REPUBLIC ACT 11596

REPUBLIC ACT 11596
AN ACT PROHIBITING THE PRACTICE OF

CHILD MARRIAGE AND IMPOSING PENALTIES
FOR VIOLATIONS THEREOF
A presentation by Atty. Justine Phillip O. Tadeo

 The State recognize the vital role of the youth in nation-building and promotes
and protects their physical, moral, spiritual, intellectual, and social well-being.
In the pursuit of this policy, the State shall abolish all traditional and cultural
practices and structures that perpetuate discrimination, abuse and exploitation
of children such as the practice of child marriage.
 Further, the State recognizes the role of women in nation-building and shall
therefore protect and promote their empowerment. This entails the abolition
of the unequal structures and practices the perpetuate discrimination and
inequality.
DECLARATION OF POLICY
 The State affirms the human rights of children consistent with its obligations under (1) international
conventions to which the Philippines is a State Party, including the (a) Universal Declaration of Human
Rights; (b) Convention on Consent to Marriage, Minimum Age for Marriage and Registration of
Marriages; (c) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child; (d) Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW); (e) Optional Protocol on the Sale of Children, Child
Prostitution and Child Pornography; and (f) Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children; and (2) domestic laws like Republic Act No. 7610, otherwise
known as the “Special Protection of Children Against Child Abuse, Exploitation and Discrimination
Act.”
 The State affirms that marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of capacitated
parties, and child betrothal and marriage shall have no legal effect.
 Pursuant to these policies, the State thus views child marriage as a practice constituting child abuse
because it debases, degrades, and demeans the intrinsic worth and dignity of children.
DECLARATION OF POLICY
 a) Child refers to any human being under eighteen (18) years of age, or any person eighteen (18) years of age or
over but who is unable to fully take care and protect oneself from abuse, neglect, cruelty, exploitation or
discrimination because of a physical or mental disability or condition;
 (b) Child marriage refers to any marriage entered into where one or both parties are children as defined in the
paragraph above, and solemnized in civil or church proceedings, or in any recognized traditional, cultural or
customary manner. It shall include an informal union or cohabitation outside of wedlock between an adult and a
child, or between children;
 (c) Guardians refer to relatives or individuals taking custody of a child in the absence of the parents, or anyone to
whom a child is given or left for care or custody, whether permanent or temporary; or persons judicially appointed
by a competent court as guardians;
 (d) Parents refer to biological parents or adoptive parents; and
 (e) Solemnizing officers refers to any person authorized to officiate a marriage under Executive Order No. 209,
otherwise known as “The Family Code of the Philippines,” or recognized to celebrate marriages by reason of
religion, tradition, or customs.
DEFINITION OF TERMS
 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.
MARRIAGE (FAMILY 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
 (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.
ESSENTIAL AND FORMAL REQUISITES

 (a) Facilitation of Child Marriage. – Any person who causes, fixes, facilitates, or arranges a child
marriage shall suffer the penalty of prision mayor in its medium period and a fine of not less than Forty
thousand pesos (P40,000.00): Provided, however, That should the perpetrator be an ascendant, parent,
adoptive parent, step parent, or guardian of the child, the penalty shall be prision mayor in its maximum
period, or fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00), and perpetual loss of parental
authority: Provided, further, That any person who produces, prints, issues and/or distributes fraudulent or
tampered documents such as birth certificates, affidavits of delayed registration of birth and/or foundling
certificates for the purpose of misrepresenting the age of a child to facilitate child marriage or evade
liability under this Act shall be liable under this section, without prejudice to liability under other
laws: Provided, finally, That if the perpetrator is a public officer, he or she shall be dismissed from the
service and may be perpetually disqualified from holding office, at the discretion of the courts;
UNLAWFUL ACTS
 (b) Solemnization of Child Marriage. – Any person who performs or officiates a child marriage shall suffer
the penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period and a fine of not less than Fifty thousand pesos
(P50,000.00): Provided, however, That if the perpetrator is a public officer, he or she shall be dismissed
from the service and may be perpetually disqualified from holding office, at the discretion of the courts;
and
 (c) Cohabitation of an Adult with a Child Outside Wedlock. – An adult partner who cohabits with a child
outside wedlock shall suffer the penalty of prision mayor in its maximum period and a fine of not less than
Fifty thousand pesos (P50,000.00): Provided, however, That if the perpetrator is a public officer, he or she
shall likewise be dismissed from the service and may be perpetually disqualified from holding office, at
the discretion of the courts: Provided, finally, That this shall be without prejudice to higher penalties that
may be imposed in the Revised Penal Code and other special laws.
UNLAWFUL ACTS
 Child marriage is void ab initio, and the action or defense for the declaration of absolute nullity of
a child marriage shall not prescribe in accordance with Articles 35 and 39 of the Family Code of
the Philippines. Articles 50 to 54 of the Family Code of the Philippines shall govern on matters of
support, property relations, and custody of children after the termination of the child marriage.
LEGAL EFFECT OF A CHILD MARRIAGE

 (a) DSWD – shall take the lead in the implementation of this Act and create programs
that will address the prevalence of child marriage and provide appropriate services,
including but not limited to legal services, health services, psychosocial services,
counseling, educational, livelihood and skills development, temporary shelter and all
other assistance necessary to protect victims of child marriage and their offspring. It
shall include awareness campaigns on the negative effects of child marriage;
IMPLEMENTING GOVERNMENT
AGENCIES AS DUTY-BEARERS
 (b) Council for the Welfare of Children (CWC) – shall work closely with the
DSWD in strengthening policies and creating programs to prohibit and end child
marriage. It shall include the advocacy to prevent child marriage in the Philippine
Plan of Action to End Violence Against Children (PPAEVAC);
 (c) Department of Justice (DOJ) – shall ensure that the penal provisions of this
Act are carried out and provide access to justice and legal services to victims
through the Public Attorney’s Office (PAO);
 (d) Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) – shall institute a
systematic information and prevention campaign against child marriage through
barangay-level education programs and initiatives that are culturally-sensitive and
child-centered. The DILG shall also mandate local government units (LGUs) to
provide basic intervention for the rescue, recovery, rehabilitation and support of victim
of child marriages and their offspring; and establish a system of reporting cases of
child marriage;
 (e) Department of Education (DepEd) – shall include culturally-sensitive and age-
appropriate modules and discussions on the impacts and effects of the child marriage
in its comprehensive sexuality education curriculum;
 (f) Department of Health (DOH) – shall ensure access to health services for the
prevention of child marriage by providing sexual and reproductive health services and
mental health services for children in child marriages, and appropriate health services
for their offspring;
 (g) Supreme Court of the Philippines – shall organize training programs for all relevant
courts on the prevention of child marriage and other provisions of this Act and shall
ensure strict application of the law and its interpretation in the best interests of the
child;
 (h) Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) – shall integrate dissemination of the
provisions of this Act in programs on public awareness and behavior-change
communications;
 (i) Commission on Human Rights (CHR) – shall monitor the implementation of this

Act as Gender Ombud and through its Child Rights Center/Desk;
 (j) National Commission on Muslim Filipinos (NCMF) – shall include in its program
of action awareness-raising campaigns within Muslim communities on the impacts and
effects of child marriage in the overall health and development of children, monitor
and report cases of child marriages in communities under its jurisdiction, ensure the
faithful implementation of this Act and its interpretation in the best interests of the
child; and
 (k) National Commission for Indigenous Peoples (NCIP) – shall include in its program
of action awareness-raising campaigns within indigenous cultural
communities/indigenous peoples on the impacts and effects of child marriage in the
overall health and development of children, monitor and report cases of child
marriages in communities under its jurisdiction, ensure the faithful implementation of
this Act and its interpretation in the interests of the child.
THANK YOU

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AN ACT PROHIBITING THE PRACTICE OF

A presentation by Atty. Justine Phillip O. Tadeo

MARRIAGE (FAMILY CODE)

Art. 3. The formal requisites of marriage are:

ESSENTIAL AND FORMAL REQUISITES

LEGAL EFFECT OF A CHILD MARRIAGE

 (i) Commission on Human Rights (CHR) – shall monitor the implementation of this

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