SC: Pinoys divorced abroad should provide foreign law copy

In seeking local recognition of divorce granted by a foreign court, all that the Filipino petitioner needs to prove is the divorce law of the country where the divorce was obtained — not the law of the foreign spouse's nationality, the Supreme Court (SC) has ruled.

- By ELIZABETH MARCELO

In a decision promulgated on Oct. 21, 2024 but released to the media only yesterday, the SC Third Division sent a case back to the Court of Appeals (CA) to give a Filipino woman a chance to properly prove the divorce laws of Kentucky, United States of America.

The petitioner, Rosary Kristine Anido, married Peruvian citizen Enrique Martin Gomez Pomar in New Jersey, USA. The couple, both doctors, later lived in Kentucky. Due to marital issues, the husband ended the marriage by obtaining a divorce decree from a Kentucky court.