9 Reasons to Support the Legalization of Divorce in the Philippines

In an article posted by Female Network.com, They laid out 9 reasons as to why the
divorce bill should be legalized here in the Philippines. I read each one of them and
here are my thoughts and opinions about each reason:

1. CURRENT LAWS THAT ALLOW FOR LEGAL SEPARATIONS AND ANNULMENTS

ARE FLAWED.

"For couples who want to dissolve their union or live apart, there are two options: legal
separation and annulment. A legal separation allows a couple to divide their properties
and live apart, but it does not dissolve their marriage, i.e., they cannot re-marry"

- I believe legal separations and annulment are quite ineffective for they dissolve
everything but the marriage in a couple which is not what most partners would want to
happen when their main point is to be separated from each other. They would have to
give reasons as to why each partner is incapable of being a wife or a husband prior to
the marriage which for me is not really necessary anymore. They should just simply give
out the reason for the failure of their marriage without a criteria for its validation because
it is the couple's choice. We should respect each and everyone's reasons and decisions
about their own lives.

2. DIVORCE USED TO EXIST IN THE PHILIPPINES

"According to Atty. Fred Pamaos, the Philippines once had a law on divorce. “Before the
Spanish colonial rule in the early 16th century, absolute divorce had been widely
practiced among our ancestral tribes—the Tagbanwas of Palawan, the Gadang of
Nueva Vizcaya, the Sagada and Igorot of the Cordilleras, the Manobo, Bila-an and
Moslems of Visayas and Mindanao islands, to name a few.”

- If during the early days our ancestors were already practicing divorce, then I guess it
was accepted by the Filipinos back then as well and these cultures and traditions are
passed on from one generation to another. We are already in a generation wherein we
are exposed to a lot of things that require us to be open-minded citizens; if our
ancestors back then managed to run this law during a colonial period then why can't we
Filipinos nowadays living in a new generation, accept these kinds of reality and drastic
changes in our society?

3. THERE ARE SECTORS IN PHILIPPINE SOCIETY THAT PRACTICE DIVORCE.

"The Code of Muslim Personal Laws of the Philippines allows for divorce—however,
with stipulations: namely, a man can divorce his wife, but a woman cannot divorce her
husband."

- The Muslim community is basically different from us Filipinos from Luzon and Visayas
in terms of customs, beliefs, laws, etc. but that does not mean we are all different from
each other already and Filipinos cannot have a unified force as well. I say this law
should be tweaked into basically both parties having the right to divorce each other and
no just the husband. But then again if I were to decide, I would want the same rules to
apply to the whole Philippine nation and not be broken per island or region.

4. IT IS A RECOURSE FOR WOMEN WHO ARE IN ABUSIVE RELATIONSHIPS.

In the Philippines, spousal abuse and infidelity are not grounds for the annulment of
marriage.

- Failed marriages are often caused by physical violence or abuse but then it is not
considered as a valid reason for separation which is totally unfair especially on the part
of abused women. Reasons like that should be heard and recognized because it is a
very much alarming factor that should be acted upon.

5. THE STIPULATIONS OF AN ANNULMENT ARE DESTRUCTIVE.

"The most commonly used reason for an annulment is “psychological incapacity.” It

requires that you prove that your spouse (or both of you) is indeed psychologically
incapable of performing the responsibilities that come with being married."

- This is exactly one flaw of annulment cases here in the Philippines, the reasons that
should be given out by couples are limited and therefore does not apply to everyone.
Plus, "psychological incapacity" reasons require one to seek a psychological report
which can really be costly and could also come with a lot of issues regarding ethical
practices in medicine. That is why I think it is best to acknowledge whatever reasons a
couple could have regarding their separation.

6. DIVORCE HAS NO RELIGIOUS BIAS.

"Because of the separation of Church and State, getting a civil annulment will only mean
that your civil union has been dissolved. This is fine if you were married in City Hall, but
for church wedding, this means that your church union is still intact."

- This may be really hassle for couples who have gone through a church wedding and I
think majority do nowadays. Annulments tend to have a long and tiring process which
comes along with a lot of factors such as money, effort, time and people. Well it may be
the same if ever divorce would be legalized but it would totally be an all-in-one thing
compared to an annulment. There would be no separation of the church and state
anymore, which would completely dissolve the marriage. The downside of this as of
now is that our country is still held strongly by the Church's influence and getting in the
way of them will be a huge battle our state and people will have to go through before
achieving this legalization of the divorce bill.

7. PEOPLE ARE IN FAVOR OF DIVORCE.

 More than half of Filipino adults surveyed favor legalization of divorce for "irreconcilably
separated couples," an independent poll released on Friday said.

A nationwide survey by the Social Weather Stations (SWS) conducted Dec. 8 to Dec.
16 last year asked 1,200 Filipinos by face-to-face interviews to respond to the
statement, "Married couples who have already separated and cannot reconcile anymore
should be allowed to divorce so that they can get legally married again."

"53 percent agreed, 30 percent strongly and 23 percent somewhat, and almost 32
percent disagreed. 15 percent were undecided on the matter," the SWS said in a
statement.

The SWS said this gives a net agreement score of +21, classified by SWS as
moderately strong.

In the surveys, it said 50 percent of the respondents are men, and 50 percent are
women.

The Philippines is the only country in the world other than the Vatican that still outlaws
divorce.

The Family Code of the Philippines currently provides two ways for couples to separate
- legal separation and annulment. However, the legal separation will not sever the
marital bond and the annulment will take a long time and cost a large amount of money.

As of 2017, the SWS said an average 33 percent of the men are married, 7 percent
have live-in partners, 7 percent have never married, and 3 percent are singles who are
either widowed or separated.

Among women, it said 29 percent are married, 9 percent are singles who are either
widowed or separated, 8 percent have live-in partners, and 4 percent have never
married.

Support for the legalization of divorce used to be split when SWS first surveyed it in
2005, 43 percent agreed, 12 percent were undecided, and 45 percent disagreed.

"The same question was asked for the second time six years after in 2011 and obtained
moderately strong support. When it was asked for the third time three years after in
2014, it went to very strong and stayed at moderately strong up to 2017," the SWS said.
- As I have mentioned earlier, we are already living in a generation wherein we are
already open-minded and adapt to changes in terms of our culture, government and
society. We have all been realizing that in time some marriages were meant to end and
that both parties deserve that freedom from married life. As the time goes on, more and
more people are in need of full separation from each other that is why it would really be
beneficial if ever this divorce bill would be actualized. If majority of the people are in
favor of this movement, then I think the government should respect the majority's
options.

8. AN ANNULMENT IS AN EXPENSIVE PROCESS THAT NOT EVERYONE CAN

AFFORD.

"The cost of proving grounds for an annulment, such as psychological incapacity,

requires the hiring of specialists and the like, which can cost thousands of pesos--not
something everyone can afford."

- I have commented about this earlier and really, annulment thus entail a long and costly
process that not everyone could afford to handle it personally and financially. The
tendency for this would be couples will just let go of their marriage without having it
annulled which in return could create problems in terms of records, government
services, rights and treatment of people. Thus couples need something that is easy,
bearable and would not compromise their personal endeavors.

9. DIVORCE DOES NOT DESTROY THE FAMILY.

Divorce—on any law, for that matter—will not destroy the family. It is only the members
of the family who can do that. Putting a clear divorce law in place recognizes that some
marriages work and some don’t.

- I totally agree with the above statement because not all marriages work, and parents
would have to separate eventually maybe because it would be better for the whole
family to do so. Being divorced does not mean the whole family is dysfunctional already,
it is a case to case basis which should not be generalized at all. I believe it is already up
to the parents to make their children understand the circumstances surrounding the
divorce and how they would still continue to raise the children well. In fact, divorce
makes life better for most families because why suffer if you can have it the easy way
out?