🧭 Region & Middle East · #58
Does the Philippines still allow child marriage for Muslims under PD 1083?
Not as before. Republic Act 11596 (2021) makes the marriage of anyone under 18, including under custom or religion, a prohibited child marriage that is void from the start.
Art. 16 of PD 1083 once allowed Muslim men to marry at 15 and women on reaching puberty, and even earlier by court order. RA 11596 makes arranging, solemnising or cohabiting with a child a crime, and its repealing clause amends conflicting provisions, including Art. 16 to the extent of the conflict. For Muslims and indigenous peoples, certain penalties were suspended for a year as a transition. Islam requires marriages that protect welfare and cause no harm (Sunan Ibn Majah 2340). Malaysians, especially in Sabah, should not take part in marrying children in the Philippines. See The Philippines.
Art. 16 of PD 1083 once allowed Muslim men to marry at 15 and women on reaching puberty, and even earlier by court order. RA 11596 makes arranging, solemnising or cohabiting with a child a crime, and its repealing clause amends conflicting provisions, including Art. 16 to the extent of the conflict. For Muslims and indigenous peoples, certain penalties were suspended for a year as a transition. Islam requires marriages that protect welfare and cause no harm (Sunan Ibn Majah 2340). Malaysians, especially in Sabah, should not take part in marrying children in the Philippines. See The Philippines.