The Philippine Online Chronicles

Women’s party-list group Gabriela has re-filed a controversial bill seeking to legalize divorce.

Currently, Philippine law only allows for legal separation and annulment. The country is one out of only two in the world (the other being the Vatican City) which does not allow divorce.

A divorce law would allow “married couples in irreparable marriages another legal remedy that they can resort to in addition to the country’s existing laws on legal separation and annulment,” said Gabriela Representatives Luzviminda Ilagan and Emerenciana De Jesus in filing House Bill No. 1799.

“Couples must have the option to avail of the remedies that will pave the way for the attainment of their full human development and self-fulfillment and have protection of their human rights. Existing laws are not enough to guarantee and protect these rights,” they said.

They added that divorce might allow people to walk out of abusive marriages, citing 2009 police statistics which shows at least 19 women suffering physical abuse at the hands of partners every day.

“For women in abusive marital relationships, the need for a divorce law is real. It is high time that we give Filipino couples, especially the women, this option,” they added.

The bill proposes that divorce may be filed when the couple have been estranged for at least five years, or legally separated for at least two years, with little hope of reconciliation; when any of the grounds for legal separation has caused the irreparable breakdown of the marriage; when either or both people are psychologically incapable of complying with the essential marital obligations; and when the spouses suffer from irreconcilable differences which cause the breakdown of the marriage.

The bill immediately gave rise to strong opposition.

“That is like giving a married couple a weapon of mass destruction that they can use against each other even for petty, solvable marital problems,” warned Parañaque Representative Roilo Golez.

"Look at what’s happening in other countries with divorce. Half of my classmates at Annapolis ended up divorcing a few years after they got married, many because of flimsy reasons by their own admission," he added.

Buhay party-list Representative Erwin Tieng added that divorce was an “exit clause from a very important union,” and that it might be preferable to advocate marriage counseling and “better family relations” programs.

"I believe it will not prosper as there is an overwhelming majority of congresspersons who believe in the sanctity of the family and its preservation as primary fabric of society," added Marikina Representative Romero Federico Quimbo.

He added that it would be better to improve the already existing laws which allow couples to dissolve a troubled marriage.

"The solution is to make these laws more accessible and equitable. The solution is not to make dissolution easier through divorce. The state should spend more resources counseling and advicing couples especially the poor who don’t have access to psychiatrists. Preservation, not destruction of the family," he said.

Other legislators have voiced support for the proposed law.

"Though it will encourage a lot of debates, this will be good as it will really bring the real picture of the state of family and how we can ensure and protect everyone’s rights," said Zambales Representative Ma. Milagros Magsaysay.

Negros Occidental Representative Ignacio Arroyo Jr. and Akbayan Representative Walden Bello, have also said they are “in favor” of the bill.

"Let’s join the 20th century," said Bello.

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