certificate of freedom to marry

Speaking of church requirements... my mom says to anchor our church reservation, we need to submit a Certificate of Freedom to Marry since Aldo and I are not based in Manila. I tried asking if such as certificate exists in the Philippine Embassy in Bangkok -- but they seemed to be as puzzled as I was. Apparently, the MTQ office needs a certificate from both our parishes -- uh-oh, better find a simple way of explaining this to the Ruam Rudee Parish in Bangkok.

I'm hoping this isn't an odd request. Most catholic churches here in Bangkok aren't really that strict with marriage requirements -- our friends Barbara and Marcel were married here and the priest even provided for the flowers! Argh, I wonder why churches in the Philippines make it more complicated -- maybe it's to test your endurance as a couple. Hehehe.