May my father’s cousin and I legally marry?

Dear PAO,

I am currently in a relationship with my aunt, who is actually the cousin of my father. We are deeply in love. Despite our 30-year age gap and the fact that she is a senior citizen, I sincerely want to marry her. But we are concerned that such a union may be prohibited due to incest. May my aunt and I legally get married?

Eddie Rex

Dear Eddie Rex,

You are free to marry the cousin of your father. While the law, particularly, the Family Code of the Philippines, generally prohibits the marriage of blood relatives for being incestuous and against public morals and public policy, your current relationship is allowed. Legally speaking, there is no incestuous relationship that could prevent you from following your heart and marrying the cousin of your father. You are both allowed to marry each other.

Indeed, the said Code specifies the types of incestuous relationships that are deemed null and void, and your current relationship is not one of them, to wit:

“Article 38. The following marriages shall be void from the beginning for reasons of public policy:

“(1) Between collateral blood relatives whether legitimate or illegitimate, up to the fourth civil degree; (2) Between step-parents and step-children; (3) Between parents-in-law and children-in-law; (4) Between the adopting parent and the adopted child; (5) Between the surviving spouse of the adopting parent and the adopted child; (6) Between the surviving spouse of the adopted child and the adopter; (7) Between an adopted child and a legitimate child of the adopter; (8) Between adopted children of the same adopter; and (9) Between parties where one, with the intention to marry the other, killed that other person’s spouse, or his or her own spouse.”

Clearly, your current relationship with the cousin of your father does not fall into the aforementioned types of illegal incestuous relationships. Indeed, your relationship with each other, as collateral blood relatives, fall beyond the fourth civil degree — the limit imposed by law.

How is the degree counted? By counting the lines starting from the first party, leading to the parties’ common ancestor, and then going down to the second party. In your case, there are three lines from you going up to your father, next to your grandparent, and finally to your great-grandparent, who is also the common ancestor of your intended wife. From there, you have to go down two lines to the sibling of your grandparent, and lastly to your father’s cousin. Consequently, you and your beloved are within the 5th civil degree, which is allowed by law.

This fact allows you to marry each other in the absence of any other condition that may be considered an impediment to marry. Find your bliss and marry your father’s cousin.

We hope that we were able to answer your queries. This advice was based solely on the facts you have narrated and our appreciation of the same. Our opinion may vary when other facts are changed or elaborated.

We appreciate your 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 [email protected].