WHAT ARE THE RULES ON RELATIVE DIVORCE OR LEGAL SEPARATION IN THE PHILIPPINES?
The Philippine legal system does not provide for the operation and recognition of absolute divorce within the country, except in the instances where an alien spouse procures a divorce against his or her Filipino spouse abroad; and Muslim marriages. As a rule, however, Philippine law only allows relative divorce or Legal Separation as a means for the spouses to terminate their existing marriage. Despite this partial allowance for divorce, Legal Separation remains an elusive and costly remedy as the grounds for such are limited only to two specific instances, namely: adultery on the part of the wife; or concubinage on the part of the husband; and an attempt by one spouse against the life of the other. Legal Separation is defined as the separation of the spouses in both bed and board (mensa et thoro). This means that the spouses are merely free to live separately from each other and manage their own personal property despite the continued existence of the marriage. In particular, the effe
