False Affidavit of Cohabitation; A Mere Irregularity?

Is the falsity employed in their statement in the affidavit of cohabitation a mere irregularity?

The ratiocination of the Republic that as a marriage under a license is not invalidated by the fact that the license was wrongfully obtained, so must a marriage not be invalidated by a fabricated statement that the parties have cohabited for at least five years as required by law, is NOT correct.

The contract is flagrant. The former is with reference to an irregularity of the marriage license, and not to the absence of one. Hence, there is no marriage license at all. Furthermore, the falsity of the allegation in the sworn affidavit relating to the period of the parties’ cohabitation, which would have qualified their marriage as an exception to the requirement for a marriage license, cannot be a mere irregularity, for it refers to a quintessential fact that the law precisely required to be deposed and attested to by the parties under oath. If the essential matter in the sworn affidavit is a lie, then it is but a mere scrap of paper, without force and effect. Hence, it is as if there was no affidavit at all. (Republic v. Dayot; G.R. No. 175581, March 28, 2008)