27/08/2026
Does Article 148 of the Family Code apply only to heteros*xual couples?
No. The Supreme Court has recognized that Article 148 may govern the property relations of same-s*x couples.
In Josef v. Ursua, G.R. No. 267469, February 5, 2025, the Supreme Court considered the property rights of two women who had lived together as a couple and acquired property during their cohabitation.
The petitioner argued that Articles 147 and 148 of the Family Code protect the property rights of parties in a heteros*xual relationship without marriage, but that there was no equivalent protection for same-s*x couples who acquire property during cohabitation. The Court recognized this issue and examined which property regime applies to same-s*x cohabitation.
Under Article 147, the law specifically refers to a man and a woman who are capacitated to marry each other and who live exclusively with each other as husband and wife without the benefit of marriage or under a void marriage.
The Court explained that the term “capacitated to marry each other” refers to the legal capacity to contract marriage. Since the parties in Josef v. Ursua were of the same s*x, they were not capacitated to marry each other under the law, and therefore Article 148 governed their property relations.
Read the full text of the Supreme Court’s decision here:https://sc.judiciary.gov.ph/267469-jennifer-c-josef-vs-evalyn-g-ursua/
