Dear PAO,
My girlfriend and I have been living together for two years. We want to get married, but we are too busy to process our marriage license. A friend of mine told me that, in lieu of a marriage license, we can simply execute an “affidavit of cohabitation” stating that my partner and I have been living together as husband and wife for five years already. On its face, I know it is falsification, but what are the possible marital consequences if ever I heed my friend’s advice? Will I still have a valid marriage?
Jiri
Dear Jiri,
A marriage that is anchored on a falsified affidavit of cohabitation may be considered void.
Indubitably, Article 34 of the Family Code allows a man and woman to marry without a marriage license if they have lived together as husband and wife for at least five years and have no legal impediment to marry each other. However, this instance serves only as an exception to the general rule which requires the presence of all essential and formal requisites of marriage; a marriage license being one of the three formal requisites of marriage. (Secs. 2 and 3 of the Family Code)
In Republic of the Philippines v. Aguirre and Aguirre, GR 262653, Feb. 24, 2026, penned by Associate Justice Henri Jean Paul Inting, the Supreme Court extensively explained the statutory conditions for dispensing with a marriage license, saying:
“In other words, the five-year common-law cohabitation period, which is counted back from the date of celebration of marriage, should be a period of legal union had it not been for the absence of the marriage. This 5-year period should be the years immediately before the day of the marriage and it should be a period of cohabitation characterized by exclusivity — meaning no third party was involved at any time within the 5 years and continuity — that is unbroken.... Marriage being a special relationship must be respected as such and its requirements must be strictly observed. The presumption that a man and a woman deporting themselves as husband and wife is based on the approximation of the requirements of the law. The parties should not be afforded any excuse to not comply with every single requirement and later use the same missing element as a pre-conceived escape ground to nullify their marriage. There should be no exemption from securing a marriage license unless the circumstances clearly fall within the ambit of the exception.”
In the same case, the Supreme Court emphasized that a falsified affidavit of cohabitation renders such document ineffectual; it does not confer exemption from the license requirement. Thus, a marriage, founded on false declaration, is void for lack of a marriage license.
We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice was solely based on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.
Thank you for your continued trust and support.
Editor’s note: Dear PAO is a daily column of the Public Attorney’s Office. Questions for Chief Acosta may be sent to dearpao@ manilatimes.net
