I totally disagree with the proposition of legislators of the 17th Congress in the House of Representatives to legalize and institute absolute divorce and dissolution of marriage in the country.
Last Monday, March 19, the House of Representatives approved on its third and final reading the House Bill No. 7303 - also known as the "Absolute Divorce Act of 2018" filed by 20 members of the lower house, including Speaker Pantaleon Alvarez.
House Bill No. 7303, or the Absolute Divorce Act of 2018. Screenshot from www.congress.gov.ph
This is the farthest a divorce law proposal has gone in the legislative process.
The bill, in its declaration of policy, states it is intended to "save the children from pain, stress, and agony consequent to their parents' constant marital clashes" and "grant the divorced spouses the right to marry again for another chance at marital bliss."
President Rodrigo R. Duterte, through his Spokesperson, Secretary Harry Roque has been rejecting the idea pushed by his allies, as it would negatively affect the children of the couple and it will rob the abandoned spouse of his or her right to file charges against his or her abusive partner. And I fully support these arguments from the Chief Executive.
President Rodrigo R. Duterte delivering a message at the Malacañang of the South. Photo courtesy of Presidential Communications Office.
On the other side of the executive, Vice President Maria Leonor G. Robredo last Friday said she is open to support the proposed divorce law - provided that the separation process is accessible to the poor and must not curtail the constitutional provision protecting the sanctity of marriage. The Vice President also expressed her concern that the passage of the bill must not be hastened, instead it must be discussed properly and seriously. Robredo, though supporting divorce in the Philippines, has certain conditions and reservations that would consider the impacts on the couple's children.
Vice President Leni Robredo. Photo from People Asia Magazine.
In the upper chamber of Congress, the Senate has been pushing for a cheaper and hassle-free annulment rather than supporting the legality of divorce in the country. Senator Loren Legarda filed a Senate Bill that seeks to prescribe an additional ground for annulment. Senator Migz Zubiri, on the other hand, is aiming for a government recognition of Church-decreed annulments. Other senators like Vicente Sotto, III Franklin Drilon, Joel Villanueva, Francis Escudero, and Paolo Benigno Aquino IV shares the idea of supporting the expansion of the grounds for annulment. I also agree with their sentiments, as these has been the call of couples who want to be legally separated to their partners as annulment in the country is really expensive which results to some couples to stay into their failed relationships only for the sake of their children.
Senate of the Philippines Seal. Photo downloaded from Wikipedia Commons.
All of their ideas are RIGHT and must be reconsidered by the House of Representatives, as divorce shall be the fire that would eventually come up to a disastrous family and lit up to a big catastrophic conflagration.
Photo downloaded from Peter Gazeley/Getty Images.
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