MANILA, Philippines — There is no such thing as a “secret marriage,” lawyer Romulo Macalintal raised Tuesday, amid the surprise wedding of Sarah Geronimo and Matteo Guidicelli that was apparently kept from the pop royalty’s parents.
“Legally speaking, there is no such thing because a marriage cannot be celebrated without at least two witnesses and the person authorized to solemnize it,” Macalintal said in a text message to INQUIRER.net.
“The witnesses are what we commonly call the “principal sponsors,” he added. “Thus, the marriage contract says ‘witnesses’ and you will never find the words “principal sponsors.”
Geronimo and Guidicelli are the current talk of the town after their supposedly private civil wedding was marred with drama. This was after a security guard, supposedly hired by Geronimo’s family, reported to the Taguig City police, saying that he was punched by Guidicelli after the former had informed the pop star’s parents of the wedding.
Macalintal then argued that the marriage cannot be considered a secret because of the presence of the witnesses, aside from the friends and relatives who attended the ceremony.
“It might be ‘secret’ to the parents of the bride and/or groom but not to the entire world,” the lawyer said.
“If Sarah and Matteo decide to be married in church someday, it will be a mere religious ratification of an already existing valid civil marriage and the date of their civil wedding, February 20, 2020, will be retained or will never change and will be the one recorded in the Local Civil Registrar where they were married civilly,” he added.
The lawyer added that no new marriage contract will be signed during their church wedding since “the marriage contract they and their witnesses signed during the civil marriage is the one filed and recorded with the Local Civil Registry.”
Before their “secret marriage,” the pop superstar and the actor first surprised everyone with their engagement last November 2019.