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Hearing Both Sides Of The Debate: Legalizing Divorce In The Philippines

Posted by Joanna L | Aug 25, 2019 | Love & Relationship | 0 |

Divorce has always been a controversial issue in the Philippines — or maybe even the world. Terminating a sacred union is still a crucial and complicated decision for both the church and the state. Moreover, several groups and organizations in the country are on both sides of the debate, slowing down the transition of the Divorce Act of 2019 into law. 

The masses are still not ready to make a decision, so the question looms: should the Philippines legalize divorce? Let’s take a look at what the public has to say.

No To Divorce

Some Filipinos are entirely against divorce because of their religious beliefs, while others cite Filipino values and culture as another reason why a man and a woman shouldn’t terminate their marriage. 

The Catholic Church itself condemns the existence of the Divorce Act of 2019, saying that it’s unconstitutional, anti-family, anti-children, and against Christian faith. More than 77 Catholic organizations have joined together to oppose the bill on divorce, influencing a vast number of Catholics to host multiple rallies.

Surprisingly, President Rodrigo Duterte also expressed his honest disagreement with the Senate on the divorce bill, letting former Presidential Spokesman Harry Roque share his sentiments: “He said the children would be pitiful if there will be divorce…And if there will be divorce, the abandoned spouse will lose the right to file cases against their spouse.”

Other public figures and prominent groups that also voted ‘no’ to divorce are the ALLiance For The Family Foundation Philippines Inc., Senator Joel Villanueva, and the Jesus Is Lord (JIL) Movement (led by Bro. Eddie Villanueva). 

Yes To Divorce

Meanwhile, Filipinos who strongly believe that divorce should be legalized in the Philippines claim that the bill is “pro-women legislation”. They see divorce as the best exit for Filipinos experiencing domestic violence, abandonment, and adultery — since annulment and legal separation aren’t enough to save them from the consequences of a failed union. 

Senator Risa Hontiveros, the former representative of Akbayan in the House of Representatives, is one of the leading figures behind the divorce bill. She’s also known for her contributions in the controversial Reproductive Health (RH) law and SOGIE Equality Bill. Hontiveros is the principal author of the proposed Divorce Act of 2019. And just this year, she refiled a bill that will allow an absolute divorce in the country. 

“It’s time that we give Filipinos the chance to free themselves from abusive, loveless and unhappy relationships, and to help them find love and start all over again,” Hontiveros said in a recent interview. 

Strengthening the divorce bill is a recent survey conducted by the Social Weather Stations (SWS). The survey revealed that “53% of adult Filipinos nationwide support the legalization of divorce for irreconcilably separated couples.” The sample population all came from the country’s three main island groups, SWS confirmed that the “net agreement with the proposition was highest in Metro Manila at very strong +35, followed by moderately strong in Balance Luzon at +23, Mindanao at +15, and Visayas at +14.”

Aside from Hontiveros, other public figures and prominent groups that are also open with the idea of divorce include Senator Grace Poe, the Divorce Advocates of The Philippines (DAP), and Gabriela Women’s Party. 

The Philippines, at the time of writing, is one of the few remaining countries where divorce is still illegal. Married Filipino couples have an option to go through an annulment or legal separation.

The state has yet to decide if the divorce bill would be made into law, so while the Senate and the House of Representatives are at it, make sure to find some private and public lawyers at Rakuboss.com that can help you move forward if you have marital problems that requires legal action.

About The Author

Joanna is a scriptwriter, content writer, and copywriter based in Manila, Philippines. She enjoys reading Young Adult fantasy and historical fiction novels during her spare time.

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Divorce Is Prohibited In The Philippines, But Moves Are Underway To Legalize It

Michael Sullivan

Anti-divorce protesters marched in Manila in February. The Philippine House of Representatives passed a bill in March that would legalize divorce. Ted Aljibe/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

Anti-divorce protesters marched in Manila in February. The Philippine House of Representatives passed a bill in March that would legalize divorce.

After 10 years of marriage to a husband she says was a philanderer, and dealing with her suffocating in-laws, Alpa Go, a mom in Metro Manila, threw in the towel. She wanted out, for herself and her two children.

"I just wanted to cut ties with him," she said speaking in Tagalog. "If I ever achieve my goals, I don't want to do it carrying his name. And if I acquire properties in the future, I don't want to have to share with him. What if I'm gone?" she asks — meaning what if she's dead. "Then he would benefit instead of the kids."

What Alpa Go wants — but can't get — is a divorce. The Philippines, where roughly 80 percent of the population is Roman Catholic, is one of only two countries in the world where divorce remains illegal (with exemptions for the roughly 5 percent of the population that's Muslim). The only other country where divorce remains illegal is Vatican City.

With divorce out of the question, Go did the next-best thing. She filed for an annulment. But they're expensive and out of reach for many Filipinos, whose jobs bring them only a few dollars a day.

Go was lucky in the sense that she'd saved enough money to try. She paid the equivalent of $5,000 to file. It didn't work.

"I filed on the grounds of psychological incapacity," she explains, one of the official grounds for annulment. "But [the court] said it wasn't enough."

Later, she says, her friends told her the judge in Metro Manila's Antipolo municipality, where she filed, wasn't a fan of annulments. So Go gave up.

Laywer Clara Padilla, the executive director of EnGendeRights , a Manila-based nonprofit that advocates for women's rights, says Alpa Go's story is far from unusual. She has heard far worse.

"Women, even if they're in an abusive relationship where their husbands would batter them, even if their husbands are drunkards or are alcoholic or engage in extramarital affairs, even if they do drugs — their wives are unable to dissolve the marriages," she says.

But a bill passed in March by the Philippines House of Representatives is giving hope to proponents of divorce. It would allow divorce for a variety of reasons, including irreconcilable differences, abuse, infidelity and abandonment.

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte Has A New Adversary — The Church

To become law, the bill needs to be passed by the Senate and approved by the president. But the House bill, which passed by a vote of 134 to 57, is significant since no divorce legislation has ever made it this far in the Philippines, says sociologist Jayeel Cornelio of Manila's Ateneo University. He calls the bill "unprecedented," but also logical in a country where a recent survey showed more than half of Filipinos are in favor of allowing divorce "for irreconcilably separated couples."

"The influence of the Catholic Church, when it comes to political matters and private moral affairs, is becoming weaker and weaker in the country," Cornelio says. "The resistance of the Catholic Church to the divorce bill is increasingly seen as not in the interests of the public but only the interests of the Catholic Church."

Cornelio says a divorce bill is a sensible, and even "inevitable" next step after the passage of the country's reproductive health law in 2013, which allowed poorer Filipinos in particular access to birth control. Many municipalities have been slow in implementing the reproductive health law, which took more than a decade to pass — evidence of how much power the Church still enjoys.

Still, there is an unusual level of bipartisan support for the divorce bill — a matter of concern for the Catholic Church.

"Yes, it is worrisome for us," says Auxiliary Bishop Broderick Pabillo of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. "According to our Philippine constitution, now we are supposed to be pro-family to protect the family, and strengthen the family, and divorce will not help our people at all."

Pabillo acknowledges that there are cases where women who are emotionally or physically abused by their husbands need to get out. But in those cases, he says, "She can legally be separated from the man, so we also [offer] a way out."

It's not a way that allows them a divorce to start life anew in the eyes of the government or the Church. But Pabillo is firm.

"We cannot make a policy for certain cases when the whole society would suffer in the long run," he insists.

Nonsense, says Padilla. She says the Philippines remains "pretty much behind the rest of the world" — in the "dark ages," even, she says — when it comes to issues like divorce and LGBT rights.

"The Philippines should be a secular state where there should be separation of church and state," Padilla says, "where the Catholic Church should not be able to influence their religious beliefs in the passage of laws."

The Philippine Supreme Court recently ruled that Filipinos married to foreigners can get divorced abroad and be recognized as such at home.

Even though the divorce bill had strong support in the House, in the Senate, resistance is much stronger.

"Unfortunately for those who are proposing it, I don't believe in it," says Senate majority leader Vicente Sotto III . "As far as I'm concerned, it's not a priority," he says, though he admits he's taking heat from his four daughters — all of whom, he says, support the right to divorce and want him to consider the bill.

Sotto's own opposition, he says, won't keep him from allowing a vote in the Senate. "We'll discuss it," he says. "I am not going to stymie the bill because I'm not in favor of divorce, that does not mean I'll not do my job. If a senator comes to me and says, 'please, have it in the agenda because we want it discussed,' after discussing in committee, so be it. We'll do it."

A Senate version of the bill could come up for consideration in the next few months, and both Sotto and Pabillo put the chances of passage at about 50-50. Even if the Senate does pass it, the bill would still need to be approved by President Duterte, whose own marriage was annulled.

Duterte has expressed his opposition to divorce in the past. But he's also been a fierce and foulmouthed critic of the Catholic Church, when it comes to the Church's condemnation of his war on drugs, which human rights groups say has claimed more than 12,000 lives since it began nearly two years ago.

If enough Filipinos make a public show of supporting a divorce bill, the populist Duterte might go along. Giving the people what they want while giving the Church a black eye, some observers suggest, might be a twofer Duterte simply cannot resist.

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Divorce should be an option

The House of Representatives committee on population and family relations approved the absolute divorce bill which allows it to proceed to plenary for debate. This is the closest we have come to finally allow people to have full freedom to decide on the course of their relationships. As a predominantly Catholic nation, this understandably will cause fierce arguments and culturally entrenched righteous indignation. However, as someone who works with families, let me offer some points on this issue.

If you as a couple do not want to consider divorce in your marriage, you don’t have to. Legalizing divorce does not threaten harmonious families. People who are happy and content within their marriages will not suddenly rush to get one just because it is available. If you worry that your spouse will divorce you the moment it becomes legal, then you have much more important things to worry about in your relationship. It can, however, save the lives of many victims of domestic violence (mostly women) and allow people to determine their own lives.

Not allowing divorce as a legal option is like not allowing emergency exits in a building. Imagine there’s a fire but the building owner didn’t put in emergency exits because he “does not believe in it” and that you were expected to keep managing the fire, not escape it. Imagine still a building infested with toxic mold but that you were not permitted to evacuate because others couldn’t fathom why you don’t have the willpower to tough it out. Most people hopefully will not need to use emergency exits in their lifetime. And you’ll be glad it’s there when you need it.

Divorce can also be a protective tool against domestic violence, which is the strongest reason why it should exist. In other countries, they found a significant reduction of spousal conflict and extreme partner violence once divorce was an accessible option. When you know that your spouse has legal rights to leave, you are disabused of the notion of your spouse as property and less likely to mistreat them. Domestic violence also takes up a significant portion of reasons for divorce, around 25-50 percent in other countries. By refusing to provide this option, you are condemning victims of domestic violence to a lifetime of hell. Not having access to options can also turn into desperation—leading some individuals to consider a lethal option.

Even without the threat of domestic violence, we should consider the natural course of intimate relationships. You can only realistically commit to a set of behaviors, not a set of feelings. You cannot genuinely promise to make someone happy. You can, however, promise to not have sex with anyone else (you can still break this promise, of course, but it is more than possible to keep). Feelings, by nature, are temporary. They can be lost and regained. They can strengthen and fade.

Love is both a feeling and an act. Love, as a feeling, can change. I do not know which Hallmark writer decided that love should be forever. The act of loving, however, is within your control and something you can choose to commit to. By accepting the nature of feelings, we must accept the possibility that we might lose the feeling of love for our spouse despite our best intentions. The act that follows this loss—whether it be active efforts to rekindle the lost feeling, redefining the marriage as platonic mutual respect, or acknowledging that the marriage is over—can still be done in a loving way. The best way to shield children from the harmful effects of separation or divorce is for both parents to commit to respecting each other and to still care for each other as co-parents. Ironically, couples who do acknowledge the wax and wane of romantic feeling are much more likely to stay together because they do not take each other for granted and make repeated intentions to stay. They also tend to be more generous and less calculative during separation and genuinely wishing each other happiness.

Divorce is not the killer of happy marriages. It is simply a life raft for people drowning in a marriage that’s already long dead. If you want to ensure the success of a marriage, we should be providing couples with resources and support to help them better adapt and not simply mandate them to stay together. If you love someone, you don’t chain them to you; them choosing to stay is a greater sense of emotional security than locking them in a divorce-less marriage.

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Should Divorce be Legalized in the Philippines?

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Repeated family transitions raise the likelihood of adverse child outcomes, and parental separation and divorce can transform the family structure from a two-parent biological family to a lone parent or stepfamily status. Although divorce is permissible in Islam, it lays great emphasis on its being a concession and measure that must be resorted to only when there is no alternative. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study is to describe the experiences of Muslim Families in Southern Philippines in Islamic Divorce. In this study, divorce practices were explained in detail to acquire a comprehensive understanding of how the Islamic law of divorce functions. This also describes how the couple arrived at their decision of having divorce. Results revealed that introspection and contemplation, consultation with family members, decision to divorce, Iddah, and processing the divorce were the divorce practices. Determination, avoidance and redirection, settling issues with children, and counting on support mechanisms were the coping mechanisms. Divorce should be avoided, divorce requires careful and thorough deliberation, collateral damage is on the child and there is life after divorce were the insights learned.

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Divorce is the process that legally ends the marriage between husband and wife. The Philippines and Vatican City are the two remaining states in the world where absolute divorce remains essentially impossible. While the Philippines recognizes legal separation as termed under its Family Code, it has not sanctioned absolute divorce. During the pre-colonial period, divorce was already practiced in some ancestral tribes in the Philippines and is already part of Filipino customary laws. Hence, divorce is not something new to Filipinos. While others see legal divorce as inevitable given the continuing trend of increasing public support for the issue, many still vehemently oppose it. The progressive lawmakers had consistently filed and re-filed related measures for years and failed. In contrast, some lawmakers continuously oppose proposals for legalizing divorce due to its impact on religious beliefs. This descriptive-correlational research tackles the area of social psychology that unveils the differences in the attitudes of Filipinos towards divorce and proposed divorce law in the Philippines, considering their variations based on religion, religiosity, educational attainment, and age cohort.

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Divorce, due to any reason and in any kind, has the result of collapsing the family in which both parties have peace and causes the disorganization of children. Perhaps, both parties get divorce willingly but they bore grudges and develop the sense of pessimism. Divorce is among the downfalls of life and affects the children by psychological distress and its ominous impacts remain throughout life. Miseries caused by divorce are not repairable in many cases. Divorce makes the boys and girls pessimist to marriage, educates people of the society with complexes, it develops revenge in the society and deliver anxious people to community.

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Essay on Legalization Of Divorce In The Philippines

Students are often asked to write an essay on Legalization Of Divorce In The Philippines in their schools and colleges. And if you’re also looking for the same, we have created 100-word, 250-word, and 500-word essays on the topic.

Let’s take a look…

100 Words Essay on Legalization Of Divorce In The Philippines

Understanding divorce.

Divorce means legally ending a marriage. In most countries, people can divorce if their marriage isn’t working. The Philippines is one of the few places without a divorce law. Married couples there can’t easily separate, even if they want to.

The Current Situation

In the Philippines, couples can get an annulment or a legal separation instead of a divorce. An annulment is when the court says a marriage never really existed. Legal separation lets couples live apart without ending the marriage.

Arguments for Legalization

Some people say divorce should be legal in the Philippines. They believe it can help those stuck in unhappy or unsafe marriages. It’s about giving people the freedom to choose what’s best for them.

Opposition to Divorce

Others argue against divorce, worried it might harm family values. They fear it might make ending marriages too easy. The Catholic Church, very influential in the Philippines, also opposes divorce.

Whether or not to legalize divorce in the Philippines is a big debate. It’s about balancing personal freedom with traditional values. The decision will affect the lives of many Filipinos.

250 Words Essay on Legalization Of Divorce In The Philippines

Divorce is when two people who are married decide they want to end their marriage. They go to court, and if the court agrees, they are no longer husband and wife. Many countries allow divorce, but in the Philippines, it is not allowed except for Muslim Filipinos who have their own laws.

Why Some People Want Divorce Legalized

Some people in the Philippines want to change the law to allow divorce. They believe that if two people are very unhappy together, it’s better for them to separate and live happier lives apart. They also think that if someone is in a harmful marriage, they should be able to leave for their safety.

Arguments Against Divorce

Other people think divorce should not be allowed. They feel that marriage is very important and should last forever. They worry that allowing divorce could lead to more families breaking up and could hurt children who need both parents.

What Could Happen If Divorce Is Allowed

If the Philippines decides to allow divorce, it would mean that people who want to end their marriage could do so legally. The government would have to create new laws to explain how divorce would work and to make sure that children and both partners are treated fairly.

In conclusion, the idea of allowing divorce in the Philippines is a big topic with strong opinions on both sides. It’s important for people to talk about it and think carefully about what is best for families and for the country.

500 Words Essay on Legalization Of Divorce In The Philippines

Introduction to divorce in the philippines.

In the Philippines, the topic of divorce is a big deal. Right now, the country does not allow divorce, which means that if two people get married, they cannot legally end their marriage through divorce. This is different from many other countries where divorce is allowed and is a common way to end a marriage that is not working anymore.

What is Divorce?

Divorce is when a husband and wife decide to end their marriage through legal means. It is a way for people to stop being married when they feel that they cannot be together anymore. In places where divorce is allowed, it is a process that the court handles to make sure everything is fair, especially when it comes to taking care of children and sharing property.

Arguments for Legalizing Divorce

Some people in the Philippines want to change the law to allow divorce. They say it is important because sometimes marriages can be really unhappy or even harmful. For example, if one person is being mean or hurting the other, it might be better for them to separate. Allowing divorce could help people leave bad situations and start fresh.

Another reason is that people change over time. What if they find out they are not a good match anymore? Divorce could give them a chance to find happiness with someone else. Also, for those who are separated but not legally divorced, it can be hard to move on with their lives, like getting remarried or even just being able to make big decisions on their own.

Arguments Against Legalizing Divorce

On the other side, some people in the Philippines do not want divorce to be legal. They worry that it might break families apart and could be bad for children. They believe marriage is a promise that should last forever, and facing tough times is part of it. They also think that the current laws, like annulment, which is a way to say the marriage was not valid from the start, are enough to handle situations where a marriage needs to end.

Right now, the Philippines offers annulment and legal separation. Annulment is a long and costly process that says the marriage was never right from the beginning. Legal separation allows couples to live apart and divide their property, but they are still married in the eyes of the law. This means they cannot remarry.

The legalization of divorce in the Philippines is a topic that gets people talking. It has supporters who believe it can help people in bad marriages and opponents who worry about its effects on families. As of now, there is no divorce in the Philippines, but the conversation about it continues. It’s important to think about what is best for people’s happiness and safety when discussing this topic. Whether or not the law will change is something that only time will tell.

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