Married underage but with CENOMAR. Can we make it void? Please I'm praying to GOD someone please help us. :(

Hello Sirs/Maams,

    I deeply need help. Can you by your kind heart answer me please. I have a girlfriend now and her story is this. When she was just 16 years old she was forced or she was convinced by her mother to marry a guy who is 21 years old back then. The wedding was a tribal wedding, she doesn't know what religion they are practicing, but she is certain that it was not a Christian wedding. Her mother insisted her to marry that guy though she doesn't fully love that guy. Only her mother and her younger sibling know what happened; at the party of the guy, neither his parents knew about the wedding, only his brother. She thought the marriage will be ok, but years passed and the relationship deteriorated. The treatment given to her by his husband was not good, like leaving her hungry for the whole day, even if she's pregnant, etc., the guy doesn't care if the baby is sick and just go on with her personal life as if she has no wife. She had been through a lot, not just on her husband, but his family and the surrounding people around her. The guy did not even have the balls to fight for her, that made her decide to desperately move away from him and move here in Manila. I met her, she told me everything and I will fight for her as long as I won't break GOD's 6th commandment. First, the marriage was held in a non-christian religion which she herself doesn't know. Second, she was just 16 years of age and still considered a child by the law. So I have the confidence that we will win this fight. I requested a CENOMAR and it arrived today, prayerfully we opened the document, but it says that she has a record.

Kind Sirs and Ma'ams, I'm asking for help because I want the marriage to be nullified. If she was underage then why is there a record of marriage, even if at the time of the marriage, she was just a minor (16 years old). Her life and her kid's life were ruined because of a decision she did not make. I accepted everything about her and I'm willing to fight for her. She wanted to be set free and I will help her. Please, please... Help us. What should we do? Thank you in advance Sirs and Ma'ams may GOD bless you all!

I don't know, but ask PAO.

Hire a lawyer as annulment has to be settled in court.

The marriage is absolutely void.  This is not an annulment case.  It is a case for Declaration of Nullity, which means the marriage never existed.

In order to marry, you must get the court Declaration of Nullity.  For all other purposes, you can, and should, say you have never been married.  If you have been using they guy's last name, stop doing that.  Just start using your own family name.  You don't need any court authorization. Change any ID cards or other documents you have in the married name, to your own name.  If the clerks refuse, show them a printout of the Yasin case , G.R. No. 94986 February 23, 1995 (google it).

PAO must handle the case for you, if your income is under their guidelines.  But they don't always do what they are supposed to do, they might try to get rid of you.

Thank you so much Sir Tompmiler! The only one who answered with real concern and in details. Will it still be honored if the marriage was held in a tribe? Are there exceptions with the minority of age if it was solemnized in a tribal wedding which honors minors as a bride? Thank you again for the very helpful folks in this community.

My papers ba silang pinirmahan? to make it binding? baka awla naman. if wala then it might turn out na isa lang yan ritual lang yan.

Meron po sir dfa, yung marriage contract, few days after pa po ng marriage. Humingi po kami ng copy ng marriage contract sa NSO and nakalagay na they belong daw sa Higaonon tribe, pero malinaw po na nakalagay po sa marriage contract na they are both Christians and their places of birth are from Misamis Occidental and Cebu which are far from the tribes. Nakalagay din po sa marriage contract nila ang real birth dates nila na if computed sa day ng wedding nila ay they were just 16 and 21 yeras old.

Ang nabasa ko dati when i was reading on that even with a parents consent both sides ( sa lalaki man o dun sa babae) basta underage it will be invalid.

SO tingin ko ngyon kelnagan ng court decleration na void ung kasal niya nuon.
pero since hinde ako atty. the best advice would be to get in touch with one kung panu ung process.

GL sir

Thank you for your advice, sir dfa.