Legal Advice
Void ab initio marriage may be raised as defense by the accused in bigamy

Dear PAO,

I married Adela sometime in 1998 without getting a marriage license. We separated after two months because of irreconcilable differences. Believing that my first marriage was void, I married Adora in 2008. Adela discovered my second marriage and threatened me that if I did not turn over to her the possession of the house, which we bought sometime in 1999, she would file a complaint for bigamy against me. I told her that our marriage was void because we contracted the same without the required license. She just laughed and claimed that I could not raise the invalidity of such a marriage because I was liable for bigamy the moment I contracted my second marriage. Allegedly, someone advised her that a court order is necessary before I can contract a subsequent marriage. Am I precluded from raising the invalidity of my marriage with Adela if she files a case for bigamy against me and Adora?