did the supreme court just recognize same-sex couples as family?

a landmark win for Filipino lgbtq+ couples

February 5, 2026 is now an important date for LGBTQ+ rights in the Philippines. In G.R. No. 267469 - Josef vs Ursua🔗, the Supreme Court affirmed the right of same-sex couples to co-own property they acquire during cohabitation as long as there is proof that both partners actually contributed. This also applies to joint bank deposits and other shared financial assets or credit.

The decision is based on a more inclusive reading of Article 148 of the Family Code. This law says that when two people live together but are not covered by the previous article (Article 147), the property they acquire together belongs to them in proportion to what each person contributed. If there is no proof showing otherwise, the law assumes their contributions are equal.

Article 147 specifically talks about a man and a woman who can legally marry each other but live together without getting married (or under a void marriage).

By interpreting Article 148 as gender-neutral, the Supreme Court made it clear that the law also applies to same-sex couples and other non-traditional relationships—not just heterosexual couples.

are same-sex couples families?

In another case (G.R. No. 253940 - Dolera vs SSS🔗), the court described the relationship between Leonardo and Belinda, before their marriage, as that of a family unit, a union, and a common-law relationship with Articles 147 and 148 applying to such non-marital unions.

While the SC did not explicitly label the relationship between Josef and Ursua as a "family", given that the Court has previously characterized relationships governed by Articles 147 and 148 as family units... Yes, I do heartily believe our legal system has just, for the first time in Philippine legal history, recognized same-sex couples as constituting a family.