Philippine laws relating to marital status follow Filipinos wherever they may go. Thus, as a rule, a married Filipino remains married even if a divorce is obtained abroad because divorce is generally not recognized in the Philippines. Luckily there is a limited exception for recognition of a foreign divorce decree which would allow a divorced Filipino to remarry.

Under the second paragraph of Article 26, Family Code of the Philippines, if a validly celebrated marriage between a Filipino and a foreigner is dissolved by a foreign divorce decree capacitating the foreign spouse to remarry, the Filipino spouse can also remarry. In other words, for the divorce to be recognized in the Philippines, the following conditions must exist: (1) the marriage was between a Filipino and a foreigner; (2) the marriage was dissolved by a foreign divorce decree; and (3) the divorce was obtained by the non-Filipino spouse