On church annulments: How Mike, Malou Rama got married at Cebu Cathedral
CEBU CITY, Philippines – Dismissed Cebu City mayor Michael Rama and wife Malou Jimenez Mandanat recently held their church wedding at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral. It was officiated by no less than Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma.
“Praise the Lord!” Rama told Rappler in an interview on the eve of the ceremonies, when asked how he felt marrying Malou in church on Thursday, October 24.
The two had already been married in civil proceedings last October 28, 2021.
Rama said, however, that a church wedding was important to them as a couple and had always been in their plans. Rama, who was previously married, had to undergo both civil and church annulments to be able to marry at the Cebu Cathedral.
It was a tedious process, he said.
Unlike civil annulments, church annulments aren’t adversarial between husband and wife, explained Monsignor Raul Go, judicial vicar of the Metropolitan Tribunal of the Archdiocese of Cebu.
The tribunal handles church annulments, which does not have civil effects. The only impact of a church annulment is that husband and wife can have church weddings with their new partners. Each diocese has its own tribunal, Go said.
Go said there are three requirements for a valid church wedding: legal capacity, canonical form, and valid consent. If one is lacking, then the marriage is considered invalid.
The Catholic Church investigates the following in particular:
- legal capacity – whether there were impediments such as prior marriage, not being of age, or being impotent
- canonical form – whether wedding formalities were followed
- valid consent – whether the couple had free will in giving consent
“The consent may be affected by external factors — error and deceit regarding the qualities of the person,” said Go. Fear can also affect the valid consent, including “internal factors — when one lacks the use of reason. Also grave lack of due discretion of judgment. Puwede pod (It can also be) inability to assume the essential obligations of marriage.”
The process could take two years, said Go.
During the annulment proceedings, the couple proves to the tribunal that their marriage is invalid. The tribunal, on the other hand, assigns a canon lawyer to prove that the marriage is valid and protect the “bond.”
“The other canon lawyer is the defender of the bond. The couple has to prove that their marriage is invalid and the church protects the validity of their marriage through the defender of the bond, who makes sure that the arguments against the validity of marriage are valid,” Go explained to Rappler in a mix of English and Cebuano.
While costs for civil annulments range from P200,000 ($3,400) to even over P300,000 ($5,100), the church charges P50,000 ($850) for everything.
Go said those who cannot afford the P50,000 for a church annulment can pay based on their financial capacity but upon the determination of the archdiocese’s oeconomus or finance office.
Rama was dismissed from his post as Cebu City mayor after he was found guilty by the Ombudsman of nepotism for hiring two brothers of Malou. The order was signed in September but made public last October 3. Rama is currently running for reelection. – Rappler.com
Max Limpag, a freelance journalist from Cebu, is a 2024 Aries Rufo Journalism fellow.