches that must be used for the betterment of client operation. While these are considered useful and something that the client can benefit from, it is necessary that the advice must be documented following a specific format. 

The discussion is documented with the use of firm working papers, but this should also include some essential information such as the recommendations and the name of the people involved in the discussion including the a third party if present. These documents need to be written in vivid details because if there are any allegations, the documentation will be instrumental for the resolution. 

Giving oral advice may seem like a very simple way to provide suggestions but it can have a deleterious effect if this is not taken seriously. For matters that can create a huge impact on your business, a document should be kept in mind. Documentation is not just about an issue of trust but a matter of clarifying things especially when you need to use the advice for your future endeavors. It can save you a costly trip to the court as you defend yourself against allegations.