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Legalization of Divorce in the Philippines The iconic phrase of “’Til death do us part” is the words that signify the bond of marriage. Most people greatly value these words. However, what if the love who binds couples together fades away? What if the couple wanted to part ways even before death? What if living together with each other will only bring miserable suffering? One way to end this is through a divorce. Yet this topic is still an on-going debate in the Philippines. The supporters argue that divorce is a practical choice and also a solution in nullifying a marriage while those who opposes claim that divorce is unnecessary and destroys a family. But was it really that bad? According to Meyer (2017), “a divorce is a legal action between married people to terminate their marriage relationship. It can be referred to as dissolution of marriage and is basically, the legal action that ends the marriage before the death of either spouse. The purpose of a divorce is to terminate the parties’ marriage.” Divorce has always been a hotly debated topic in the Philippines. However, the discussion of divorce changes a lot in context, may it be historical, cultural periods or by religious faith. Recently, Malta, Mexico has legalized divorce, making the Philippines the last country, aside from the Vatican, to finally legalize divorce. As it seems, religion has become a hindrance in accepting divorce. “As 81% of the country’s population is Roman Catholic” (Lipka, 2015). The Catholic Church is a great opponent of divorce, thus it is the reason why divorce is still pending in the judicial courts. However, it should be worth noting that in the 1987 Constitution of the Philippines declares in Article II, Section 6 that the “The separation of Church and State shall be inviolable,” meaning that the religion should not be interfering in the politics. Also, a survey conducted by Social Weather Stations (SWS) released in 2015, showed

that more than half of Filipinos (60%) supported divorce legalization. If these are the case, why don’t the Philippine government approve of divorce? The benefit of divorce is really profound and should be rightful to have. Moreover, even the country with the highest percentage of Roman Catholics which is Mexico, which composed of 85% Catholics according to Toro (2013), had “legalized divorce in 1914” which is more than a century ago. In fact divorce can be actually legalized in the Philippines without necessarily opposing the church. Since the Roman Catholic Church refers to the Bible in preaching the word of God, it is fully valid to actually site points of divorce in the Bible. According to The Wells.com, “God tolerates divorce in the cases of adultery, abandonment, and abuse”. When there has been a sexual immorality committed by a spouse or adultery, it is permittable to divorce as said in Matthew 19:9, “And I say to you: whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery.” Abandonment happens when an unbelieving spouse has deserted a believing spouse and this is stated in 1 Corinthians 7:12–16. Abuse is also a ground for divorce where there is a danger to the spouse or children due to physical or sexual abuse, separation may be advisable. Should the offending party remain unrepentant in this sin, divorce may be the end result of this separation. This is found in Malachi 2:16 where it states that “For the man who does not love his wife but divorces her, says the Lord, the God of Israel, covers his garment with violence, says the Lord of hosts. So guard yourselves in your spirit, and do not be faithless.” Even God knows that the sinful nature of the world exists thus he permits divorce. However, it is also stated that divorce should always be viewed as the last step in lovingly disciplining a rebellious and unrepentant spouse. It might be true that God hates divorce but it doesn’t mean that he hates the divorced person. With these points, since it is revealed that there

are actually valid reasons to permit divorce, the legalization of divorce in the Philippines should be pushed through even with at least for the reasons stated above. In connection to the permittable grounds of divorce, according to the Annual Comparative Statistics on Violence against Women (2012), wife battery ranked highest at 49% of all forms of violence and abuse against women. This statistics is enough to legalize divorce in the Philippines. As stated in an article entitled “Philippines needs divorce law.” by Val G. Abelgas, “It is not a coincidence that those pushing for the divorce bill in Congress are women. It is also not a coincidence that all over the world, a big percentage of those filing for divorce are women. It is not difficult to understand that in most failed marriages, it is the women who suffer more – victims of domestic abuse and violence, and neglected or abandoned by philandering or alcoholic husbands.” The Catholic Church believes that divorce breaks a family but it is actually the lack of love, which is replaced by violence and anger that breaks them. Divorce is not the reason for a broken family since the thought of doing divorce wouldn’t exist if the family is not already experiencing problems that are difficult to solve. Divorce only provides a solution to end a failing marriage. Although some opposers of divorce say that there is actually another option to separate, which is annulment, it proves to be both expensive and scarring. In order to be annulled, it should be proven that there is a psychological incapacity by either of the spouses that predates the marriage to make the marriage invalid. In divorce, it doesn’t matter if it is valid or not, as it concerns to some valid grounds that occurs during the marriage. So, if a couple wanted to separate because of other reasons besides their psychological constitution, wouldn’t they be lying to the law just so that they can be annulled? Isn’t there another way than annulment? Yes, there is and that is Legal Separation. However, legal separation, on the other hand, while covering

problems during a marriage, does not put an end to a marriage. A person who is separated can still be charged with bigamy or concubinage, if he or she enters into another relationship. Thus this is still not as good option than divorce as the couple would not be granted freedom from each other. Not to mention, these alternatives are both expensive and tedious. Annulment, according to Umil, Walsingham, and Poole (2011), “takes two years or longer to reach a conclusion. The cost could reach P250,000 which includes attorney fees, court docketing fee and filing fees plus a host of associated fees such as court appearances fees for the attorney.” Meanwhile Legal Separation, according to a personal statement of Walker (2014), “takes P70,000. Legalization of divorce promise to make the whole process quicker and cheaper -- up to 30-40% less costly than legal separation or annulment.” And “it would also provide procedures for settling concerns, such as over property or financial support for the former spouse and children” (Leon, 2014). In divorce, it is actually inevitable for the children to be affected. However, divorce can actually be beneficial to the children than annulment or legal separation. As presented by Cruz (2018) according to him, there are two scenarios to describe this. First scenario: Irresponsible, drunkard father beats up his wife in front of his children and threatens his children with physical harm “if they go against his will” by defending their physically abused mother. The second scenario: Married couples file for divorce and separate on friendly terms with each parent spending pre-determined time with the children. Both parents also provide for their children’s needs. Which of the two scenarios is better for the all the parties involved? Obviously, it is better to divorce as it gives a closure to a broken marriage while tolerating a toxic relationship would greatly damage the children.

Divorce will not erode the values and teachings of the Catholic Church. It is just that nothing is certain in this world and sometimes couples need to break free from a toxic marriage. Sometimes, some people actually make wrong decisions in life but they can still have a chance to correct it. Thus, divorce should be legalized in the Philippines as the couples should have the right to decide to end their marriage. They should have the choice to make their life new and free again. Given the abovementioned arguments and points, the divorce is both helpful and practical to every Filipinos. The government should implement divorce but the process should be simplified and of course, affordable. Divorce is a choice and everyone has the freedom to make choices. So, if a marriage relationship is hopeless and no longer possible, divorce should be an option.

References: Abelgas, V.G. (2012, May 29). Philippines needs divorce law. Global Balita. Retrieved from http://globalbalita.com/2012/05/29/philippines-needs-divorce-law/ Cruz, R. G. (2018, February 21). DEBATE PRO-HOUSE BILL 1799 (DIVORCE BILL) PHILIPPINES.

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https://www.scribd.com/document/137669276/DEBATE-PRO-HOUSE-BILL-1799DIVORCE-BILL-PHILIPPINES Leon, S. L. (2014, October 06). The fight to make divorce legal in the Philippines. Retrieved March 01, 2018, from https://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/06/world/asia/philippines-legaldivorce-battle/index.html

Lipka, M. (2015, January 09). 5 facts about Catholicism in the Philippines. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/01/09/5-facts-about-catholicismin-the-philippines/ Meyer, C. (2017, July 14). What Is the Definition of Divorce? Retrieved March 01, 2018, from https://www.liveabout.com/what-is-a-divorce-1103062 Social Weather Stations. (2015, March 23). Fourth Quarter 2014 Social Weather Survey: 60% favor legalization of divorce; was 50% in 2011 and 43% in 2005. Retrieved March 02, 2018,

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20151214092942 The Well. (n.d.). Marriage, Divorce & Remarriage Position Paper. Retrieved March 01, 2018, from https://thewellcommunity.org/about/position-papers/marriage-divorce-remarriage Toro, R. (2013, February 19). The World's Catholic Population (Infographic). Retrieved March 02, 2018, from https://www.livescience.com/27244-the-world-s-catholic-populationinfographic.html Umil, A. M., Walsingham, J., & Poole, J. (2011, June 14). Divorce bill, providing a remedy for women

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http://bulatlat.com/main/2011/06/14/divorce-bill-providing-a-remedy-for-women-inabusive-marriages/ Walker, T. (2014, September 29). Legal separation in the Philippines and the act of reconciliation. Retrieved March 02, 2018, from http://philippineslifestyle.com/legalseparation-philippines/...