Anti-mail order spouse act
It is not unlawful for Filipinos to marry a foreign national. However, the new law, Republic Act 1065 or the “Anti-mail order spouse act,” seeks to protect Filipinos from businesses or practices which shall offer them for marriage to unscrupulous foreigners for a fee and subject them to abuse, exploitation, prostitution and other violent acts.
The following are the prohibited acts penalized by the law:
1 Engaging in any business or practice for money for the purpose of matching a Filipino to a foreign national for marriage on a mail-order basis for marriage through personal introduction, email, or website.
2 Advertising, promoting, or publishing the prohibited act of matching a Filipino to a foreign national for a fee.
3 Enlisting or inducing a Filipino to become a member in a club whose objective is to match a Filipino to a foreign national for a fee.
4 Using the postal service or website to promote the acts prohibited by this law.
The foregoing acts are penalized with imprisonment for 15 years and a fine of not less than P500,000 nor more than P1,000,000. If committed by a syndicate or by a group of three or more persons, penalty is imprisonment for 20 years and a fine of not less than P2,000,000 but not more than P5,000,000.
Any person who has knowledge of the prohibited acts and profits from them shall also be penalized as an accessory of the crime and shall be given a penalty of 10 years imprisonment and a fine.
If you are a victim of this crime, you can file a criminal case in the Prosecutor’s Office of the place where the offense was committed, where any of the elements of the crime took place, or where you reside.