Separation of Spouses in the Philippines has
It won’t seem like such
been an issue for several years. in fact, the
Philippines is the only country in the world
besides the Vatican that does not allow divorce,
mostly due to religion (de Leon on his article ,
2014). Roughly 83 percent of Filipinos are
Roman Catholics (de Leon, 2014). Marriage is
one of the Seven Sacraments that all Catholics
celebrate and hold dear. Marriage, according to
Catholics, is a public sign that one gives oneself
totally to another person. It is especially sacred
to Catholics because having a church wedding
means a person is not only making a promise to
his/her future spouse but also to God.
According to a study by Jihan A. Jacob entitled
Reintroduction of Divorce into Philippine Law
states that
Annulment or legal sepation destroys Filipino
families which the State has vowed to
protect.26 The biblical argument that “what
therefore God hath joined together, let not man
put asunder”
The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the
Philippines (CBCP) believes that annulment will
lead to violations of the children’s right to a
stable family as a result of the irreversible
breakdown of a family, and the right of married
couples to contract an indissoluble marriage.
Fr. Melvin Castro preaches that couples should
simply “seek perfection in marriage [and] not
seek a perfect husband nor wife nor a perfect
marriage.”
An interview with Archbishop Socrates Villegas,
the president of the Catholic Bishop’s
Conference of the Philippines revealed the
church’s opinion on the issue, saying that
divorce or annulment makes a mockery of
marriage. If divorce is allowed, the sacredness
of marriage will be lost.
an important decision to some because one can
always “undo” and “redo”.
As a result of that, more and more couples will
end in divorce and will set a bad example for
their children. Future generations will put less
importance on marriage when they mature and
the cycle just continues.
ON THE OTHER HAND
According to De leon, Although legalizing
divorce can save many individuals from bad
relationships, it can also erase the importance
of marriage. The Philippines cannot lose the
sanctity of marriage because majority of
Filipinos are Catholic and the family plays a big
role in the Philippine culture. On the other
hand, individuals in failed marriages can always
choose for an annulment or a legal separation
from their spouse. Aside from that, there isn’t
really much of a reason to legalize divorce.
People just need to be completely sure of the
person that they will be marrying to be able to
sustain a happy and healthy relationship.
Bibliography
De Leon, S. (2014, October 6). The fight to make
divorce legal in the Philippines – CNN.com.
Retrieved April 13, 2015, from
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/10/06/world/asia/
philippines-legal-divorce-battle/