Feb. 10 (UPI) -- Same-sex partners can legally co-own property in the Philippines, the nation's Supreme Court announced Tuesday, a landmark decision for LGBTQ rights in the overwhelmingly Christian nation.
The ruling, which was dated Thursday but released Tuesday, states for the first time that same-sex partners can jointly own property under Article 148 of the Family Code, the country's primary law governing marriage, family and property relations.
"Our laws should be read from more contemporary lenses. We must bear in mind how the lived realities of many couples in the Philippines are now far from heteronormative standards," Senior Associate Justice Marvic Leonen said in a concurring opinion.
"To be different is not to be abnormal. A same-sex relationship is a normal relationship and therefore should be covered by Article 148 of the Family Code. Otherwise, we render legally invisible some forms of legitimate intimate relationships."
The ruling comes in litigation over ownership of a Quezon City house once inhabited by same-sex couple Jennifer Josef and Evalyn Ursua.
