DOMESTIC CONFLICT OF LAW RULES

ARTICLE IV
Citizenship
SECTION 1. The following are citizens of the Philippines:
(1) Those who are citizens of the Philippines at the time of the adoption of this Constitution;
(2) Those whose fathers or mothers are citizens of the Philippines;
(3) Those born before January 17, 1973, of Filipino mothers, who elect Philippine citizenship
upon reaching the age of majority; and
(4) Those who are naturalized in accordance with law.
SECTION 2. Natural-born citizens are those who are citizens of the Philippines from birth
without having to perform any act to acquire or perfect their Philippine citizenship. Those who
elect Philippine citizenship in accordance with paragraph (3), Section 1 hereof shall be deemed
natural-born citizens.
SECTION 3. Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law.

SECTION 4. Citizens of the Philippines who marry aliens shall retain their citizenship, unless by
their act or omission they are deemed, under the law, to have renounced it.
SECTION 5. Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and shall be dealt with
by law.
ARTICLE V
Suffrage
SECTION 1. Suffrage may be exercised by all citizens of the Philippines not otherwise
disqualified by law, who are at least eighteen years of age, and who shall have resided in the
Philippines for at least one year and in the place wherein they propose to vote for at least six
months immediately preceding the election. No literacy, property, or other substantive
requirement shall be imposed on the exercise of suffrage.
EXECUTIVE ORDER NO. 209
THE FAMILY CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES July 6, 1987
Art. 10. Marriages between Filipino citizens abroad may be solemnized by a consul-general,
consul or vice-consul of the Republic of the Philippines. The issuance of the marriage license
and the duties of the local civil registrar and of the solemnizing officer with regard to the
celebration of marriage shall be performed by said consular official. (75a)
Art. 21. When either or both of the contracting parties are citizens of a foreign country, it shall be
necessary for them before a marriage license can be obtained, to submit a certificate of legal
capacity to contract marriage, issued by their respective diplomatic or consular officials.
Stateless persons or refugees from other countries shall, in lieu of the certificate of legal capacity
herein required, submit an affidavit stating the circumstances showing such capacity to contract
marriage. (66a)
Art. 22. The marriage certificate, in which the parties shall declare that they take each other as
husband and wife, shall also state:
(1) The full name, sex and age of each contracting party;
(2) Their citizenship, religion and habitual residence;
(3) The date and precise time of the celebration of the marriage;
(4) That the proper marriage license has been issued according to law, except in marriage
provided for in Chapter 2 of this Title;
(5) That either or both of the contracting parties have secured the parental consent in
appropriate cases;
(6) That either or both of the contracting parties have complied with the legal requirement
regarding parental advice in appropriate cases; and
(7) That the parties have entered into marriage settlement, if any, attaching a copy
thereof. (67a)
Art. 23. It shall be the duty of the person solemnizing the marriage to furnish either of the
contracting parties the original of the marriage certificate referred to in Article 6 and to send the
duplicate and triplicate copies of the certificate not later than fifteen days after the marriage, to
the local civil registrar of the place where the marriage was solemnized. Proper receipts shall be
issued by the local civil registrar to the solemnizing officer transmitting copies of the marriage
certificate. The solemnizing officer shall retain in his file the quadruplicate copy of the marriage
certificate, the copy of the marriage certificate, the original of the marriage license and, in proper
cases, the affidavit of the contracting party regarding the solemnization of the marriage in place
other than those mentioned in Article 8. (68a)

Art. 24. It shall be the duty of the local civil registrar to prepare the documents required by this
Title, and to administer oaths to all interested parties without any charge in both cases. The
documents and affidavits filed in connection with applications for marriage licenses shall be
exempt from documentary stamp tax. (n)
Art. 25. The local civil registrar concerned shall enter all applications for marriage licenses filed
with him in a registry book strictly in the order in which the same are received. He shall record in
said book the names of the applicants, the date on which the marriage license was issued, and
such other data as may be necessary. (n)
Art. 26. All marriages solemnized outside the Philippines, in accordance with the laws in force in
the country where they were solemnized, and valid there as such, shall also be valid in this
country, except those prohibited under Articles 35 (1), (4), (5) and (6), 36, 37 and 38. (17a)
Where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is
thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the
Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law. (As amended by Executive
Order 227)
Art. 35. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning:
 (1) Those contracted by any party below eighteen years of age even with the consent of
parents or guardians;
(2) Those solemnized by any person not legally authorized to perform marriages unless
such marriages were contracted with either or both parties believing in good faith that the
solemnizing officer had the legal authority to do so;
(3) Those solemnized without license, except those covered the preceding Chapter;
(4) Those bigamous or polygamous marriages not failing under Article 41;
(5) Those contracted through mistake of one contracting party as to the identity of the
other; and
(6) Those subsequent marriages that are void under Article 53.

Art. 36. A marriage contracted by any party who, at the time of the celebration, was
psychologically incapacitated to comply with the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall
likewise be void even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization. (As
amended by Executive Order 227)

Art. 37. Marriages between the following are incestuous and void from the beginning, whether
relationship between the parties be legitimate or illegitimate:
(1) Between ascendants and descendants of any degree; and
(2) Between brothers and sisters, whether of the full or half blood. (81a)

Art. 38. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning for reasons of public policy:

(1) Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth
civil degree;
(2) Between step-parents and step-children;
(3) Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;
(4) Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(5) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(6) Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;
(7) Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter;
(8) Between adopted children of the same adopter; and
(9) Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other
person's spouse, or his or her own spouse. (82)
Art. 80. In the absence of a contrary stipulation in a marriage settlement, the property relations of
the spouses shall be governed by Philippine laws, regardless of the place of the celebration of the
marriage and their residence.
This rule shall not apply:
(1) Where both spouses are aliens;
(2) With respect to the extrinsic validity of contracts affecting property not situated in the
Philippines and executed in the country where the property is located; and
(3) With respect to the extrinsic validity of contracts entered into in the Philippines but
affecting property situated in a foreign country whose laws require different formalities
for its extrinsic validity. (124a)
Art. 96. The administration and enjoyment of the community property shall belong to both
spouses jointly. In case of disagreement, the husband's decision shall prevail, subject to recourse
to the court by the wife for proper remedy, which must be availed of within five years from the
date of the contract implementing such decision.
In the event that one spouse is incapacitated or otherwise unable to participate in the
administration of the common properties, the other spouse may assume sole powers of
administration. These powers do not include disposition or encumbrance without authority of the
court or the written consent of the other spouse. In the absence of such authority or consent, the
disposition or encumbrance shall be void. However, the transaction shall be construed as a
continuing offer on the part of the consenting spouse and the third person, and may be perfected
as a binding contract upon the acceptance by the other spouse or authorization by the court
before the offer is withdrawn by either or both offerors. (206a)
Art. 184. The following persons may not adopt:
(1) The guardian with respect to the ward prior to the approval of the final accounts
rendered upon the termination of their guardianship relation;
(2) Any person who has been convicted of a crime involving moral turpitude;
(3) An alien, except:

(a) A former Filipino citizen who seeks to adopt a relative by consanguinity;

(b) One who seeks to adopt the legitimate child of his or her Filipino spouse; or
(c) One who is married to a Filipino citizen and seeks to adopt jointly with his or
her spouse a relative by consanguinity of the latter.
Aliens not included in the foregoing exceptions may adopt Filipino children in accordance with
the rules on inter-country adoptions as may be provided by law. (28a, E. O. 91 and PD 603)
Art. 187. The following may not be adopted:
(1) A person of legal age, unless he or she is a child by nature of the adopter or his or her
spouse, or, prior to the adoption, said person has been consistently considered and treated
by the adopter as his or her own child during minority.
(2) An alien with whose government the Republic of the Philippines has no diplomatic
relations; and
(3) A person who has already been adopted unless such adoption has been previously
revoked or rescinded. (30a, E. O. 91 and PD 603)
 CIVIL CODE OF THE PHILIPPINES
Art. 14. Penal laws and those of public security and safety shall be obligatory upon all who live
or sojourn in the Philippine territory, subject to the principles of public international law and to
treaty stipulations. (8a)
Art. 15. Laws relating to family rights and duties, or to the status, condition and legal capacity of
persons are binding upon citizens of the Philippines, even though living abroad. (9a)
Art. 16. Real property as well as personal property is subject to the law of the country where it is
stipulated.
However, intestate and testamentary successions, both with respect to the order of succession and
to the amount of successional rights and to the intrinsic validity of testamentary provisions, shall
be regulated by the national law of the person whose succession is under consideration, whatever
may be the nature of the property and regardless of the country wherein said property may be
found. (10a)
Art. 17. The forms and solemnities of contracts, wills, and other public instruments shall be
governed by the laws of the country in which they are executed.
Art. 815. When a Filipino is in a foreign country, he is authorized to make a will in any of the
forms established by the law of the country in which he may be. Such will may be probated in
the Philippines. (n)
Art. 816. The will of an alien who is abroad produces effect in the Philippines if made with the
formalities prescribed by the law of the place in which he resides, or according to the formalities
observed in his country, or in conformity with those which this Code prescribes. (n)
Art. 817. A will made in the Philippines by a citizen or subject of another country, which is
executed in accordance with the law of the country of which he is a citizen or subject, and which
might be proved and allowed by the law of his own country, shall have the same effect as if
executed according to the laws of the Philippines. (n)
Art. 818. Two or more persons cannot make a will jointly, or in the same instrument, either for
their reciprocal benefit or for the benefit of a third person. (669)
Art. 819. Wills, prohibited by the preceding article, executed by Filipinos in a foreign country
shall not be valid in the Philippines, even though authorized by the laws of the country where
they may have been executed. (733a)
Art. 829. A revocation done outside the Philippines, by a person who does not have his domicile
in this country, is valid when it is done according to the law of the place where the will was
made, or according to the law of the place in which the testator had his domicile at the time; and
if the revocation takes place in this country, when it is in accordance with the provisions of this
Code. (n)
Art. 1039. Capacity to succeed is governed by the law of the nation of the decedent. (n)
Art. 1319. Consent is manifested by the meeting of the offer and the acceptance upon the thing
and the cause which are to constitute the contract. The offer must be certain and the acceptance
absolute. A qualified acceptance constitutes a counter-offer.
Acceptance made by letter or telegram does not bind the offerer except from the time it came to
his knowledge. The contract, in such a case, is presumed to have been entered into in the place
where the offer was made. (1262a)
Art. 1753. The law of the country to which the goods are to be transported shall govern the
liability of the common carrier for their loss, destruction or deterioration.

REVISED PENAL CODE

Art. 2. Application of its provisions. Except as provided in the treaties and laws of preferential
application, the provisions of this Code shall be enforced not only within the Philippine
Archipelago, including its atmosphere, its interior waters and maritime zone, but also outside of
its jurisdiction, against those who:
1. Should commit an offense while on a Philippine ship or airship
2. Should forge or counterfeit any coin or currency note of the Philippine Islands or
obligations and securities issued by the Government of the Philippine Islands;
3. Should be liable for acts connected with the introduction into these islands of the
obligations and securities mentioned in the presiding number;
4. While being public officers or employees, should commit an offense in the exercise of
their functions; or
5. Should commit any of the crimes against national security and the law of nations,
defined in Title One of Book Two of this Code.

CORPORATION CODE
Sec. 133. Doing business without a license.- No foreign corporation transacting business
in the Philippines without a license, or its successors or assigns, shall be permitted to
maintain or intervene in any action, suit or proceeding in any court or administrative
agency of the Philippines; but such corporation may be sued or proceeded against before
Philippine courts or administrative tribunals on any valid cause of action recognized
under Philippine laws. (69a)

RULES OF COURT
RULE 14
Summons
Section 1. Clerk to issue summons. Upon the filing of the complaint and the payment of the
requisite legal fees, the clerk of court shall forthwith issue the corresponding summons to the
defendants. (1a)
Section 2. Contents. The summons shall be directed to the defendant, signed by the clerk of
court under seal and contain (a) the name of the court and the names of the parties to the action;
(b) a direction that the defendant answer within the time fixed by these Rules; (c) a notice that
unless the defendant so answers plaintiff will take judgment by default and may be granted the
relief applied for.
A copy of the complaint and order for appointment of guardian ad litem if any, shall be attached
to the original and each copy of the summons. (3a)
Section 3. By whom served. The summons may be served by the sheriff, his deputy, or other
proper court officer, or for justifiable reasons by any suitable person authorized by the court
issuing the summons. (5a)
Section 4. Return. When the service has been completed, the server shall, within five (5) days
therefrom, serve a copy of the return, personally or by registered mail, to the plaintiff's counsel,
and shall return the summons to the clerk, who issued it, accompanied by proof of service. (6a)
Section 5. Issuance of alias summons. If a summons is returned without being served on any
or all of the defendants, the server shall also serve a copy of the return on the plaintiff's counsel,
stating the reasons for the failure of service, within five (5) days therefrom. In such a case, or if
the summons has been lost, the clerk, on demand of the plaintiff, may issue an alias summons.
(4a)
Section 6. Service in person on defendant. Whenever practicable, the summons shall be
served by handling a copy thereof to the defendant in person, or, if he refuses to receive and sign
for it, by tendering it to him. (7a)
Section 7. Substituted service. If, for justifiable causes, the defendant cannot be served within
a reasonable time as provided in the preceding section, service may be effected (a) by leaving
copies of the summons at the defendant's residence with some person of suitable age and
discretion then residing therein, or (b) by leaving the copies at defendant's office or regular place
of business with some competent person in charge thereof. (8a)
Section 8. Service upon entity without juridical personality. When persons associated in an
entity without juridical personality are sued under the name by which they are generally or
commonly known, service may be effected upon all the defendants by serving upon any one of
them, or upon the person in charge of the office or place of business maintained in such name.
But such service shall not bind individually any person whose connection with the entity has,
upon due notice, been severed before the action was brought. (9a)
Section 9. Service upon prisoners. When the defendant is a prisoner confined in a jail or
institution, service shall be effected upon him by the officer having the management of such jail
or institution who is deemed deputized as a special sheriff for said purpose. (12a)
Section 10. Service upon minors and incompetents. When the defendant is a minor, insane or
otherwise an incompetent, service shall be made upon him personally and on his legal guardian if
he has one, or if none his guardian ad litem whose appointment shall be applied for by the
plaintiff. In the case of a minor, service may also be made on his father or mother. (l0a, 11a)
Section 11. Service upon domestic private juridical entity. When the defendant is a
corporation, partnership or association organized under the laws of the Philippines with a
juridical personality, service may be made on the president, managing partner, general manager,
corporate secretary, treasurer, or in-house counsel. (13a)
Section 12. Service upon foreign private juridical entities. When the defendant is a foreign
private juridical entity which has transacted business in the Philippines, service may be made on
its resident agent designated in accordance with law for that purpose, or, if there be no such
agent, on the government official designated by law to that effect, or on any of its officers or
agents within the Philippines. (14a)
Section 13. Service upon public corporations. When the defendant is the Republic of the
Philippines, service may be effected on the Solicitor General; in case of a province, city or
municipality, or like public corporations, service may be effected on its executive head, or on
such other officer or officers as the law or the court may direct. (15)
Section 14. Service upon defendant whose identity or whereabouts are unknown. In any
action where the defendant is designated as an unknown owner, or the like, or whenever his
whereabouts are unknown and cannot be ascertained by diligent inquiry, service may, by leave of
court, be effected upon him by publication in a newspaper of general circulation and in such
places and for such time as the court may order. (16a)
Section 15. Extraterritorial service. When the defendant does not reside and is not found in
the Philippines, and the action affects the personal status of the plaintiff or relates to, or the
subject of which is, property within the Philippines, in which the defendant has or claims a lien
or interest, actual or contingent, or in which the relief demanded consists, wholly or in part, in
excluding the defendant from any interest therein, or the property of the defendant has been
attached within the Philippines, service may, by leave of court, be effected out of the Philippines
by personal service as under section 6; or by publication in a newspaper of general circulation in
such places and for such time as the court may order, in which case a copy of the summons and
order of the court shall be sent by registered mail to the last known address of the defendant, or
in any other manner the court may deem sufficient. Any order granting such leave shall specify a
reasonable time, which shall not be less than sixty (60) days after notice, within which the
defendant must answer. (17a)
Section 16. Residents temporarily out of the Philippines. When any action is commenced
against a defendant who ordinarily resides within the Philippines, but who is temporarily out of
it, service may, by leave of court, be also effected out of the Philippines, as under the preceding
section. (18a)
Section 17. Leave of court. Any application to the court under this Rule for leave to effect
service in any manner for which leave of court is necessary shall be made by motion in writing,
supported by affidavit of the plaintiff or some person on his behalf, setting forth the grounds for
the application. (19)
Section 18. Proof of service. The proof of service of a summons shall be made in writing by
the server and shall set forth the manner, place, and date of service; shall specify any papers
which have been served with the process and the name of the person who received the same; and
shall be sworn to when made by a person other than a sheriff or his deputy. (20)
Section 19. Proof of service by publication. If the service has been made by publication,
service may be proved by the affidavit of the printer, his foreman or principal clerk, or of the
editor, business or advertising manager, to which affidavit a copy of the publication shall be
attached and by an affidavit showing the deposit of a copy of the summons and order for
publication in the post office, postage prepaid, directed to the defendant by registered mail to his
last known address. (21)
Section 20. Voluntary appearance. The defendant's voluntary appearance in the action shall
be equivalent to service of summons. The inclusion in a motion to dismiss of other grounds aside
from lack of jurisdiction over the person of the defendant shall not be deemed a voluntary
appearance. (23a)

RULE 39
Execution, Satisfaction and Effect of Judgments
Section 48. Effect of foreign judgments or final orders. The effect of a judgment or final order
of a tribunal of a foreign country, having jurisdiction to render the judgment or final order is as
follows:
(a) In case of a judgment or final order upon a specific thing, the judgment or final order,
is conclusive upon the title to the thing, and
(b) In case of a judgment or final order against a person, the judgment or final order is
presumptive evidence of a right as between the parties and their successors in interest by
a subsequent title.
In either case, the judgment or final order may be repelled by evidence of a want of jurisdiction,
want of notice to the party, collusion, fraud, or clear mistake of law or fact. (50a)

RULE 131
Burden of Proof and Presumptions

Sec. 3. Disputable presumptions. The following presumptions are satisfactory if

uncontradicted, but may be contradicted and overcome by other evidence:

(n)That a court, or judge acting as such, whether in the Philippines or elsewhere, was acting in
the lawful exercise of jurisdiction;
 RULE 132
PRESENTATION OF EVIDENCE

Sec. 25. What attestation of copy must state. Whenever a copy of a document or record is
attested for the purpose of evidence, the attestation must state, in substance, that the copy is a
correct copy of the original, or a specific part thereof, as the case may be. The attestation must be
under the official seal of the attesting officer, if there be any, or if he be the clerk of a court
having a seal, under the seal of such court. (26a)