Francis Malaki married Nerrian Maningo in 1988 under the rites of the Iglesia ni Cristo.

Years later, Francis left the family home. Nerrian eventually discovered that he was living with another woman, Jacqueline Salanatin. More importantly, she learned that Francis and Jacqueline had contracted another marriage while his first marriage was still subsisting.

Francis and Jacqueline did not deny the second marriage. Instead, they raised a different defense. According to them, Francis had converted to Islam before marrying Jacqueline. They argued that because they were Muslims and their marriage was celebrated under Muslim law, they could no longer be held liable for bigamy.

Did Francis’ conversion to Islam exempt him from criminal liability for bigamy?

No, it did not. The Court explained that the crime of bigamy is committed when a person contracts a second marriage before the first marriage has been legally dissolved or before the absent spouse has been declared presumptively dead by a court. All of those elements were present in Francis’ case. His first marriage remained valid and subsisting when he married Jacqueline.

The Court acknowledged that the Code of Muslim Personal Laws recognizes certain forms of polygamy.

However, that did not automatically apply to Francis’ situation. His first marriage was a civil marriage governed by the Civil Code, not a marriage celebrated under Muslim law. Converting to Islam after contracting that marriage did not erase the legal effects of his existing marital obligations. Nor did it extinguish any criminal liability arising from contracting another marriage while the first remained valid.

The Supreme Court further emphasized that even under the Code of Muslim Personal Laws, a married Muslim man cannot simply marry another woman at will. The law allows a subsequent marriage only in exceptional circumstances and only after complying with specific legal requirements, including notice to the existing wife and the procedures prescribed by the Code. Those safeguards were not observed in this case.

The Court warned against using religious conversion as a means of circumventing Philippine marriage laws. While the Constitution protects religious freedom and recognizes the Muslim legal system, those protections cannot be invoked to prejudice the rights of a non-Muslim spouse or to avoid criminal liability already incurred under the general law.

Accordingly, the Supreme Court affirmed the conviction of both Francis and Jacqueline for bigamy, with a modification as to the proper penalty.

Malaki v. People. G.R. No. 221075, November 15, 2021