FAMILY CODE

EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209 July 6, 1987
Title 1 Chap. 3 Sec. 39 Amended by RA 8533

THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES

I, CORAZON C. AQUINO, President of the Philippines, by virtue of the powers vested in me by the Constitution, do hereby order and promulgate the Family Code of the Philippines, as follows:

TITLE I
MARRIAGE

Chapter 1. Requisites of Marriage

Art. 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. (52a)

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...

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EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209

Summary of the Family Code of the Philippines:

Marriage:
- Definition of marriage as a special contract between a man and woman (Art. 1)
- Essential and formal requisites for a valid marriage (Arts. 2-4)
- Legal age for marriage is 18 years old (Art. 5)
- Solemnizing officers and requirements for solemnization (Arts. 6-10)
- Marriage license requirements and procedures (Arts. 11-20)
- Recognition of foreign marriages (Art. 26)
- Grounds for impugning legitimacy of a child (Art. 166)
- Periods for impugning legitimacy (Arts. 170-171)

Property Relations Between Husband and Wife:
- Governing rules on property relations (Arts. 74-81)
- Donations by reason of marriage (Arts. 82-87)
- System of Absolute Community of Property (Arts. 88-104)
- Conjugal Partnership of Gains (Arts. 105-133)
- Separation of Property (Arts. 134-142)
- Regime for unions without marriage (Arts. 147-148)

Rights and Obligations Between Husband and Wife (Arts. 68-73)

The Family Home:
- Definition and constitution of the family home (Arts. 152-153)
- Beneficiaries of the family home (Art. 154)
- Exemptions from execution, forced sale or attachment (Art. 155)
- Requirements for constituting a family home (Arts. 156-157)
- Procedures for sale, alienation or encumbrance (Arts. 158-160)
- Limitation to one family home per person (Art. 161)

Paternity and Filiation:
- Legitimate and illegitimate children (Arts. 163-165)
- Proof of filiation for legitimate children (Art. 172)
- Rights of legitimate children (Art. 174)
- Proof of filiation for illegitimate children (Art. 175)
- Rights of illegitimate children (Art. 176)
- Legitimated children (Arts. 177-182)

Adoption:
- Qualifications for adopters and adoptees (Arts. 183-187)
- Consent requirements for adoption (Art. 188)
- Effects of adoption (Arts. 189-190)
- Grounds for rescission of adoption (Arts. 191-193)

Support:
- Definition and coverage of support (Art. 194)
- Persons obliged to support each other (Arts. 195-196)
- Liabilities for support (Art. 197)
- Support during legal separation or annulment proceedings (Art. 198)
- Order of liability for support (Arts. 199-200)
- Amount of support (Arts. 201-202)
- Demandability and payment of support (Art. 203)
- Options for fulfilling support obligation (Art. 204)
- Exemption from attachment or execution (Art. 205)
- Reimbursement for support given by a third person (Arts. 206-207)
- Adjustment of contractual support (Art. 208)

Parental Authority:
- General provisions on parental authority (Arts. 209-215)
- Substitute and special parental authority (Arts. 216-219)
- Effects on persons of children (Arts. 220-224)
- Effects on property of children (Arts. 225-227)
- Termination of parental authority (Arts. 228-229)
- Suspension of parental authority (Arts. 230-232)
- Substitute parental authority (Art. 233)

Emancipation and Age of Majority:
- Definition of emancipation and age of majority (Art. 234)
- Emancipation by recorded agreement (Arts. 234-235)
- Effects of emancipation (Art. 236)
- Annulment of marriage or agreement revives parental authority (Art. 237)

Summary Judicial Proceedings:
- Separation in fact between spouses (Arts. 239-248)
- Incidents involving parental authority (Arts. 249-252)

Final Provisions:
- Repealing clause (Art. 253)
- Separability clause (Art. 254)
- Retroactive effect (Art. 255)
- Effectivity date (Art. 256)