Saidamen and Sipin Law Office

09/10/2023

https://www.facebook.com/100041407548878/posts/1204722434251330/?mibextid=Nif5oz

03/09/2021

We impart our sincerest gratitude to all our clients, family and friends as we celebrate Saidamen and Sipin Law Office's 2nd year today! Stay safe everyone.

08/08/2021

Our office will be open during ECQ, August 6 - 20, 2021 from 9:00am - 5:00pm.

Thank you. Stay Safe.

11/04/2021

Congratulations to our Atty. Ramayana D. Saidamen!!!

ILIGAN CITY: Ever since the Constitution had cauterized the political function of the datus and sultans, which ushered in the Philippines as a modern nation, most of the royal houses in the southern part of the country that depended on the centuries-old setup had closed shop for good. Unlike other c...

05/04/2021

Saidamen and Sipin Law Office will be open at a limited capacity per IATF rules on April 5, 2021 onwards from 9:00am - 5:00pm.

Thank you. Stay Safe.

28/03/2021

Due to the mandated ECQ, our office will be closed on March 29-31, 2021 and April 1-2, 2021.

We will resume office on April 5, 2021.

For any concerns, kindly message us or directly call/text our counsels at 0920-9562465 or 0917-1886468.
Thank you. Stay Safe.

09/03/2021

24/09/2020

OCA Circular. 24 September 2020.

03/08/2020

Addendum to SC Administrative Circular No. 43-2020 (Inadvertently numbered as AC No. 42-2020)

03/08/2020

Supreme Court Administrative Circular No. 42-2020

22/07/2020

RECOGNITION OF FOREIGN JUDGMENT OF DIVORCE
By: Atty. Mayan D. Saidamen

It’s a basic concept that there is no divorce in the Philippines, and the estranged couples can avail of either an action for a Declaration of Nullity of Marriage, Annulment, and Legal Separation. This concept against divorce is technically not accurate though, because: (1) the Muslim Filipinos recognize seven kinds of divorce under Presidential Decree No. 1083 or the Code on Muslim Personal Laws in the Philippines; and (2) the enactment of Executive Order No. 209 more known as the Family Code, created an exception to this tenet. Thus, the second paragraph of Article 26, E.O. 209 reads: “where a marriage between a Filipino citizen and a foreigner is validly celebrated and a divorce is thereafter validly obtained abroad by the alien spouse capacitating him or her to remarry, the Filipino spouse shall have capacity to remarry under Philippine law.”

Article 26 of E.O. 209 confirms the divorce obtained abroad involving a Filipino individual. However, this foreign judgment of divorce will not be automatically recognized in the Philippines due to our rule against divorce. To reconcile the conflicting laws and be able to enforce the foreign judgment of divorce in the Philippines, we refer to Rule 108 of the Rules on Special Proceedings.

Rule 108 covers the Cancellation or Correction of Entries in the Civil Registry. Section 1 of Rule 108 allows any person to file a verified petition for the cancellation or correction of entries relating to any act, event, order or decree concerning the civil status of persons. Entries to be cancelled or corrected includes a person’s marriage, judgments of annulment of marriage, and judgments declaring marriages void from the beginning, among others. Such petition is filed in the Regional Trial Court of the province where the civil registry is located, and all persons who have or claims any interest in the proceeding shall be made parties thereto.

Hence, the rules require a notice to the parties and publication of the Order fixing the time and place of the hearing in a newspaper of general circulation once a week for three consecutive weeks. After hearing, the court can either dismiss the petition or grant the prayer for the cancellation or correction of the entry. If the latter, then the said Order must be certified and then served upon the Local Civil Registry (LCR) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA) respectively, for its annotation in their records.

The duration for the whole judicial process varies, depending on whether there is an opposition by concerned parties or by the State thru the Office of the Solicitor General; and taking into consideration the court’s calendar and other unforeseen circumstances. It is best to hire the services of an experienced lawyer to assist you thru the entire process, and be assured that your actions and legal documents will be in accordance with the rules. Note: It is imperative that the Foreign Judgment of Divorce and its related documents, must be authenticated or apostilled by the proper authority of the country where it originated. If these documents are written in another language, the same must be translated by an accredited translator, and the translation must also be authenticated or apostilled.

While the Divorce Bill is pending approval in Congress, the Philippines will continue to adhere to the constitutional provision protecting the sanctity of marriage. Except for Muslim marriages above-mentioned, and for those marriages which ends in divorce abroad in which case, the Filipino individual must have the foreign judgment of divorce recognized in the Philippines. For more inquiries or assistance in this matter, you may reach us during office hours from Mondays to Fridays, at the numbers provided in this page.

17/07/2020

ONE PERSON CORPORATION
By: Atty. Ramayana D. Saidamen

For many years, a corporation is created by at least five (5) natural persons but not more than fifteen (15), all of legal age, and a majority of whom are residents of the Philippines. But with the enactment of the Revised Corporation Code under Republic Act No. 11232 last February 2019, a new concept called One Person Corporation (OPC) was introduced.

Now, any one (1) person, whether Filipino or foreigner, can put up a corporation like a one-man band. He may stand as Corporator, Sole Director, President, and even a Treasurer provided he submits a bond to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). This one person corporator cannot act as a Corporate Secretary though, so he still has to hire others to fill this role and other positions as well.

Normally, the OPC appoints a Treasurer, Corporate Secretary, and other officers within fifteen (15) days from the issuance of its Certificate of Incorporation, and then submit the list of officers to the SEC within five (5) days from their appointment. The OPC also has to name a nominee and an alternate nominee, who must give their consent to assume the corporator and nominee’s positions respectively, in the event of the corporator’s incapacity or death.

Note that the OPC is limited to business undertakings, and it cannot be incorporated for the practice of one’s profession. Nor is it allowed for those types of businesses under strict corporate regulations like banks, quasi-banks, pre-need, trust, insurance, publicly-listed companies, and non-chartered GOCC’s.

With this innovation, solo entrepreneurs now have a choice whether to register their business as a sole proprietor or as an OPC. The advantage of an OPC over a solo proprietorship is that in an OPC, the solo entrepreneur has limited liability up to his corporate assets, which means his personal assets are immune from the creditors reach. Whereas, in a solo proprietorship, the solo entrepreneur is exposed to business risks because he can be held liable up to his corporate and personal assets. It should be pointed out that the solo corporator in an OPC claiming limited liability has the burden to prove that the OPC is adequately financed, otherwise, he will be jointly and severally liable for the OPC debts.

The registration process for an OPC includes:

1. Name verification, which should insert the suffix OPC at the end of the business name. If the proposed name is denied, the applicant may submit a letter of appeal to the Company Registration and Monitoring Department (CRMD) of SEC;

2. Submit to SEC the registration documents for pre-processing. Said documents include a Cover Sheet, Articles of Incorporation (AOI), Written Consent of the Nominee, Affidavit of Undertaking to Change Name if not incorporated, and other requirements like the TIN and ID’s. Company By-Laws is not required;

3. Payment of the filing fees, which will cover the Registration Fee, Name Reservation Fee, Legal Research Fee, and Documentary Stamp. If a foreigner, an additional FIA Application Fee shall be paid;

4. Submission of the hard copies of the signed and notarized registration documents together with the proof of payment of the filing fees; and

5. Secure the SEC approved Certificate of Registration (COR).

The OPC is a welcome change because it encourages economic activity to both Filipinos and foreigners alike. For more inquiries on this matter or if you need assistance in incorporating your own OPC, you may reach us during office hours from Mondays to Fridays, at the numbers provided in this page.

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1. Title II, B.P. No. 68 (Corporation Code of the Philippines)
2. Chapter III, Title XIII, R.A. (Revised Corporation Code)