Saipan court declares as invalid two Filipinos’ marriage in PH consulate

SAIPAN – The marriage ceremony of two Filipinos at the Philippine Consulate here was not legal and cannot be recognized by any court, a Superior Court recently ruled in a case involving a dispute by two women over who had legal claim to the body of a deceased Filipino man.

The ruling was made by Associate Judge Teresa K. Kim-Tenorio, citing the Vienna Convention, U.S.-Philippine treaties and U.S. law stipulations that a legal marriage must be in accordance with local laws.

The marriage of Virginia L. Bonifacio and Gil Ramos Medina in 1993 on Saipan in a ceremony at the Philippine Consulate was not valid as it lacked a marriage license and was not duly registered, said Judge Kim-Tenorio.

In contrast, Kim-Tenorio found the 1997 marriage in Chuuk between Gil Medina, who is now deceased, and Antonia Reyes Medina, a Chuukese national, to be valid.

As such, Antonia Medina is the only wife of Gil Medina, and she has the right to bury her husband where she sees fit, Kim-Tenorio said.

According to court records, Gil Medina killed himself last Dec. 19 on Saipan. He left behind a handwritten note addressed to Antonia Medina, her children, and their grandchild/reared son.

A representative from the Philippine honorary consul on Saipan informed Antonia Medina last Jan. 8 about Gil Medina’s alleged marriage to Virginia Bonifacio in 1993 on Saipan and the latter’s claim to Gil Medina’s body, according to a report by the Saipan Tribune.

Bonifacio is against the cremation of the body and prefers to repatriate it to the Philippines to be buried by herself and the two children she had with him.

Judge Kim-Tenorio said that despite Gil Medina and Bonifacio’s marriage by a Philippine consular officer, the two failed to comply with both the license and registration requirements of CNMI law.

Kim-Tenorio said the marriage ceremony between Bonifacio and Gil Medina was not legally enforceable in the CNMI because the authorizing official was not the governor or the mayor, and because the document was not registered with the clerk of court in compliance with CNMI statutory law.

“Accordingly, even if the law of the Philippines did apply, the marriage would still be invalid, “the judge said.