Your Petition shall be filed in the Regional Trial Court of the province or city where you or your spouse has been residing for at least six months prior to the date of the filing of your case. In the case of the non-resident respondent, where he may be found in the Philippines, at your option.

Please take note that there is a new Supreme Court Resolution¹ dated 28 October 2018 requiring you to prove your residency. You need to attach a sworn certificate of residency with a house location sketch issued by the Barangay.

Your lawyer will also need to execute a sworn statement that he has personally verified your residency, and you need to attach any document such as utility bills under your name, government or company-issued ID, notarized lease contract, Transfer Certificate of Title, Tax Declaration or Deed of Sale, all bearing your address at least 6 months prior to filing the petition.

This rule was introduced to stop the practice of finding a ‘friendly’ court, ‘fixed’ annulment, or marriage scam. Several judges, lawyers, and court personnel have been dismissed from service or were penalized for malpractice by allowing non-resident or parties outside of the judge’s jurisdiction to file the petition.

Alleging a false address will cause the dismissal of your petition.

Go back to the main article: How to File Annulment in the Philippines: An Ultimate Guide

Reference.

1. OCA Circular No. 63-2019. (2019). Retrieved from http://oca.judiciary.gov.ph/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/OCA-Circular-No.-63-2019.pdf