Can I be held liable for Bigamy? This is one of the  most common questions that has been filling up our inbox for quite sometime now.  One of the emails that we received partly reads:

“I got married twice in the Philippines in 1990 and second in 1996, only that the second marriage was not registered intentionally. I took all the records of our marriage including the marriage contract from our minister but did not report it to the local civil registrar’s office. Me and my second wife went abroad and married here again in the U.S.  There is no record of my second marriage in the local civil registrar or in the NSO. We are living in the United States until now.I am planning to take a vacation in the Philippines but worried that my first wife will file a bigamy case against me?Can I be held liable for bigamy? Please help.”

Almost all persons who came to us for a legal consultation for the purpose of terminating their existing marriages also manifested their intention to remarry whenever the Court would grant them the annulment decree. It is either that they are already into an existing relationship or that their american fiance will soon petition them for the issuance of a fiancee visa or popularly known as the K-1 visa. The ground for nullity of marriage is always the same – psychological incapacity.

Aside from the usual incorporation requirements to incorporate a company in the Philippines, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) now requires companies that will engage in Call Center operations to submit a ”Modus Operandi” or Call Center Mode of Operation. There is no standard form required by the SEC but I would suggest that the Mode of Operation should contain the following: 

(1) Brief Introduction of the Company and base of operation in the Philippines;

(2) Service Description;

(3) IT Services Flow Chart;

(4) Equipment to be used directly in the operations;

(5) IT Service schedule;        

(6) Area Requirement;

(7) Utilities requirement; and

Philippines is experiencing an explosion in the outsourcing industry today. This is based on investments charts and statistics published by various market forecasters. I had the opportunity to discuss about foreign ownership in outsourcing companies when an editor from a widely circulated business news publication in the Philippines called me up in my office one time.

Generally, foreign investors are allowed to invest 100% equity in companies engaged in almost all types of business activities subject to certain restrictions as prescribed in the Foreign Invesment Act of 1991 and the Philippine Constitution.

Republic Act No. 9262, otherwise known as “Anti-Violence Against Women and their Children Act of 2004″, has for its purpose the protection of family members; particularly, women and childred, from violence and threats to their personal safety and security. 

As defined by the statute, “Violence against women and their children” refers to any act or a series of acts committed by any person against a woman who is his:

a)  wife,

b)  former wife, 

c)  a woman with whom the person has or had a sexual or dating relationship,

d)  a woman with whom he has a common child, or