THE FAMILY CODE OF

THE PHILIPPINES
Signed in to law on July 6, 1987
effectivity date on August 3, 1988

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209

 MARRIAGE

Article 1. Marriage is a special contract of

permanent union between a man and a woman
entered into in accordance with law for the
establishment of conjugal and family life.
It is the foundation of the family and an
inviolable social institution whose nature,
consequences, and incidents are governed by law
and not subject to stipulation, except that
marriage settlements may fix the property
relations during the marriage within the limits
provided by this Code.
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.
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.

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.
 RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS
BETWEEN HUSBAND AND WIFE
Art. 68. The husband and wife are obliged to live together,
observe mutual love, respect and fidelity, and render
mutual help and support.
Art. 70. The spouses are jointly responsible for the support
of the family.
Art. 71. The management of the household shall be the
right and the duty of both spouses.
Art. 73. Either spouse may exercise any legitimate
profession, occupation, business or activity without the
consent of the other.
 The Family as an Institution
Art. 149. The family, being the foundation of the nation, is a
basic social institution which public policy cherishes and
protects. Consequently, family relations are governed by law
and no custom, practice or agreement destructive of the family
shall be recognized or given effect.

Art. 150. Family relations include those:

(1) Between husband and wife;
(2) Between parents and children;
(3) Among brothers and sisters, whether of the
full or half-blood.
Art. 151. No suit between members of the same
family shall prosper unless it should appear from
the verified complaint or petition that earnest efforts
toward a compromise have been made, but that the
same have failed. If it is shown that no such efforts
were in fact made, the same case must be
dismissed.
 Rights of Legitimate children
Art. 174. Legitimate children shall have the right:
(1) To bear the surnames of the father and the mother, in
conformity with the provisions of the Civil Code on
Surnames;
(2) To receive support from their parents, their ascendants,
and in proper cases, their brothers and sisters, in conformity
with the provisions of this Code on Support; and
(3) To be entitled to the legitimate and other successional
rights granted to them by the Civil Code.
 SUPPORT
Art. 194. Support comprises everything indispensable for
sustenance, dwelling, clothing, medical attendance,
education and transportation, in keeping with the financial
capacity of the family.
The education of the person entitled to be supported
referred to in the preceding paragraph shall include his
schooling or training for some profession, trade or
vocation, even beyond the age of majority. Transportation
shall include expenses in going to and from school, or to
and from place of work.
Art. 195. Subject to the provisions of the succeeding articles,
the following are obliged to support each other to the whole
extent set forth in the preceding article:
(1) The spouses;
(2) Legitimate ascendants and descendants;
(3) Parents and their legitimate children and the legitimate and
illegitimate children of the latter;
(4) Parents and their illegitimate children and the legitimate
and illegitimate children of the latter; and
(5) Legitimate brothers and sisters, whether of full or half-
blood
 PARENTAL AUTHORITY

Art. 209. Pursuant to the natural right and duty of parents

over the person and property of their unemancipated
children, parental authority and responsibility shall include
the caring for and rearing them for civic consciousness
and efficiency and the development of their moral, mental
and physical character and well-being.

Art. 210. Parental authority and responsibility may not be

renounced or transferred except in the cases authorized by
law.
Art. 211. The father and the mother shall jointly
exercise parental authority over the persons of their
common children. In case of disagreement, the
father's decision shall prevail, unless there is a
judicial order to the contrary.
Children shall always observe respect and
reverence towards their parents and are obliged to
obey them as long as the children are under
parental authority.
Effect of Parental Authority Upon the
Persons of the Children
Art. 220. The parents and those exercising parental
authority shall have with the respect to their
unemancipated children on wards the following rights
and duties:
(1) To keep them in their company, to support, educate
and instruct them by right precept and good example,
and to provide for their upbringing in keeping with their
means;
(2) To give them love and affection, advice and counsel,
companionship and understanding;
(3)
To provide them with moral and spiritual guidance,
inculcate in them honesty, integrity, self-discipline,
self-reliance, industry and thrift, stimulate their interest
in civic affairs, and inspire in them compliance with the
duties of citizenship;
(4) to furnish them with good and wholesome
educational materials, supervise their activities,
recreation and association with others, protect them
from bad company, and prevent them from acquiring
habits detrimental to their health, studies and morals;
(5) to represent them in all matters affecting their
interests;

(6) to demand from them respect and obedience;

(7) to impose discipline on them as may be required

under the circumstances; and

(8) to perform such other duties as are imposed by law

upon parents and guardians.
Art. 221. Parents and other persons exercising
parental authority shall be civilly liable for the
injuries and damages caused by the acts or
omissions of their unemancipated children living in
their company and under their parental authority
subject to the appropriate defenses provided by law.
 PROPERTY RELATIONS BETWEEN
HUSBAND AND WIFE
I. System of Absolute Community

Art. 91. Unless otherwise provided in this Chapter or in the

marriage settlements, the community property shall consist of all
the property owned by the spouses at the time of the celebration of
the marriage or acquired thereafter. (197a)
Art. 92. The following shall be excluded from the community
property:
(1) Property acquired during the marriage by gratuitous title by
either spouse, and the fruits as well as the income thereof, if any,
unless it is expressly provided by the donor, testator or grantor that
they shall form part of the community property;
(2) Property for personal and exclusive use of either
spouse. However, jewelry shall form part of the
community property;

(3) Property acquired before the marriage by either

spouse who has legitimate descendants by a former
marriage, and the fruits as well as the income, if
any, of such property.
II. Conjugal Partnership of Gains

Art. 105. In case the future spouses agree in the marriage

settlements that the regime of conjugal partnership gains shall
govern their property relations during marriage, the
provisions in this Chapter shall be of supplementary
application.
Art. 106. Under the regime of conjugal partnership of gains,
the husband and wife place in a common fund the proceeds,
products, fruits and income from their separate properties and
those acquired by either or both spouses through their efforts
or by chance, and, upon dissolution of the marriage or of the
partnership, the net gains or benefits obtained by either or
both spouses shall be divided equally between them, unless
otherwise agreed in the marriage settlements.
Art. 116. All property acquired during the marriage,
whether the acquisition appears to have been made,
contracted or registered in the name of one or both
spouses, is presumed to be conjugal unless the
contrary is proved.
III. Regime of Separation of Property
Art. 143. Should the future spouses agree in the marriage
settlements that their property relations during marriage shall be
governed by the regime of separation of property, the provisions
of this Chapter shall be suppletory.
Art. 145. Each spouse shall own, dispose of, possess, administer
and enjoy his or her own separate estate, without need of the
consent of the other. To each spouse shall belong all earnings from
his or her profession, business or industry and all fruits, natural,
industrial or civil, due or received during the marriage from his or
her separate property.
Art. 146. Both spouses shall bear the family expenses in
proportion to their income, or, in case of insufficiency or default
thereof, to the current market value of their separate properties
 Property Regime of Unions
Without Marriage

Art. 147. When a man and a woman who are

capacitated to marry each other, live exclusively with
each other as husband and wife without the benefit of
marriage or under a void marriage, their wages and
salaries shall be owned by them in equal shares and the
property acquired by both of them through their work or
industry shall be governed by the rules on co-ownership.
In the absence of proof to the contrary, properties
acquired while they lived together shall be presumed to
have been obtained by their joint efforts, work or
industry, and shall be owned by them in equal shares.
For purposes of this Article, a party who did not
participate in the acquisition by the other party of any
property shall be deemed to have contributed jointly in
the acquisition thereof if the former's efforts consisted in
the care and maintenance of the family and of the
household.
Neither party can encumber or dispose by acts inter vivos of
his or her share in the property acquired during cohabitation
and owned in common, without the consent of the other, until
after the termination of their cohabitation.
When only one of the parties to a void marriage is in good
faith, the share of the party in bad faith in the co-ownership
shall be forfeited in favor of their common children. In case
of default of or waiver by any or all of the common children
or their descendants, each vacant share shall belong to the
respective surviving descendants. In the absence of
descendants, such share shall belong to the innocent party. In
all cases, the forfeiture shall take place upon termination of
the cohabitation.
Art. 148. In cases of cohabitation not falling under the
preceding Article, only the properties acquired by both
of the parties through their actual joint contribution of
money, property, or industry shall be owned by them in
common in proportion to their respective contributions.
In the absence of proof to the contrary, their
contributions and corresponding shares are presumed to
be equal. The same rule and presumption shall apply to
joint deposits of money and evidences of credit.
If one of the parties is validly married to another, his or
her share in the co-ownership shall accrue to the
absolute community or conjugal partnership
existing in such valid marriage. If the party who
acted in bad faith is not validly married to another, his
or her shall be forfeited in the manner provided in the
last paragraph of the preceding Article.
The foregoing rules on forfeiture shall likewise apply
even if both parties are in bad faith.
THANK YOU
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