While Catholic prelates have become more cautious about Hector politicians, evangelicals often confuse religion and politics without hesitation. Eddie Villanueva, for example, deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, is also a prominent television evangelist and the founder of Jesus Is Lord. Manny Pacquiao, who turned a boxing career into a Senate seat, is notorious for his bigotry. He called people in same-sex relationships „worse than animals.“ In their absolute desire to protect the pride of the Filipino family, legislators influence the decisions of new generations. There is a decline in reported marriages in the Philippines, with confirmation that younger generations prefer to live together rather than marry because there are no legal mechanisms for failed partnerships. While this is not an outcome they want, for many, it is the safest option. Nevertheless, the bill contains a general provision that provides for a six-month cooling-off period after filing an application for divorce, during which the court must make efforts to reunite and reconcile the parties. Exceptions to this rule would be cases where one of the spouses is sentenced to six years` imprisonment or where the spouses have been separated for at least five years. Currently, the only legal procedure similar to divorce in the Philippines is the annulment letter, which declares a marriage invalid from the outset. To be considered null and void from the outset, a marriage must meet one of the following criteria: „Absence of the essential requirements of marriage – consent and legal capacity of the parties, bigamous marriages, incestuous marriages or psychological incapacity,“ according to Calleja Law (n.d.). 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 can`t really promise to make someone happy. However, you can promise not to have sex with anyone else (you can always break that promise, of course, but it`s more than possible to keep it). Feelings are temporary by nature. They can be lost and found. They can intensify and fade. While the cancellation option is feasible, it is inaccessible to the most unfortunate and vulnerable citizens. As of 2021, the average monthly income in the Philippines is PHP12,500, or about $315. Only those with considerable resources can obviously afford it, which excludes working-class women who suffer most from abusive marriages. With no opportunity to leave, they are forced to stay in a toxic marriage. To become law, the bill must be passed by the Senate and approved by the president. But the House bill, which passed by a vote of 134 to 57, is important because no divorce law has ever been more present in the Philippines, says sociologist Jayeel Cornelio of Ateneo de Manila University. He called the law „unprecedented,“ but also logical in a country where a recent poll found that more than half of Filipinos favor allowing divorce „for irreconcilably separated couples.“ The survey group began asking Filipinos about legalizing divorce in 2005 — when support for the measure, based on survey data, was lowest.
In 2005, the SWS reported that 45% disagreed with the measure, while 43% agreed with the measure, representing a net agreement of -2. Although the divorce bill received strong support in the House of Representatives, opposition is much stronger in the Senate. The bill states that it aims to „protect children from the pain, distress and anguish resulting from their parents` constant marital conflicts“ and to „give divorced spouses the right to remarry in order to have another chance at marital happiness.“ – Rappler.com While cancellation is the end goal for couples seeking freedom, for others, especially the working class, the process can be painful. Grounds for annulment include „fraud, impotence, confusion, or legal age of marriage.“ However, legal cancellation procedures are extremely lengthy and costly: the processing time can range from four months to four years, with total fees ranging from around PHP140,000 to PHP725,000, which equates to $4,000 to $20,000. Divorce is not the killer of happy marriages. It is simply a life raft for people who are drowning in a marriage that is already long dead. If you want to ensure a successful marriage, we should provide couples with resources and support to help them adapt better, not just tell them to stay together. When you love someone, you don`t chain them to you; Her decision to stay is a greater sense of emotional security than locking her into a divorce free marriage. If enough Filipinos publicly show that they support a divorce bill, populist Duterte could join.
Some observers suspect that giving people what they want while giving the Church a black eye, could be a second that Duterte simply cannot resist. The net agreement on this subject is „moderately strong“ from +21 to 4 points lower than in 2016, when it was +25. Cornelio says a divorce bill is a reasonable and even „inevitable“ next step after the passage of the country`s reproductive health law in 2013, which gave poorer Filipinos in particular access to birth control. Many congregations have been slow to implement the Reproductive Health Act, which took more than a decade – a testament to the power the church still enjoys. Yet there is an unusual level of bipartisan support for the divorce bill — a concern of the Catholic Church. Philippines: The House bill on divorce is approved by the committee. 2020. Website. www.loc.gov/item/global-legal-monitor/2020-03-04/philippines-house-bill-on-divorce-approved-in-committee/.
In addition, Filipinos seem to be less conservative than the laws they regulate. More than half think divorce should be legal, according to surveys conducted in 2017 by Social Weather Stations (SWS), an opinion research firm. Seven out of ten support a law allowing the government to distribute contraceptives to the poor, which was enacted in 2012 but has not yet been fully implemented. Many Filipinos are openly gay. Manila`s annual Pride parade drew 70,000 participants last year despite the rain. Gay Filipinos are successful in all sorts of careers, from music to sports. In 2016, a transgender woman won the election to Congress. Last year, she was re-elected with 91% of the vote.
Why it`s important: On February 21, the House Committee on Population and Family Relations approved a bill that would introduce divorce in the Philippines. In addition, divorce can cause the child to completely lose confidence in the concept of family, which leads to another negative effect of this process. If divorce were legalized, it would reinforce the mentality that marriage can be easily broken, which can cause people to make less effort to make it permanent and make sure they choose the right partner. The family is therefore in danger and is always exposed to the danger of breakup. What Alpa Go wants – but doesn`t get – is a divorce. The Philippines, where about 80% of the population is Roman Catholic, is one of only two countries in the world where divorce remains illegal (with exceptions for about 5% of the population who are Muslim). The only other country where divorce remains illegal is Vatican City. Duterte has spoken out against divorce in the past. But he has also been a fierce and vicious critic of the Catholic Church over the church`s condemnation of its war on drugs, which rights groups say has claimed more than 12,000 lives since it began nearly two years ago.