The Philippines Is Ready For A Divorce Law

A Legal Opinion by Ali Zafrullah Daud Binudin I-B

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 become one of the major issues in our society for the
past years. The social acceptability of divorce has varied widely across
historical periods, religious faiths, and cultures but not in the Philippines.
Other than the Vatican City, Philippines is the only nation that outlaws
divorce.
The Philippines is known for being a strong Christian nation, with
over 80% of its population as Roman Catholics. They are the group that is
known to be against the divorce issue and will be the greatest opponent of
the divorce bill. It was once argue against the bill on moral grounds. But the
Catholic Church does not need to worry. The institutions of marriage and
the family have survived to this day, as they will survive a Philippine divorce
law. We are a secular state, where no religious group has the right to define
law or policy for the entire population. The law should only give people a
choice, to be exercised according to their own personal beliefs.

We can clearly see that our Catholic orientation has been a dominant
factor. Divorce is something that we should adopt. Remember that Spain is
the root of Christianity yet divorce had been implemented. They are now
benefiting from it. A lot of people fear that divorce might erode the values
and teachings of the Catholic Church. The cases of Italy and Spain (two
Catholic countries which practice divorce) are clear evidences of its
invalidity.
Results of the survey conducted by the Radio Veritas Research
Department from December 2017 to January 2018 showed that more
women favor legalizing divorce, with 43 percent saying they “strongly
agree” versus 34 percent of men who strongly approve of the proposal. The
legalization of divorce is also more appealing to younger people, with 43
percent of those who agree aged between 13 and 20, followed by adults
(40 to 60 years old) at 38 percent, young adults (21 to 39 years old) at 34
percent, and the elderly (61 years old and above) at 19 percent. Filipinos
who belong to the higher economic class are also more agreeable to a
divorce law with a majority coming from Class B at 62 percent, followed by
Class C2 at 55 percent, Class C1 at 48 percent, Class A at 46 percent, Class D
at 40 percent, and Class E at 31 percent. The survey, which has a ±3 percent
margin of error. A separate Social Weather Stations survey conducted from
March 25 to 28, 2017, and December 8 to 16, 2017 also showed that a

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majority of Filipinos or 53 percent agree to legalize divorce in the country
for irreconcilably separated couples.
This shows that the public, regardless of their marital status, is now
more open to accept the possibility of divorce. Everyone should have the
right to escape from a bad marriage and be happy again. Falling into wrong
decision actually happens. If we legalize divorce in our country, people with
fail marriage will be given a chance and freedom to choose the right one for
them so they will not have to suffer from a marriage that is not working
anymore. Moreover, there’s no assurance that people who get divorced
want to find a new spouse.
Every day, there are Filipinos who get married, bear children,
separate and get into other relationships, regardless of what the law says.
The lack of a divorce law for Filipinos complicates further the marital and
family problems of many Filipinos. Our Government has clearly failed to
respond to their needs. If the country wants to move forward, it has to
confront the realities of marital and family life of Filipinos in the Philippines.
Let’s give other people another chance to live life with their desired
happiness. The divorce law needs to be legalized in the Philippines now.
This also forwards the claim that the process of Annulment is allowed
in the Philippines but why not divorce? After all, Annulment and divorce are
just the same – it targets separation. Because of the Family Code, some
Filipinos think that we do not need a divorce for it already provides to cease
a marriage through “annulment”. This argument misleads. The remedy of
annulment is based on specified grounds that occurred at the time of the
celebration of the marriage, such as lack of parental consent and vitiated
consent.
When lay people speak of “annulment” as a means of terminating a
marriage, they actually refer to the remedy under Article 36 of the Family
Code. Article 36 declares that “A marriage contracted by any party who, at
the time of the celebration, was psychologically incapacitated to comply
with the essential marital obligations of marriage, shall likewise be void
even if such incapacity becomes manifest only after its solemnization.”
Under Article 36, a court does not terminate a marriage but only
declares it void. One must prove psychological incapacity by presenting
evidence on three essential elements of the condition: that it already
existed before the marriage; that it is grave or serious; and that it is
incurable. To do this, one usually needs the help of a psychiatrist or
psychologist to testify as an expert witness. Article 36 of the Family Code
only nullifies a marriage when one has proved that he or she is
psychologically incapacitated. Therefore, annulment has no defined
grounds and terms for terminating a marriage. Here is why divorce should
be implemented in the Philippines.

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 A divorce law will provide a remedy that Article 36 does not. Divorce
does not concern itself with validity or invalidity of a marriage. It terminates
a marriage based on a ground that occurred during the marriage, which
makes the marital relationship no longer tenable, regardless of the spouse’s
psychological constitution. A divorce law will provide a straightforward
remedy to a marital failure. It will benefit Filipinos wherever they are.
Given the fact that most of the people in our country are financially
challenged to stop unhealthy married life, divorce is the way to get peace
out of a futile marriage. Divorce is the answer for both men and women
who feel used, battered or tortured mentally in their marriage. Today,
divorce is one way to lessen violence. Annulment is just a legal separation
and does not allow women to have a right to be happily remarried. This
completely rejects the idea of new life-- divorce does.
The last and final argument that the congress needs to specify is the
increasing rate of battered wife in the Philippines. The most common
violence against women in the Philippines is the intimate partner violence –
but married women in the Philippines have no way out. The abuse can be
verbal, physical or psychological.
According to the Annual Comparative Statistics on Violence against
Women (2004 – 2011), wife battery ranked highest at 49% of all forms of
violence and abuse against women. This is one of the reasons why divorce
should be legalized in the Philippines. Women, nowadays, lack confidence
because they know that there are no laws to support them. Couples remain
living together due to the lack of a law that would allow them to legally and
properly part ways, and seek the peace and happiness that they couldn’t
find in their present partner. It would be best for a couple to part ways
rather than to live together under one roof and sin through their violence
that will affect and traumatize the innocent children. In millions of
households, both men and women who are trapped in marital commitment
constantly quarrel, often in front of their helpless children who grow up in a
confused and violent environment. Often, men turn to other women and
bear illegitimate children, and then abandon their legal wives and children
because of laxity of laws that should have held them accountable.
Divorce might be the solution to these problems. It could provide
protection to the battered women and their children. It could save a wife
from being beaten daily by a drunken husband. Divorce wouldn’t
necessarily destroy the foundation of the family. It gives hope to the
couples to rebuild their lives and have a normal relationship. It’s a reality
that many are suffering from abusive marriages. Why let someone be stuck
in a marriage where love and respect don’t exist anymore? Why deny them
the chance to regain their liberty and happiness? Not legalizing divorce is a
total injustice to these people.