ARTICLE IV – CITIZENSHIP
4.1. 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.
4.2. 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.
4.3. Philippine citizenship may be lost or reacquired in the manner provided by law.
4.4. 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.
4.5. Dual allegiance of citizens is inimical to the national interest and shall be dealt
with by law.
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 situated.
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.
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 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 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.
TITLE XV - FOREIGN CORPORATIONS
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)
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), 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.
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Ms. Alba
Mistake
Subesequent
Age
License
Bigamous
Authority
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
begining, 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)
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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. 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.
4.2. 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.
8.6. 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.
11.2. 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)
14.12. 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)
14.14. 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)
14.15. 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)
14.16. 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)
23.11. 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)
23.12. 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)
39.48. 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)
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WWF MC
Settlement Of Estate Of Deceased Persons
RULE 73
Venue and Process
73.1. Where estate of deceased persons settled. — If the decedent 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.
the justice of the peace or municipal court, the proceedings shall be instituted in
the Court of First Instance.
In the City of Manila the proceedings shall be instituted in the Juvenile and
Domestic Relations Court.
RULE 131
Burden of Proof and Presumptions
131.3. 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 A. Examination of Witnesses

RULE 77
Allowance of Will Proved Outside of Philippines and Administration of Estate
B. Authentication and Proof of Documents
Thereunder
SECTION 19. Classes of documents. — For the purpose of their presentation in
77.1. Will proved outside Philippines may be allowed here. — Wills proved evidence, documents are either public or private.
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 Public documents are:
Philippines.
(a) The written official acts, or records of the official acts of the sovereign
General Guardians and Guardianship authority, official bodies and tribunals, and public officers, whether of the
RULE 92 Philippines, or of a foreign country;
Venue (b) XXX
(c) XXX
92.1. 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 of the 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 part thereof is situated; provided, however, that where
the value of the property of such minor or incompetent exceeds the jurisdiction of