The Office of the Solicitor General (OSG) has ended its long-standing practice of automatically appealing regional trial court (RTC) decisions that grant petitions for annulment or declaration of nullity of marriage.
During the Senate hearing on the OSG’s 2026 budget on October 21, Solicitor General Darlene Berberabe announced the policy shift, opting to review each case before deciding whether to challenge it in higher courts.
She said the change reflects recent legal and legislative developments, including the Supreme Court’s more flexible interpretation of laws on marriage dissolution and ongoing discussions in Congress about divorce.
“Ngayon po, gawa na rin ng recent trend sa mga usapin po ng divorce, kung ano po ’yung mga liberalized interpretation as well by the Supreme Court, ’yung mga moves po sa legislature as well, marami na rin pong mga rulings na parang nile-liberalize po ’yung rules of evidence on separation. So ang ginagawa po namin ngayon sa OSG ay magkaroon ng determination, ng independent assessment muna,” Berberabe said.
(Now, due to the recent trend on the issue of divorce, the liberalized interpretations by the Supreme Court, the moves in the legislature, and the many rulings that seem to liberalize the rules of evidence on separation, what we are doing now at the OSG is to make a determination — an independent assessment first.)
She explained that the case-by-case review would help the office focus its limited manpower and resources on cases that present clear legal grounds for appeal.
“Hindi naman po maaring lahat na lamang ay i-aakyat if we do not also make that independent evaluation,” she added.
(We cannot just bring all cases to appeal if we do not first make that independent evaluation.)
Under the new policy, Berberabe said the OSG will assess each RTC decision granting annulment or nullity to determine if it merits elevation to the Court of Appeals, allowing the lower court’s ruling to stand if no sufficient grounds for appeal are found.
“Kapag po may decision sa regional trial court, kung na grant po ang annulment or declaration of nullity, si OSG nagkakaroon ng determination kung ia-appeal pa sa Court of Appeals o hindi,” she said.
(When there is a decision from the regional trial court granting an annulment or declaration of nullity, the OSG makes a determination on whether or not to appeal the case to the Court of Appeals.)
Berberabe reported that the OSG is currently managing around 450,000 active cases involving the government and its instrumentalities, including state universities and colleges. About 20 percent, or roughly 80,000, are related to marriage proceedings.
She added that the previous policy of automatically appealing annulment decisions had been in place under earlier administrations but has now been discontinued to ensure a more deliberate and efficient review process.
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