CONSTITUTION

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 the 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.
CIVIL CODE

Article 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)

Article 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)

Article 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)

Article 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.

When the acts referred to are executed before the diplomatic or consular officials of the Republic of the Philippines in
a foreign country, the solemnities established by Philippine laws shall be observed in their execution.

Prohibitive laws concerning persons, their acts or property, and those which have for their object public order, public
policy and good customs shall not be rendered ineffective by laws or judgments promulgated, or by determinations or
conventions agreed upon in a foreign country. (11a)

Article 18. In matters which are governed by the Code of Commerce and special laws, their deficiency shall be
supplied by the provisions of this Code. (16a)

Article 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)

Article 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)

Article 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)

Article 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)

Article 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)

Article 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)

Article 1039. Capacity to succeed is governed by the law of the nation of the decedent. (n)

Article 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)

Article 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.
CORPO LAW

Section 123. Definition and rights of foreign corporations. For the purposes of this Code, a foreign corporation is
one formed, organized or existing under any laws other than those of the Philippines and whose laws allow Filipino
citizens and corporations to do business in its own country or state. It shall have the right to transact business in the
Philippines after it shall have obtained a license to transact business in this country in accordance with this Code and
a certificate of authority from the appropriate government agency. (n)

Section 129. Law applicable. Any foreign corporation lawfully doing business in the Philippines shall be bound by
all laws, rules and regulations applicable to domestic corporations of the same class, except such only as provide for
the creation, formation, organization or dissolution of corporations or those which fix the relations, liabilities,
responsibilities, or duties of stockholders, members, or officers of corporations to each other or to the corporation.
(73a)

Section 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)
FAMILY CODE

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. 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), 3637 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)
RPC

Article 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.
RULES OF COURT

RULE 4

Venue of Actions

Section 2. Venue of personal actions. All other actions may be commenced and tried where the plaintiff or any of the principal plaintiffs
resides, or where the defendant or any of the principal defendants resides, or in the case of a non-resident defendant where he may be
found, at the election of the plaintiff. (2[b]a)

RULE 8

Manner of Making Allegations in Pleadings

Section 6. Judgment. In pleading a judgment or decision of a domestic or foreign court, judicial or quasi-judicial tribunal, or of a board or
officer, it is sufficient to aver the judgment or decision without setting forth matter showing jurisdiction to render it. (6)

RULE 11

When to File Responsive Pleadings

Section 2. Answer of a defendant foreign private juridical entity. Where the defendant is a foreign private juridical entity and service of
summons is made on the government official designated by law to receive the same, the answer shall be filed within thirty (30) days after
receipt of summons by such entity. (2a)

RULE 14

Summons

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 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.

RULE 23

Depositions Pending Action

Section 11. Persons before whom depositions may be taken in foreign countries. In a foreign state or country, depositions may be taken
(a) on notice before a secretary of embassy or legation, consul general, consul, vice-consul, or consular agent of the Republic of the
Philippines, (b) before such person or officer as may be appointed by commission or under letters rogatory; or (c) the person referred to in
section 14 hereof. (11a, R24)
Section 12. Commission or letters rogatory. A commission or letters rogatory shall be issued only when necessary or convenient, on
application and notice, and on such terms, and with such direction as are just and appropriate. Officers may be designated in notices or
commissions either by name or descriptive title and letters rogatory may be addressed to the appropriate judicial authority in the foreign
country. (12a, R24)

Section 14. Stipulations regarding taking of depositions. If the parties so stipulate in writing, depositions may be taken before any person
authorized to administer oaths, at any time or place, in accordance with these Rules and when so taken may be used like other depositions.
(14a, R24)

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)

Settlement Of Estate Of Deceased Persons

RULE 73

Venue and Process

Section 1. Where estate of deceased persons settled. If the decedents is an inhabitant of the Philippines at the
time of his death, whether a citizen or an alien, his will shall be proved, or letters of administration granted, and his
estate settled, in the Court of First Instance in the province in which he resides at the time of his death, and if he is an
inhabitant of a foreign country, the Court of First Instance of any province in which he had estate. The court first
taking cognizance of the settlement of the estate of a decedent, shall exercise jurisdiction to the exclusion of all other
courts. The jurisdiction assumed by a court, so far as it depends on the place of residence of the decedent, or of the
location of his estate, shall not be contested in a suit or proceeding, except in an appeal from that court, in the original
case, or when the want of jurisdiction appears on the record.

RULE 77

Allowance of Will Proved Outside of Philippines and Administration of Estate Thereunder

Section 1. Will proved outside Philippines may be allowed here. Wills proved and allowed in a foreign country,
according to the laws of such country, may be allowed, filed, and recorded by the proper Court of First Instance in the
Philippines.

RULE 92

Venue

Section 1. Where to institute proceedings. Guardianship of a person or estate of a minor or incompetent may be
instituted in the Court of First Instance of the province, or in the justice of the peace court of the municipality, or in the
municipal court chartered city where the minor or incompetent persons resides, and if he resides in a foreign country,
in the Court of First Instance of the province wherein his property or the party thereof is situated; provided, however,
that where the value of the property of such minor or incompetent exceeds that jurisdiction of the justice of the peace
or municipal court, the proceedings shall be instituted in the Court of First Instance.

RULE 131

Burden of Proof and Presumptions

Section 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;

Section 19. Classes of Documents. For the purpose of their presentation evidence, documents are either public or private.

Public documents are:

(a) The written official acts, or records of the official acts of the sovereign authority, official bodies and tribunals, and public
officers, whether of the Philippines, or of a foreign country;

(b) Documents acknowledge before a notary public except last wills and testaments; and

(c) Public records, kept in the Philippines, of private documents required by law to the entered therein.

All other writings are private. (20a)

Section 24. Proof of official record. The record of public documents referred to in paragraph (a) of Section 19, when admissible for any
purpose, may be evidenced by an official publication thereof or by a copy attested by the officer having the legal custody of the record, or by
his deputy, and accompanied, if the record is not kept in the Philippines, with a certificate that such officer has the custody. If the office in
which the record is kept is in foreign country, the certificate may be made by a secretary of the embassy or legation, consul general, consul,
vice consul, or consular agent or by any officer in the foreign service of the Philippines stationed in the foreign country in which the record is
kept, and authenticated by the seal of his office. (25a)