«The Philippines should be a secular state where there should be a separation of church and state,» Padilla says, «where the Catholic Church should not be able to influence its religious beliefs when passing laws.» It is time to give the remedy of divorce to those who need it, even if we respect the decision of those who want to remain married despite their miserable married life. Of course, the Catholic Church will be the most vocal opponent of the divorce law. She will again oppose the bill on moral grounds. He will invoke the constitutional provision directing the State to protect marriage and the family, and another concerning the sanctity of family life. But these constitutional provisions were never intended to prohibit Congress from legalizing divorce. Among the opponents of this initiative is the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, the brother. Eddie Villanueva, who said divorce will offer couples «a way out of marriage» that «will degrade the institution into a simplistic contractual relationship that is deprived of its pure meaning and requires a lasting commitment. Injecting absolute divorce into society is a safe formula for raising Filipino children without a father and mother. For the past six years, a divorce bill has been pending in the House of Representatives, which is supported by representatives of the Gabriela Women`s Party.
The bill lists five grounds for divorce, including: if the spouses have actually been separated for at least five years or have been legally separated for at least two years and their reconciliation is highly unlikely; if one of the legally recognized grounds for legal separation has led to the irreparable breakdown of the marriage. The bill did not go beyond the committee level, as the energy of many focused on the recently passed reproductive health law. This is not a path that allows them to divorce in order to start life again in the eyes of the government or the Church. But Pabillo is unwavering. According to the SWS survey conducted between March 25 and 28, 2017 and December 8 to 16, 2017, 53% of Filipinos agreed to legalize divorce in the country. Why it`s important: The 21st. In February, the House Committee on Population and Family Relations passed a bill that would introduce divorce in the Philippines. MANILA, Philippines – A majority of Filipinos support the legalization of divorce in the Philippines, according to the findings of a social weather station (SWS) released Friday, March 9. A divorce law will provide for a remedy that article 36 does not provide. Divorce does not deal with the validity or nullity of a marriage.
It terminates a marriage for a reason that occurred during the marriage, which makes the conjugal relationship no longer tenable regardless of the psychological constitution of the spouse. A divorce law provides a simple remedy for marital failure. This will benefit Filipinos wherever they are. The bill, titled «A Law That Provides for Absolute Divorce and Dissolution of Marriage in the Philippines,» is also historic for other reasons: it`s the furthest a divorce bill has reached in the legislative process, and it`s a rare bipartisan effort involving lawmakers from all blocs of the House in its drafting. (EXPLANATION: What are the reasons, the provisions of the House Divorce Bill?) Because it is often seen as unfair or overly complicated due to its many specific conditions, many Filipinos have called for the legalization of divorce to have an easier and more direct way to remove an unsuccessful marriage. The Philippine legal system has opposed this for more than 70 years, but recently, House Bills 100, 838 and 2263, the laws that introduce divorce, were approved by a House committee. Nevertheless, we firmly believe that divorce should continue to be banned in our country. At present, the only legal procedure similar to divorce in the Philippines is the declaration of nullity, which establishes a marriage as invalid from the outset. To be considered null and void from the outset, a marriage must fall under one of the following criteria: «Absence of the essential conditions of marriage — consent and legal capacity of the parties, bigamous marriages, incestuous marriages or psychological incapacity», according to Calleja Law (nd). Every day, Filipinos marry, give birth to children, separate, and enter into different relationships, regardless of what the law says. The lack of a divorce law for non-Muslim Filipinos further complicates the marital and family problems of many Filipinos.
Clearly, our government has not met their needs. If the country wants to move forward, it must deal with the realities of Filipino marriage and family life in the Philippines and abroad.