Marriage may be solemnized by:
1) Any incumbent member of the
judiciary within the court’s jurisdiction;
2) Any priest, rabbi, imam, or
minister of any church or religious sect duly authorized by his church or
religious sect and registered with the civil registrar general, acting within
the limits of the written authority granted by his church or religious sect and
provided that at least one of the contracting parties belongs to the
solemnizing officer’s church or religious sect;
3) Any ship captain or airplane
chief only in the case mentioned in Article 31;
4) Any military commander of a
unit to which a chaplain is assigned, in the absence of the latter, during a
military operation, likewise only in the cases mentioned in Article 32;
5) Any consul-general, consul or
vice-consul in the case provided in Article 10. (Art. 7, FC)
6) Duly elected mayors of cities
and municipalities.
Extent of authority of judges and justices to solemnize marriage
The authority of the regional
trial court judges and judges of inferior courts to solemnize marriages is
confined to their territorial jurisdiction as defined by the Supreme
Court. An appellate court Justice or a
Justice of this Court has jurisdiction over the entire Philippines to solemnize
marriages, regardless of the venue, as long as the requisites of the law are
complied with. However, judges who are appointed to specific
jurisdictions, may officiate in weddings only within said areas and not beyond.
Where a judge solemnizes a marriage outside his court’s jurisdiction, there is
a resultant irregularity in the formal requisite laid down in Article 3, which
while it may not affect the validity of the marriage, may subject the
officiating official to administrative liability. (Arañes vs. Occiano, A.M. No.
MTJ-02-1390. April 11, 2002)
Extent of authority of priests
to to solemnize marriage
“A
priest who is commissioned and allowed by his local ordinance to marry the
faithful is authorized to do so only within the area or diocese or place
allowed by his Bishop. (Arañes
vs. Occiano, ibid.)
Ship
captain or airplane pilot
A marriage in
articulo mortis between passengers or crew members may also be solemnized by a
ship captain or by an airplane pilot not only while the ship is at sea or the
plane is in flight, but also during stopovers at ports of call. (Art. 31)
Requisites:
1. The marriages must be in articulo
mortis; and
2. It must be solemnized while the ship is at sea or the plane is
in flight or duringstopovers at ports of call
Military
commander
A marriage in
articulo mortis between passengers or crew members may also be solemnized by a
ship captain or by an airplane pilot not only while the ship is at sea or the
plane is in flight, but also during stopovers at ports of call. (Art. 31)
Requisites:
1. The
marriages must be in articulo mortis;
2. The
military commander must be a commissioned officer; and
3. It must
be solemnized within the zone of military operations
Consular
officials
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. (Art. 10, FC)
Mayors
Whereas under Art. 56
of the NCC, marriages may be solemnize by mayors of cities and municipalities,
under the FC, mayors are no longer authorized to solemnize marriages. However,
in view of the Local Government Code which took effect on January, 1992, the
duly elected Mayors of cities and municipalities can again solemnize marriages,
thus reverting back to the old law. The term "Mayor" includes a
Vice-Mayor who is the "Acting Mayor" or who is merely "acting as
Mayor". (Desiderio P. Jurado, Civil Law Reviewer, 2006
ed.)
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