Clients often come to us asking about annulment. In many cases, what they actually need is a petition for declaration of nullity of marriage. This is the legal remedy used when a marriage is considered void from the beginning. Several grounds can lead to nullity. Examples include a marriage contracted without a valid marriage license, a bigamous or polygamous marriage, or a marriage between close relatives who are prohibited from marrying.

At present, the law provides two main remedies for troubled marriages: annulment and legal separation. Both remedies recognize serious marital problems but address them in different ways.

There is also a proposed law — the Absolute Divorce Bill — which, if passed, will introduce divorce as an additional option. However, as of now, divorce is not yet legal in the Philippines.