MANILA— Filipino spouses seeking recognition of foreign divorces in Philippine courts will no longer be required to prove the applicable foreign law when filing their petitions, following amendments approved by the Supreme Court (SC) En Banc.

The high court approved the amendments to the Rules of Court during its October 7, 2026 session under Administrative Matter No. 25-03-14-SC, Re: Amendment of the Rules of Court in Relation to Foreign Divorces.

Under the revised rules, petitioners seeking recognition of a foreign divorce under Article 26(2) of the Family Code will only need to prove that the divorce took place.

The amendments were approved upon the recommendation of Associate Justice Alfredo Benjamin S. Caguioa, in consultation with Associate Justices Amy C. Lazaro-Javier and Jhosep Y. Lopez, as well as the Sub-Technical Working Group on the Concerns of Overseas Working Filipinos Regarding the Recognition of Foreign Divorce Decrees/Reports.

The revised rules will take effect 15 days after their posting on the SC website.

Among the key changes is the introduction of Section 48-A of Rule 39, which presumes that a foreign divorce between a Filipino and a foreign spouse permits the foreign spouse to remarry under foreign law, unless the divorce decree expressly indicates that it is a limited divorce.

Under the amendments, the burden of proving that the divorce is not absolute falls on the party opposing the petition.

The rules also establish a presumption that an English translation of a foreign divorce document is accurate if the translator certifies its accuracy under oath.

Both presumptions are disputable and may be challenged with contrary evidence under Section 3 of Rule 131.

Section 24 of Rule 132 also allows parties to challenge these presumptions by submitting a certified true copy of the applicable foreign divorce law, including its English translation, obtained from the Office of the Court Administrator (OCA), which will maintain a repository of foreign laws.

Despite the changes, the existing legal framework remains in place. Filipino spouses must still file a petition for judicial recognition of a foreign divorce and comply with the substantive requirements under Article 26(2) of the Family Code.

Petitions may also continue to be challenged on grounds including lack of jurisdiction, lack of notice, fraud, or a clear mistake of law or fact.

The SC said the amendments address difficulties Filipino spouses, particularly overseas Filipino workers, encounter when required to establish foreign law under the existing rules.

During consultations with the Sub-TWG, the Department of Foreign Affairs identified challenges in obtaining foreign family laws, which are often dispersed across different jurisdictions. Some countries also lack designated officials authorized to certify such laws, while foreign ministries generally do not provide official English translations.

Separately, the SC En Banc approved on July 1, 2026, a memorandum of agreement among the Committee on Family Courts and Juvenile Concerns Technical Working Group, the OCA, and the DFA to establish a central repository of authenticated and updated foreign laws on divorce and the nullity or annulment of marriage.

The agreement is scheduled for signing on October 21, 2026.

The repository is intended primarily to help parties opposing the recognition of foreign divorces obtain the foreign laws necessary to support their objections, addressing difficulties previously faced by petitioners in securing the same documents.