A foreign divorce between a Filipino and a foreigner will be presumed to establish the foreign spouse’s legal capacity to remarry under the applicable foreign law, easing evidentiary requirements for Filipino spouses seeking judicial recognition.
In a resolution dated October 7, 2026, the SC En Banc approved amendments to Rules 39, 131, and 132 of the Rules of Court, removing the requirement for Filipino spouses to prove the applicable foreign divorce law when filing petitions for judicial recognition.
According to the SC, petitioners must still establish that the foreign divorce occurred, while judicial recognition remains necessary under Article 26(2) of the Family Code.
The SC announced the amendments in an October 8 press briefer, while the full resolution was uploaded to its website on October 15. Under the resolution, the amendments will take effect 15 calendar days after posting on the SC website.
Presumption of capacity to remarry
Under the new Section 48-A of Rule 39, a foreign divorce between a Filipino and a foreigner, granted without restriction or qualification by a foreign court or administrative authority with jurisdiction, is presumed to allow the foreign spouse to remarry.
The SC also amended Section 3 of Rule 131 to expressly classify this presumption as disputable, allowing an opposing party to challenge it through contrary evidence.
A foreign divorce may also be challenged on grounds of lack of jurisdiction, lack of notice to a party, fraud, or clear mistake of law or fact.
Simplified translation requirements
The amendments also establish a presumption of accuracy for English translations of foreign divorce documents issued by translators who attest under oath to their correctness.
An opposing party may challenge the accuracy of a translation by submitting a contrary version, subject to the Rules of Evidence.
Use of certified foreign laws
Under the amended Section 24 of Rule 132, a party opposing recognition may present certified true copies of foreign divorce laws and their English translations issued by the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA) from its centralized repository, among other means of proving foreign law.
The provision also allows evidence that the applicable foreign law has been modified, amended, or repealed, or that its English translation is inaccurate.
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