Legal separation and annulment in the philippines

in order to understand the different kind of freedom from respective spouses we should know the difference between the three modes of "escape". i.e. Legal Separation; Annulment; and Nullity of marriage.

Legal Separation in layman's term is separation in bed. spouses are meant to be separated only by board and bed including property regime. properties will be liquidated and partitioned more favorably to the aggrieved spouse or to the children. the grounds for legal separation are;

(1) Repeated physical violence or grossly abusive conduct directed against the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner;
(2) Physical violence or moral pressure to compel the petitioner to change religious or political affiliation;
(3) Attempt of respondent to corrupt or induce the petitioner, a common child, or a child of the petitioner, to engage in prostitution, or connivance in such corruption or inducement;
(4) Final judgment sentencing the respondent to imprisonment of more than six years, even if pardoned;
(5) Drug addiction or habitual alcoholism of the respondent;
(6) Lesbianism or homosexuality of the respondent;
(7) Contracting by the respondent of a subsequent bigamous marriage, whether in the Philippines or abroad;
(8) Sexual infidelity or perversion;
(9) Attempt by the respondent against the life of the petitioner; or
(10) Abandonment of petitioner by respondent without justifiable cause for more than one year.

Annulment on the other hand is a marriage that is valid except for some infirmity that can make it invalid. this kind as differentiated from NULLITY is that the grounds from annulment will become unavailable or can no longer be used after a lapse of a period it will prescribe so to speak. if the spouses do not annul their marriage in a specific period they can no longer annul their marriage. they are forever barred. the grounds for annulment are;

(1) That the party in whose behalf it is sought to have the marriage annulled was eighteen years of age or over but below twenty-one, and the marriage was solemnized without the consent of the parents, guardian or person having substitute parental authority over the party, in that order, unless after attaining the age of twenty-one, such party freely cohabited with the other and both lived together as husband and wife;
(2) That either party was of unsound mind, unless such party after coming to reason, freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;
(3) That the consent of either party was obtained by fraud, unless such party afterwards, with full knowledge of the facts constituting the fraud, freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;
(4) That the consent of either party was obtained by force, intimidation or undue influence, unless the same having disappeared or ceased, such party thereafter freely cohabited with the other as husband and wife;
(5) That either party was physically incapable of consummating the marriage with the other, and such incapacity continues and appears to be incurable; or
(6) That either party was afflicted with a sexually-transmissible disease found to be serious and appears to be incurable.

The term Annulment is usually used by mistake in lieu of Nullity of marriage. even lawyers use the term annulment where in truth the TRUE term should be NULLITY of marriage.

NULLITY on the other hand are VOID or INVALID marriages from the start. it is as if no marriage existed so the grounds do not prescribe or the grounds never expires.

(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.

(7) Incestuous marriages up to the 4th degree

(8) against public policy;

 (a) Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth civil degree;

(b) Between step-parents and step-children;
(c) Between parents-in-law and children-in-law;
(d) Between the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(e) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child;
(f) Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter;
(g) Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter;
(h) Between adopted children of the same adopter; and
(i) Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other person's spouse, or his or her own spouse.

but of course you'd be asking where the rest of us fall. for all those who have no grounds as stated above there is this catch all provision for NULLITY of marriage. Under article 36 of the family code we can now have our marriage nullified for psychological incapacity.